Part I- Fragmentation in Health Care: The Patient’s Perspective
This past September, I had the unfortunate and ironic experience
of transitioning from conducting research on the American
healthcare system to being a patient in the American healthcare
system.  In September, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer,
while working as a research assistant for Professor Einer
Elhauge, scouring the Affordable Care Act for regulatory powers
with potential for defragmenting our national healthcare system.
Professor Elhauge, recently described fragmentation as a
systemic lack of coordination between physicians, as well as
between physicians and hospitals.  This fragmentation results in
increased medical cost and medical errors.  My experience as a
patient has led me to believe that defragmentation could help
reduce other, less quantifiable, emotional and psychological
costs to patients.  I will attempt to demonstrate this through
recounting the first half of my story.[1]  Let me begin with a
little more information ab