Genes 2 Brains 2 Mind 2 Me

My wife was recently unfortunate to spill hot soup on her hand and ended up with a pretty uncomfortable set of 2nd degree burns. At our fingertips (mine anyway) we had easy online access to guidelines for pain management and infection prevention. The next day at work, she was able to see a company-sponsored nurse practitioner who cleaned, redressed and provided a prescription for burn cream. Only after the smoke cleared (or soup as it were) did we realize she was going to be OK and that we had paid $0 so far with a $10 co-pay coming for the burn cream. At dinner that night (we stuck with cold chicken salad) we each wondered uneasily whether we should have, or should think of, going to see a doctor. “Wouldn’t that be best?” “But you seem to have gotten such good care already.” The conundrum reminded me of Andy Kessler‘s book, The End of Medicine, where he becomes a human guinea pig and explores all sorts of medical diagnostics technology and also wonders how much longer people will really need doctors. We’re not as brave as Mr. Kessler, but are certainly wondering how far the consumer revolution can go in healthcare. For the time being, no more soup.