"The Ronan Report" provides insight about the activities at the Western Maryland Health System in Cumberland, Maryland, and about the changes taking place in healthcare today from a CEO's perspective.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Personal Responsibility

There were two news stories that caught my attention this week.   The first was the one about the Triple Bypass Burger causing a heart attack in a customer at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas.  The second story was an investigation into the death of Whitney Houston.  Both of these stories involve trying to focus the responsibility elsewhere rather than where it belongs.  I will give you that if Whitney Houston's death is the result of a single physician or pharmacy prescribing or distributing a host of different types of drugs, then prosecute away.  However, that scenario is highly unlikely.   Addicts with money and means use a plethora of sources and ways to obtain their drugs.  They use bodyguards, handlers, agents, assistants," uncles" and "cousins" to get their drugs legally and illegally; it doesn't matter.  As for the blame for the burger heart attack, that rests with the individual and not the Heart Attack Grill.   Unfortunately, the food police are now pressuring the restaurant to drop the 6000 calorie burger from its menu.  Would I eat at the Heart Attack Grill?  Nope.  Is it crazy that people go there and attempt to eat a 6000 calorie burger?  Heck, yeah.  But these people have a choice and they choose to eat there.  Just as Whitney Houston had a choice, she chose to marry Bobby Brown, who got her hooked on drugs.  Maybe the authorities should be pursuing him instead of the physicians and pharmacists.

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