Sophie waited for Adam to get back from triage. As soon as she
saw him through the pod window, she ran out, and the two
of them went together into the empty parents’ lounge. The TV
blared in the background.
“If babies are being born early by accidentally getting the
wrong medication,” Adam said to Sophie, “then that’s medical
negligence, and a couple of lawsuits. But if it truly was uninten
tional, it wouldn’t keep happening. Maybe he’d get away with it
once or twice, claiming it was accidental, but not repeatedly. But
if they got the wrong medication on purpose . . . that’s a big deal.”
“That’s a huge deal,” Sophie said. She pulled out her phone
and looked for the video that Adam had sent her. They played
the fifteen-second video. The patient was in labor. Her belly was
quite small, likely too early to be full term. There were the vials,
with the colored caps, and Dr. Wagner’s hand on the IV, holding
the syringe. Dr. Wagner injected something into the patient’s IV.
They zoomed in.
The vial in his hand had a tan cap. They watched for the few
seconds after he injected. The patient relaxed, with all signs of
labor pain gone.
“Wait. What? That was Pitocin. The one that induces labor,”
Sophie said.
“Yeah, that’s what we saw on the tan-capped vials Kim
showed us.”
“But her labor stopped. It didn’t get worse. How can that be?”
177
THE VERY BEST OF CARE
“Can Kim find out if this mother delivered?” asked Adam.
Sophie found Kim in the NICU and explained.
Kim got on the phone. “This’ll be quick . . . Hey, Suzanne,
it’s Kim.” A short pause. “I’m doing good, thanks. Listen, can you
tell me what happened to one of Dr. Wagner’s patients? It was a
woman who was there around noon. We’re wondering if she got
admitted, or did she go home?”
Pause.
“No, I don’t have her name. Don’t worry, there’s no HIPAA
violation,” Kim said with a smile. “All I have is the time that she
was in triage.”
A longer pause.
“Hey, no problem.” Kim listened. “She did go home? You’re
sure. Okay. Thanks, Suzanne. See you later.” She turned to
Sophie and Adam. “Does that answer your question?”
“Yeah, thanks, Kim.”
The two returned to the parents’ lounge. Sophie pressed the
delete button on her phone. The video was gone.
“Maybe we’ve got this all wrong,” said Adam.
“Or maybe they’re switching caps.
