Reformers have tried to solve the U.S. healthcare crisis by focusing on costs, coverage, and benefits. But Lawrence J. O'Brien argues that the real solutions require a complete overhaul of the medical mindset of doctors and the institutions that train them.
Bad Medicine penetrates the core issues at the center of our $1 trillion a year system the huge oversupply of 'specialist" physicians driving medical and hospital expenditures; the elitist education, narrow-minded training, and the egoistic attitudes of physicians; the pervasive institutional disrespect shown to doctors who are committed to general practice; the financial incentives; and the many costly congressional reforms that have ended in failure. He contends that American medicine has gone from being general-practitioner based to being overrun by specialists who can only treat certain parts of the body, and only certain ailments, who recommend unneeded surgeries, and ignore the important questions of ethics. He also exposes perverse the supply/demand formula within the medical system with doctors (the suppliers of healthcare) determining the demand for their services.
O'Brien prescribes needed reforms to doctor education, reconstruction of the medical pecking order, and redirection of the government's policies.
Lawrence J. O'Brien (Key Biscayne, FL) has worked for many years in the health care industry as a health plan administrator and consultant on government affairs and federal/state policy affecting managed care.
Approx 225 pages ISBN 1-57392-260-9
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