However distasteful such concealment is, it was a necessary first step to
examining these questions. Without concealment, there would have been no
way to know how valid these experiences were; nor was there any way of knowing
whether whatever detections occurred were a tribute to the diagnostic acumen
of the staff or to the hospital's rumor network. Obviously, since my concerns
are general ones that cut across individual hospitals and staffs, I have
respected their anonymity and have eliminated clues that might lead to their
identification.