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"A well person is a patient who has not been completely worked up." -- a resident's answer to the question, "What is a well person?" (Freymann J: personal communication).
"There must be something the matter with someone who goes to see a doctor when there is nothing the matter"1.
Well people are disappearing. I should have known it was coming when the invalids became extinct. (Invalids disappeared shortly after the advent of Medicare, which demanded specific diagnostic labels even though none applied2.) However, I began to realize what was happening only a year ago, at a dinner party.
A Composite Case Presentation
Source Information
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37205
Address reprint requests to Dr. Meador at the Medical Affairs Office, Saint Thomas Hospital, 4220 Harding Rd., Nashville, TN 37205.
References
Related Letters:
The Last Well Person
Galovart J., Meador C. K.
Extract |
Full Text
N Engl J Med 1994;
331:206, Jul 21, 1994.
Correspondence
This article has been cited by other articles:
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