“Intense and searing”

In these intense and searing essays, a lawyer describes her seesawing emotions over a misdiagnosis of what she was told was an inoperable tumor; a physician formerly employed by an HMO rails at the accepted practice of managed-care organizations finding legal loopholes to trump a patient’s needs; a physician wrestles with the idea of doctors policing themselves, knowing he is powerless to prevent the mistakes of an incompetent colleague. Includes an 80-minute CD containing three of the essays read by professional actors and a lively, sometimes angry and emotional panel discussion of the ethical dimensions of the issues raised.