Art of Medicine
Aug 2021

An Animated Portrait of Inaccessibly High-Cost Care

Taylor Colette Moon, MFA
AMA J Ethics. 2021;23(8):E658-659. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2021.658.

Abstract

This digital still and the poetically narrated animation portrait from which it is captured characterizes a woman overwhelmed by her body’s failure and by a health care system’s failure to care well. Her story offers insight into a patient’s experience of inaccessibly high-cost services.

Figure. Walk With Me

figure1-artm3-2108

Media

Digital still of an animated portrait.

Caption

The animated portrait begins with a woman in a hospital cafeteria (see Figure) looking for someone to walk with her to her chemotherapy appointment. Overwhelmed by her terminal diagnosis, sadness in her countenance swells as she tells her story, “And I told the doctor, ‘I think there is something wrong.’” This remark is the point when her body informs her of her condition. She resists taking pain medication to be present with family members and spends money on better food instead of medicine.

 

Video. “And I Told the Doctor, I Think There’s Something Wrong”

Citation

AMA J Ethics. 2021;23(8):E658-659.

DOI

10.1001/amajethics.2021.658.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

The author(s) had no conflicts of interest to disclose.

The viewpoints expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.