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Autopsy: moribund art or vital science?
The American Journal of Medicine
|January 1, 1985
Summary
The autopsy rate has declined due to cost and consent issues, despite its crucial benefits for diagnosis and medical research. Reviving autopsies requires addressing these barriers to restore their value to healthcare.
Area of Science:
- Medical diagnostics
- Pathology
- Public health
Background:
- The autopsy rate in the United States has significantly decreased over the last 40 years.
- Contributing factors include clinician over-confidence, pathologist workload, consent challenges, and costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the critical benefits of autopsies.
- To review proposals aimed at revitalizing autopsy rates and practices.
Main Methods:
- Review of factors contributing to the decline in autopsy rates.
- Analysis of the established benefits of performing autopsies.
- Evaluation of proposed strategies to increase autopsy utilization.
Main Results:
- Autopsies are vital for confirming diagnoses, identifying new diseases, evaluating medical interventions, and advancing research.
- Numerous proposals exist to improve autopsy rates, including consent modifications, procedural changes, and educational initiatives.
Conclusions:
- Addressing barriers to autopsy performance is essential to prevent the loss of its significant benefits to patients, families, clinicians, and medical science.
- Implementing proposed changes can help restore the autopsy's role in modern medicine.