'The Vanishing Oath,' the First Physician-Focused Documentary on the Dangers of the American Healthcare System, Launches on DVD May 5

NEW YORK, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Crash Cart Productions, LLC, creator of some of the most insightful and thought-provoking films on the American healthcare system and medical malpractice, announces the launch of their first feature-length documentary, "The Vanishing Oath," on Wednesday, May 5, 2010.  Copies of the film, directed by Ryan Flesher, MD and produced by Nancy Pando, LICSW, will be available for order beginning May 5 at www.CrashCartProductions.com. 

In "The Vanishing Oath" Dr. Flesher takes a courageous and heartfelt look at himself, his profession and the fundamental meaning of medicine.  By exploring the entrenched yet growing number of obstacles that doctors face on a daily basis, Dr. Flesher becomes one of the few American physicians to speak openly and clearly about our critically wounded healthcare system. 

"The Vanishing Oath" exposes the myriad ways in which America's current healthcare machine undermines doctors' care-based practices, threatening the quality of healthcare for all Americans.  The documentary explores many oft-ignored healthcare issues in depth, including:

• The consequences of unregulated malpractice law: unnecessary tests, unnecessary fees, defensive (i.e. mediocre) medicine and a culture of mistrust among healthcare professionals and patients
• The decline of the doctor-patient relationship and how it directly inhibits the ability of providing accurate diagnoses and treatments
• An ever-expanding paper trail of insurance forms, billing codes and other paperwork that's largely non-medical yet nonetheless mandatory for medical doctors
• America's plummeting reserve of doctors and the inevitable shortages we will face as the Baby Boomer generation reaches advanced age

To illustrate, as never before, all facets of these dangerous trends, Dr. Flesher takes viewers into physicians' homes, offices and operating rooms across the United States.  In this profoundly moving film, audiences will witness the day-to-day physical, financial and psychological costs that today's healthcare system has inflicted upon its own healers.  

"In a way, I had hoped that my frustrations as a physician were unique—that they were my own burdens and not those of my colleagues," said Dr. Flesher.  "By making this film, I quickly learned that the opposite was the case.  The obstruction of physicians and its direct effects on healthcare are far more profound and potentially devastating than I'd imagined." 

Through interviews with university economists, an Emergency Medicine trailblazer, a malpractice attorney, medical academics, a divinity professor, current physicians, former physicians and more, "The Vanishing Oath" shows how years of mounting obstacles placed in the way of physicians have finally caught up with the patient.  As a result, the quality of care that Americans receive on a daily basis remains in peril. 

"American physicians are some of the best-trained and most dedicated healthcare professionals you'll ever meet," said Producer Nancy Pando, LICSW.  "But their hands are tied and they're being driven away from the profession in droves.  How can we expect these dangerous trends not to have consequences?" 

About Crash Cart Productions, LLC

Crash Cart Productions, LLC creates some of the most insightful and thought-provoking films on the practice of healthcare in the United States.  The primary mission of Crash Cart Productions is to educate viewers on crucial issues in healthcare, aiming to spur debate, take action and save lives.  In its first feature film, "The Vanishing Oath," Crash Cart Productions exposes how unnecessary yet growing obstacles to American physicians continue to undermine the practice of medicine and healthcare in the United States.  Crash Cart Productions was co-founded by the director-producer team of Dr. Ryan Flesher, MD and Nancy Pando, LICSW.   www.CrashCartProductions.com

SOURCE Crash Cart Productions, LLC