The Cost of Public Reporting

ANISH KOKA MD In an age where big data is king and doctors are urged to treat populations, the journey of one man still has much to tell us. This is a tale of a man named Joe. Joseph Carrigan was a bear of a man – though his wife would say he was more teddy than bear.  He loved guitar playing,  and camp horror movies.  Those who knew him well said he had a kind heart, a quick wit and loved cats. I knew none of these things when I met Joe in the Emergency Department on a Sunday afternoon.  I had been called because of an abnormal electrocardiogram – the ER team was worried he could be having a heart attack.  Not able to make sense of the story on the phone, I was in to try to sort it out.  Joe was gruff, short with his answers – but clearly something just wasn’t right.   He was only 54 but had more problems than the average 50 year old.   Progressive calcification of his aortic valve  some years ago  had caused intolerable shortness of breath resulting in  replacement with an artificial valve. Longstanding diabetes had resulted in kidney failure and dialysis,  and most recently abnormal liver tests had  revealed the presence of the early stages of cirrhosis from hepatitis C.  Yet Joe continued to live an active life – with only a tight circle of family and friends aware of the illnesses beneath the surface. But on this particular day it was readily apparent Joe was not well.  It didn’t take long to figure out that Joe had an i...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs