Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Watching death

I find it crazy that in today's world, the power of technology allows me to access medical records from home, and in so doing, allows me incredible insight into people's lives.

It is 946PM - someone will die from pneumonia very soon, but not quite yet, and although this person is not my patient, I know that his brother is traveling from far away to be with him at his deathbed. Alas, his brother can't make it here until 10PM, and until then I refresh my screen frequently, hoping against hope that this patient can hang on for a bittersweet closure.

What a weird feeling - watching someone die through a computer screen.