false 469778 2 <div><div><div>Though touted as perhaps the best in the world, the American medical system is filled with hypocrisies. Our health care is staggeringly expensive, yet one in six Americans has no health insurance. We have some of the most skilled physicians in the world, yet one hundred thousand patients die each year from medical errors. In this gripping, eye-opening book, award-winning journalist Shannon Brownlee takes readers inside the hospital to dismantle some of our most venerated myths about American medicine. Using vivid examples of real patients and physicians, <i>Overtreated</i> debunks the idea that most of medicine is based in sound science, and shows how our health care system delivers huge amounts of unnecessary care that is not only expensive and wasteful but can actually imperil the health of patients.<br></div><div>The interests of politicians and the medical-industrial complex continually trump those of patients, seducing the wealthy with unnecessary procedures and leaving the poor with haphazard access to treatment. Backward economic incentives allow patients with chronic conditions to receive ineffective care, and roll after roll of red tape undermines even the best-intentioned doctors. Tens of thousands of patients die each year from overtreatment. American medicine is in desperate need of fixing.</div><div><br>Nevertheless, <i>Overtreated</i> ultimately conveys a message of hope by reframing the debate over health care reform. Americans worry about rationing&#8212;that any effort to rein in the high cost of health care will result in limited access to life-saving treatments. Covering the uninsured seems like an insurmountable problem because it will drive up costs even more. <i>Overtreated </i>offers a way to control costs and cover the uninsured, while simultaneously improving the quality of American medicine. Shannon Brownlee&#8217;s humane, intelligent, and penetrating analysis empowers readers to avoid the perils of overtreatment, as well as pointing the way to better health care for everyone. </div></div></div> 458090 18 9 2007 Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer total:98|5:27|4:50|3:17|2:4|1:0| 98 394 264 31 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 9 false Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 15 18:19:08 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 21 05:49:18 -0700 2008
Brownlee gets into the various factors of why our system is ...more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 4 1 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 27 20:09:18 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 30 04:55:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4581418 1582345791 9781582345796 9 5 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4581418.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_Is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 4 0 false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 05:54:27 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 21:59:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 4 0 false Sat Apr 11 15:14:40 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 14:00:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4581418 1582345791 9781582345796 9 5 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4581418.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_Is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 3 0 false Wed Feb 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 10:47:10 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 12:01:18 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4581418 1582345791 9781582345796 9 5 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4581418.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_Is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jul 18 13:39:27 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 13:43:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 2 0 false Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 15:00:25 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 10:49:23 -0700 2009
Brownlee takes an extremely complex, multifaceted issue and boils it down to one or two "problems" which I think can be misleading for readers who are not familiar with health econo...more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 11:16:36 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 11:33:45 -0800 2008 Health care policy is inherently dull, but I found this book extremely readable and very interesting. Brownlee's idea is that the basic problem in the U.S. health care system is its tendency...more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 2 0 false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue May 12 13:34:55 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 13:37:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Mon Nov 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 05:19:35 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 05:26:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 21 05:10:40 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 05:12:34 -0700 2009 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Sun Feb 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 14 10:32:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 14 10:32:00 -0800 2008
Her writing style was enjoyable and easy to follow despite its coverage of weight...more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 3 0 false Thu Sep 03 23:10:01 -0700 2009 Wed Jan 14 09:47:19 -0800 2009 Thu Sep 03 23:10:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 3 0 false Wed Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 07 14:31:49 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 15 12:17:38 -0700 2008 guy who is seen by 19 different kinds of specialists
during a few days in the hospital. Covers in overlapping
detail the usual and unusual suspects, including the
gullible public. Ironic good news here and there:
medical st...more...]]> 4581418 1582345791 9781582345796 9 5 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4581418.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_Is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Fri Oct 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 14:15:06 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 14:16:45 -0700 2009 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 30 04:10:27 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 06:04:00 -0800 2009 I finished it - very, very interesting and even more disturbing. I checked with my doctor - very young and very bright - he says it's mostly the way things are. It was originally recommended by a friend who is a highly-respected doctor...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 4 0 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Jun 19 19:55:34 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 19:56:26 -0700 2009 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Wed Jul 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 17 09:48:38 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 17:41:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 5 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 08 18:34:11 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 08 18:34:11 -0800 2008 more...]]> 469778 1582345805 9781582345802 89 26 4.02 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469778.Overtreated_Why_Too_Much_Medicine_is_Making_Us_Sicker_and_Poorer 0 0 false Tue Feb 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 23 09:31:03 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 09:34:44 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4581418