Ten Questions You Must Ask Your Doctor: How to Make Better Decisions About Drugs, Tests and Treatments

by Ray Moynihan

A well-balanced, accessible guide to taking control of your personal health. Despite lifesaving technologies and wonder drugs, much is wrong with modern medicine. From diagnosis and treatment to medical politics and economics, Ten Questions You Must Ask Your Doctor sounds the alarm, without being alarmist, about the pitfalls of the medical system. Health writers Moynihan and Sweet take a balanced approach to prescription drugs and natural remedies alike and conclude each chapter with questions that patients can take with them to their doctors' offices. They

238 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2009

About the author

Ray Moynihan is a journalist, author, documentary-maker and academic researcher based in Australia.

Reviews

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questions about your diagnosis
1 Do I really need that test?
2 Do I really have that disorder?
3 Do I really need to be screened?
Questions about your treatment
4 What are my options?
5 How well does that treatment work?
6 What are the side effects?
7 Will this operation really help?
Some general questions to consider
8 What is the evidence?
9 Who else is profiting here?
10 What can I do to help myself?

[Mike Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and easy read setting forth important questions to ask and issues to think about with your healthcare professional(s). Rather than accept direction and advice at face value, recognize that you are always going to be the person most responsible for your health, a responsibility that cannot be outsourced. Put another way, rather than deify your healthcare professional(s), consider them consultants who are not only fallible but also individuals who (like everyone else) behave in accordance with incentives. Another mistake the authors warn against is conflating a symptom (e.g., high cholesterol) with a disorder (heart disease). In other words, more data points are better - but also remember to do your best to discern signal from noise. One good thing about this book is that it provides a checklist of questions that are easy to memorize. For example, before deciding whether to go under the knife, remember to ask about: (1) risks vs. benefits of the procedure; (2) how long this procedure has been used and the surgeon’s experience doing it; (3) alternative treatment options, including possible outcomes from doing nothing about it; and (4) how to maximize your chances of recovery. Sounds like common senses, but having a list of the questions will help compel you to ask.