The Truth About Big Medicine

Righting the Wrongs for Better Health Care

Contributions by Rosemary Gibson, Robert E. Oshel, Yanling Yu, Gerald Rogan, Evelyn V. McKnight, Denise S. Lasater, Stephen S. Tower, Daniel M. Saman, Kiran B. Sagar, Lisa McGiffert Edited by Cheryl L. Brown, John T. James

Publication date:

05 December 2014

Length of book:

256 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

238x160mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781442231603

Many Americans believe that their healthcare is second to none. Most patients, therefore, fail to appreciate the flaws and dangers present while receiving medical care. In fact, the American healthcare industry is one of the great tragedies of this country, which is now being brought to its knees by the medical industry run amuck. The Truth About Big Medicine: Righting the Wrongs for Better Healthcare divulges secrets of the industry, which keep it focused on its own economic needs to the detriment of public health. The cost of American healthcare per person far exceeds other developed countries, yet it delivers life expectancies and infant mortalities that are ranked shamefully low among developed nations. Special interest groups and weak legislation created a “tapeworm” that continues to devour the American economy and shorten the lives of hundreds of thousands each year.

Using true stories throughout, the authors illustrate that it is time for the public, students, educators, and legislators to recognize medical deception and secrecy, and to consider clear solutions on how they can achieve a safer healthcare system. A rich variety of authors with experience in revealing unsafe medical practices bring recommendations for changing healthcare delivery by taking an aspect of the healthcare system, identifying its shortcomings, and proposing ways to reduce harm plus correct the injustices. Included are discussions of imaging, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, hospital practices and procedures, and medical malpractice and negligence, among other topics. No consumer of health care should ignore the dangers inherent in the system; this book helps reveal them and suggests useful remedies.

The authors maintain a website at http://truthaboutbigmedicine.com/

Foreword
Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Empowered Patient, John T. James, PhD, DABT, and Cheryl L. Brown, DBA, RN

1. The Failure of State Medical Boards to Protect the Public, Yanling Yu, PhD

2. Secrets of the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Failure of Medical Licensing Boards, Hospitals, and the Legal System to Protect the Public from Dangerous Physicians, Robert E. Oshel, PhD

3. Failures and Successes of Physician Peer and Performance Review, Gerald Rogan, MD

4. Dangerous Medical Devices, John T. James, PhD, and Stephen S. Tower, MD

5. A Contemporary Review of Health Care-Associated Infections, Daniel M. Saman, DrPH, MPH, CPH

6. Oversight of Physician Offices: Dr. Welby or Dr. Applebee?, Evelyn V. McKnight, AuD

7. Prescription Drugs—To Heal and to Harm, John T. James, PhD, DABT

8. After the Harm: Apology, Disclosure, and Trust, Cheryl Brown, DBA, RN

9. The Consumer Advocates Who Kicked the Hospital-Infection Nest, Lisa McGiffert, Director, Consumers Union Safe Patient Project

10. Medical Guidelines and Informed Consent—Routes to Safer Medical Care, Denise Lasater, DBA, RN; Cheryl Brown, DBA, RN; and John
T. James, PhD

11. Medical Imaging: Does It Help?, Kiran Sagar, MD, FAHA, FACC

Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Contributors

It may sound incongruous, but medical treatment can be harmful to your health. One estimate in the year 2000 ranked medical care as the third leading cause of death, trailing only heart disease and cancer! The Institute of Medicine quotes 1.5 million preventable detrimental drug events annually in the U.S., and the CDC figures that more than 700,000 hospital-acquired infections occur each year. In this multi-authored book promoting patient empowerment, legislative activism, and reform, health care in the U.S. is painted as too risky, frequently unnecessary, and way too costly. Topics include dangerous drugs and medical devices, hospital-acquired infections, lax licensing and credentialing of doctors, peer review problems, and difficulty in obtaining information about physician discipline and malpractice history from the National Practitioner Data Bank. When medical mistakes do occur, truth telling is essential; at times, an apology is necessary. Acceptance of evidence-based medical guidelines by all practicing physicians is vital.