Abraham Verghese Thinks Medicine Can Do Better (Update)

Abraham Verghese is a physician and a best-selling author — in that order, he says. He explains the difference between curing and healing, and tells Steve why doctors should spend more time with patients and less with electronic health records.

SOURCES:Abraham Verghese • , professor of medicine at Stanford University and best-selling novelist.

RESOURCES:The Covenant of Water, • by Abraham Verghese (2023). • “ Abraham Verghese’s Sweeping New Fable of Family and Medicine • ,” by Andrew Solomon ( The New York Times, • 2023). • “ Watch Oprah’s Emotional Conversation with Abraham Verghese, Author of the 101st Oprah’s Book Club Pick • ” ( Oprah Daily, • 2023). • “ How Indian Teachers Have Shaped Ethiopia’s Education System • ,” by Mariam Jafri ( The Quint, • 2023). • “ How Tech Can Turn Doctors Into Clerical Workers • ,” by Abraham Verghese ( The New York Times Magazine, • 2018). Cutting for Stone, • by Abraham Verghese (2009). • “ Culture Shock — Patient as Icon, Icon as Patient • ,” by Abraham Verghese ( The New England Journal of Medicine, • 2008). • “ The Cowpath to America • ,” by Abraham Verghese ( The New Yorker, • 1997). My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story, • by Abraham Verghese (1994). • “ Urbs in Rure: Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Rural Tennessee • ,” by Abraham Verghese, Steven L. Berk, and Felix Sarubbi ( The Journal of Infectious Diseases, • 1989).

EXTRAS: • “ Are You Suffering From Burnout? • ” by No Stupid Questions • (2023). • “ Would You Rather See a Computer or a Doctor? • ” by Freakonomics, M.D. • (2022). • “ How Do You Cure a Compassion Crisis? • ” by Freakonomics Radio • (2020). The Citadel, • by A. J. Cronin (1937). Uncle Tom’s Cabin, • by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852).