uspreventativeservicestaskforce.org ( )

I got into this type of literature after a patient asked one of the Doctors at my clinic "If it was your mother, what would you recommend?"

She thought that was a smart question and it might have been if she had known this man well. But she didn't. If you want a real opinion of a doctor, ask the lower-downs at his clinic out to lunch and ask them who they would choose as their physician, unless it's specified in their employment contract that they can't(you'd be surprised how many do).

Facts:

--[Most] "Drs practice the best of medicine of the year they graduated from medical school." But that doesn't necessarily mean you should choose the youngest one in the system because...
--"The System is not broken. It's functioning exactly as designed. It's designed to run up health-care costs. It's about the greedy serving the gluttonous." Or those with humongous student loans often trying live as if they've been practicing for years.
-"Much of the money currently spent on health care is money wasted on unnecessary and harmful, sick care."
-- "Bad actors include doctors and health-care providers, hospitals, drug and device manufacturers, insurance companies, lawyers, and patients."
--"The medical system frequently allows bad doctors to continue to practice." But Google malpractice/citations/patient reviews Dr's name just in case.
-- "Ignorance manifests itself as unrealistic expectations." So make sure they explain all the side effects. And read both sides and the fine print. And get your own copy to take home.
--"Patients... can be their best advocates... They need to have skepticism and ask probing questions."

Finally, "How do we protect ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbors? There is only one way. We do it by demanding a health-care system that can say "Prove it," a system that can say "No," and make it stick. For this to happen, real people---ideally, all 300 million of us---will have to say "Enough!"

You'd hope that things have gotten better since the publishing of this book. It has, after all, been eight years. My aunt was diagnosed with cancer last year and had the offending organ removed. The doctors didn't recommend chemo--- they were reasonably confident that the cancer had been contained within the organ.

After talking to her sister and her mother(and ignoring others) My aunt had 6 months worth of chemo anyway. ( )

An important read for doctors and patients alike. Whereas at times far too much time is spent on the writer self congratulating himself on not being like those other doctors, there is still a lot of good and though provoking information here. As a DVM most of it is far from foreign to me but I struggle with getting my own family to ask the right questions. To the uneducated I worry that this will be a little scary, but I think a little fear and caution in allowing someone to throw treatment at you is a good thing. ( )

Really well written. Also, infuriating and heartbreaking. Definitely worth the read. Might work as a read-alike for [b:Full Body Burden|13153931|Full Body Burden Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats|Kristen Iversen|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1332528768s/13153931.jpg|18325748]. ( )

I think this book could actually have been better written, but regardless, I think it's a vastly needed book and thesis, and one that's very overdue in the US. I've had years to formulate my own theories and conclusions about the entire interrelated industries, from pharmaceuticals, R&D, medical ethics, medical practices, insurance, Medicare/Medicaid, "socialized" medicine elsewhere in the world and American opposition to it, death, end-of-life care, doctor's treatment of patients, medical records, the diagnosis, the increasing lack of sympathy, empathy, or frankly giving a shit at all on the part of the vast majority of medical offices, if not hospitals as well, of having to be one's own advocate, of how litigation and governmental changes in various policies and guidelines have led to many doctors feeling practically paralyzed in terms of providing the help they once did for their patients, and the one that chaps my butt -- the total disregard for the Hippocratic oath on the part of more and more doctors. The healthcare industry in the US is a pathetic fraud, drowning in having sold its soul to far too many devils and I wish to hell I was able to return to other countries I have lived where they actually have sane and competent healthcare treatment readily available since fewer and fewer people in the US care while more and more get sicker and die. This book is a start is admitting the truth. There needs to be many more following until true, actual bipartisan, intelligent change is effected in this country. Otherwise, soon there will be little difference between the US and Ethiopia when it comes down to most middle and lower middle class Americans (and obviously those unfortunate enough to be lower down the rungs still). Book recommended, changes recommended, partisanship not recommended. ( )