http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/33/8/1481.full
This is a nephrologist and epidemiologist who learned that treating acute illness patients and people with chronic illness is different. More on philosophy, but with a cautionary note that overworked physicians often decide by their standards what our quality of life is and whether or not we are worth the resources to keep alive.
Sharon
A woman I used to work with has a husband who's a doctor at a large hospital here in Seattle...we were chatting one day about "House" - she said she loved it, but her husband couldn't stand watching it. I asked if it was because the medical stuff was inaccurate, and she said no - it's because NO hospital or insurance company would spend that much money to keep a patient alive.
We've all got a dollar value, make no mistake...
Depressing!!!! :(