This article from the Washington Post provides an account of one physician's trip to the ER for a simple case of shingles, and the $9,000 hospital bill that followed. Jack Coulehan, MD, had already diagnosed himself when he went in, and even had a treatment plan in mind, but by the time he got out of the ER he had consults with an ophthalmologist an neurologist, two MRIs, and a CT scan—all of which were unnecessary, Coulehan states.
