Physicians Practice
As a practicing gastroenterologist, so deeply affected by the implementation of the Hospitalist system that I wrote a novel satirizing medical care in the 21st century titled "The Hospitalist," I feel compelled to respond to the perspectives offered by Drs. Wachter, Goldman, and Gunderman in the Sept. 15th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. I respect the statistics showing the advantages of Hospitalists quoted by Wachter and Goldman, but as Mark Twain said — "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." I think far more important than statistics are the opinions of doctors like myself who have been forced to work in the Hospitalist system and even more importantly, the opinions of the people most affected by this change in healthcare that none of us were told about or asked our opinion about, our patients. Continue to read more ...