Heartbreaking Choices

Today’s Wall Street Journal included an important article, “The Crushing Cost of Care,”

by Janet Adamy and Tom McGinty that should be required reading for anyone concerned about the cost of health care in this country.  It tells the story of Scott Crawford, who developed heart disease in his twenties and had a heart transplant at 41.  The heart transplant was a success but a series of medical crises ensued, resulting in an extended hospital stay, increasing physical suffering, and his death less than a year later.  The article is primarily about choices, mostly by people other than Scott himself:  his parents, his surgeon Dr. Ashish Shah, and critical care specialist Peter Pronovost.