If you can't say anything nice, don't say Anything.

Remember the admonition your mother gave you when you were a child, "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all." Well, I was reminded of this last week and may have to rethink this aphorism.

Last week I attended a luncheon and lecture at a local hospital for their retired physicians. At the beginning of the program the moderator stated one of the attendees wished to make a comment about the medical care his wife recently received at the sponsoring hospital. He extolled the excellent care she received during a recent admission for a serious illness. This was the same hospital where I was treated which I described in a recent post.

I found myself facing a conundrum when the moderator queried if there were any comments after he also effusively validated the exceptional care routinely provided at this facility-the same one where I received my care. I thought, should I be a contrarian and relate what happened to me during my hospitalization?

In my book, Predatory Medicine-Redux, I found this to be one of the most frustrating observations: all too often physicians and other healthcare providers were aware a physician or physicians were providing inappropriate care due to ignorance, laziness, an impairment, or unscrupulousness, but did not want to get involved so they looked the other way.

I completely understand this reaction because of what I have observed during my career which I describe in my book as well as what happened to me when I tried to do the right thing. However, when one observes harm being done looking the other way cannot be condoned.

But, in this situation, I decided to keep quiet for there could be no beneficial effects from me relating my experience to a group of retired physicians most of whom had labored thirty or forty years supporting that hospital. I didn't need any extra grief!