Name

With the new admission system, it was somehow decided that the names of the in-charge medical officer and physician would be put black-and-white on a card next to the bed of the patient. Furthermore, all patients would receive - upon admission - a piece of paper with the names of those responsible doctors.

That created a major hiccup - so much so our man from Chaozhou hurried to take it away the next day after the policy took effect.

Is that appropriate ? I received this email the next day:

"To me, disclosing the name of doctor / physician is never an issue. Why should we hide from them? I remember very well when the name chop system was introduced in our hospital; this chop simply reminds me to write in a decent and responsible manner (under the name chop of XXX). Can't really see any down side of it."

My reply was all too slippery:

"I'm not sure whether I need an opinion. It seems a conflict between ethical and political considerations, or an argument between the neocortex and the limbic system."