I once received a call from a guy who stated that he was conducting a health survey. Wait — I take that back, I have received similar calls many times over the years, but this time was very different. To be perfectly honest, I happened to be pretty bored the day the guy called, so I didn't mind giving him the five minutes I thought he would need.
Little did I know that this was going to be the longest survey in history. No word of a lie, the damn survey lasted almost twenty minutes. Wait — again, I have to take something back. It may have taken much longer, only I eventually had to end it after twenty minutes!! Okay, where am I going with all this? Let me tell you.
Even though that freakin' survey lasted twenty minutes, I at least knew that I was taking it. It was conducted by my volition, just as it was ended at my discretion.
However, what's currently going on around the United States and Canada is a bit more sneaky. You see,if you have a heart attack, stroke, or any other issue that would cause paramedics to come to the scene, you may involuntarily become part of a clinical study. Yup, you read that right. It turns out that as I write this, about 15,000 patients, selected randomly from 11 regions throughout the U.S. and Canada, are having their lifesaving procedures examined by researchers.
The goal is to use this information to figure out ways how to improve the lifesaving techniques used by ambulance services and emergency rooms. Still, many critics feel that this method is intrusive and duplicitous, in addition to being an abuse of patients' rights.
304 views
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Sounds harmless enough. I’m all for it.