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First Do No Harm
Season 05, Episode 21
Air Date April 16, 1998
Previous Murder at the Finish Line
Next Promises to Keep

First Do No Harm is the twenty-first episode of Diagnosis Murder's fifth season which was first broadcast on April 16, 1998.

Plot[]

When a young girl is rushed into the hospital in need of immediate treatment, but dies due to a HMO's negligence, Dr. Travis and Community General are sued for negligence. Dr. Sloan must choose between his ethical convictions and the hospital.

Summary[]

Unlike most episodes, this one has no deliberate killing. Instead, doctors Mark Sloan and Jesse Travis refuse to accept the grave medical consequences -such as medically irresponsible delays and refusal of necessary therapy- for non-affluent patients of the virtually exclusive medical circuits (ambulance, treatment facilities etc.) imposed by so-called HMOs, a type of medical insurance, which puts medical staff in an impossible position between budget-orientated rules, malpractice claims and Hippocratic conscience. A few fatal cases lead to law-suits and an arbitration procedure with serious financial stakes.

Cast[]

  • Dick Van Dyke as Mark Sloan
  • Victoria Rowell as Amanda Bentley
  • Charlie Schlatter as Jesse Travis
  • Barry Van Dyke as Steve Sloan
  • Kevin McNally as EMT
  • Alan Oppenheimer as Dr. Leonard Gould
  • Jason Schombing as Melvin Pinter
  • Richard Fancy as Harold 'Hal' Lomax
  • Nancy Youngblut as Nurse Nancy Rush
  • Neil Dickson as Dr. Arthur Holbine
  • Davenia McFadden as Betty Pearson
  • Paul Picemi as Judge Kenyon
  • Bianca Rossini as Lena Rizzoli
  • Debra Sharkey as Andrea Turner
  • Kimberly Moss as Thelma
  • Gavin Glennon as Trent Erdman
  • Damara Reilly as HMO Attorney
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