“Please Choose One” – A Short Story

Every once in a while I come across a piece of healthcare prose that I have to share, but there’s no good way to share it in pieces. I found that once in The Old Man and the Doctor Fable. It’s a must read if you haven’t read it.

I recently had another such example shared with me called “Please Choose One“. This one took me a second to really get into it, but about a quarter of the way through, I couldn’t stop reading and had to figure out how it ended. I’m sure that many physicians will feel the heartache shared in this short story. Thank you Philip Allen Green, MD for sharing. If you haven’t gone and read it, go read it…we’ll be back here once you’re done.

Obviously, the story is told in an exaggerated worst case scenario fashion. Although, to me that’s what illustrates the point so well. The lesson I took from the story is that we can’t take the human out of healthcare. Technology should help us offer more humanity to patients as opposed to less. Furthermore, we’re at risk for doing the opposite.

What’s your takeaway? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the story.