X-Message-Number: 11088 Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 09:29:43 -0500 (EST) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: Autopsies Interesting item in The Economist dated Jan 2nd, on page 29: "In 1960, roughly one in two deaths in Chicago area hospitals was followed up with an autopsy; that rate is now about one in ten. Federal data collected since 1972 show the same trend.... One reason is cost.... In the days before the health-care system began slimming down, most insurance policies covered the procedure. if not, hospitals politely picked up the tab. No longer." According to the article, the AMA is concerned about declining autopsy rates because autopsies are a useful check revealing whether care before death was competent. In December the Journal of the AMA proposed a minimum autopsy rate as a condition for hospital accreditation and/or Medicare reimbursement. As is so often the case, the interests of cryonicists run counter to the values of the medical professiona, when death is involved. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11088