Tag: medical records
The Curious Side Effects of Medical Transparency
One afternoon not long ago, I sat entering notes into a patient’s medical record. She was in her forties, and her labs showed anemia. The causes of anemia range from menstruation to cancer, and so pinpointing the correct underlying diagnosis is critical. Physicians are trained to formulate a full roster of possibilities, known as the differential diagnosis, and then to work down the list systematically. We’re taught to cast a wide net—celiac disease, parasitic infections, thalassemia, lead poisoning, liver disease,
Society Tells Me to Celebrate My Disability. What If I Don’t Want To?
My memory of the moment, almost a decade ago, is indelible: the sight of a swimmer’s back, both sides equal—each as good and righteous as the other. An ordinary thing, and something I had never had, and still don’t have. To think of that moment is to feel torn—once again—about how I should respond to my condition: whether to own it, which would be the brave response, as well as the proper one, in many people’s eyes; or to