Treat the Patient, Not the CT Scan

By Anton Zuiker
Abraham Verghese, MD, professor of medicine at Stanford University and author of the fantastic novel Cutting for Stone, contributed this NYTimes op/ed essay about the limitations of all-knowing computers in the clinic.
This computer record creates what I call an “iPatient” — and this iPatient threatens to become the real focus of our attention, while the real patient in the bed often feels neglected, a mere placeholder for the virtual record.
Read the full essay, and then come back here to add your comments below -- what do you think of Dr. Verghese's focus on physical exam skills? Dr. Verghese visited Duke in October 2009 to read from Cutting for Stone. Watch video below:

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