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Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America (H. Eugene and Lillian Youngs Lehman)
written by MD, Nortin M. Hadler
Studio : The University of North Carolina Press
by The University of North Carolina Press
Publisher : The University of North Carolina Press
Released : 2008-06-02
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780807831878
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 13 reviews)
List Price : $28.00
Our Price : $17.32
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Product Description |
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At a time when access to health care in the United States is being widely debated, Nortin Hadler argues that an even more important issue is being overlooked. Although necessary health care should be available to all who need it, he says, the current health-care debate assumes that everyone requires massive amounts of expensive care to stay healthy. Hadler urges that before we commit to paying for whatever pharmaceutical companies and the medical establishment tell us we need, American consumers need to adopt an attitude of skepticism and arm themselves with enough information to make some of their own decisions about what care is truly necessary. Each chapter of Worried Sick is an object lesson regarding the uses and abuses of a particular type of treatment, such as mammography, colorectal screening, statin drugs, or coronary stents. For consumers and medical professionals interested in understanding the scientific basis for Hadler's arguments, each topical chapter has an accompanying source chapter in which Hadler discusses the medical literature and studies that inform his critique. According to Hadler, a major stumbling block to rational health-care policy in the United States is contention over the very concept of what constitutes good health. By learning to distinguish good medical advice from persuasive medical marketing, consumers can make better decisions about their personal health and use that wisdom to inform their perspectives on health-policy issues. |
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Oh, so needed to be said!! |
As a physician, I have been waiting for decades to read such a book. The statistics make this a rather slow and difficult read, but it will be a live saver for many who "get" the message.
James A.Garfield, M.D. |
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Questions we all should be asking |
This book, along with Shannon Brownlee's Overtreated, raises critical questions that are too often ignored in the current debate over health care. Too many well-intentioned liberals seem to be under the illusion that if everybody can get the same medical care that all the rich and well-insured Americans now receive, then everything will be just fine. Not so. We are already paying billions for diagnostic tests, treatments and drugs that range from the dubious to the dangerous. Should we be extending these "benefits" to everybody?
A note about the "hole" in this book mentioned by another reviewer: cancer. I think Dr. Hadler recognized that cancer is a special case, a multidimensional disease that is in reality still poorly understood by the medical community. (Heart disease is, by comparison, merely a matter of clogged plumbing.) Perhaps he's preparing another book on this subject. |
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Worried Sick |
Excellent info on Coronary bypass--could save you a lot of surgery when alternatives are superior.
Author does his homework and backs up his positions with respected studies. You know where he stands on issues and why. |
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MD's, PA's, NP's should read this book! |
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While not the easiest book to read, Dr. Hadler's book is well worth the effort for all of you MD's, PA's, and NP's in the United States. It might well change your outlook on medicine significantly, ease some of the anxieties over the way you practice, and perhaps even ease personal/family medical anxieties. Bravo for Dr. Hadler, who has excellent medical credentials, for taking on the status quo in US medicine today. He convincingly explains why the US medical system is far from the best system, but far and away the costliest system. It's not just the fragmented system of greedy insurance companies -- it's the waste in doing a lot of medical treatments that are worthless or near worthless, and can, at worst, result in harm to patients. What happened to Primum non Nocere (first, do no harm) in medicine today? Thank you, Dr. Hadler. Read this book, medical providers! |
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Worried about your health? |
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Finally, Worried Sick is a book that gives voice to my observations about the healthcare industry. Recently I noticed my doctor no longer listened to me and wanted to treat me with a "battery of drugs" for one of the syndromes described here even though I expressed doubts about the treatment. Dr. Hadler discusses the validity of the studies and evidence to support the medical decisions being made for me and includes the reference to the studies. He accurately details the harm some of the annual tests can cause as well as the "worry" the patient exeperiences waiting for results. Sometimes false positive test results can lead to unnecessary medical procedures. He also describes a better way of controlling our health care costs and managing our own care. For anyone who doesn't mind reading through the details of medical studies ,this book is a provides great insight to our personal health as well as the current healthcare crisis. |
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