Download or read book What Matters in Medicine written by David Loxterkamp and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2013-02-18 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An honest and insightful reflection on lessons learned about primary care from a life as a small town doctor
Download or read book Being Mortal written by Atul Gawande and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 New York Times Bestseller In Being Mortal, bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering. Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified. Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, Being Mortal asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end.
Download or read book Listening for What Matters written by Saul J. Weiner and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Our fascination with the topic of contextualizing care began about twenty years ago when the evidence-based medicine movement had taken hold. We noticed that although medical residents were skilled at identifying the latest studies and guidelines, their care plans often didn't seem appropriate once one considered the life challenges some of their patients were facing. We'd see, for instance, a patient with poorly controlled asthma put on a higher dose of a medication they weren't taking, rather than a cheaper generic, when the context was that they couldn't afford it. We coined the terms "contextual error" to describe these kinds of mistakes and "contextualized care" when patients' care plans are adapted to their life circumstances"--
Download or read book Medical Philosophy written by Mario Bunge and published by World Scientific Publishing Company. This book was released on 2013-05-30 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book that analyzes and systematizes all the general ideas of medicine, in particular the philosophical ones, which are usually tacit. Instead of focusing on one or two points — typically disease and clinical trial — this book examines all the salient aspects of biomedical research and practice: the nature of disease; the logic of diagnosis; the discovery and design of drugs; the design of lab and clinical trials; the crafting of therapies and design of protocols; the moral duties and rights of physicians and patients; the distinctive features of scientific medicine and of medical quackery; the unique combination of basic and translational research; the place of physicians and nurses in society; the task of medical sociology; and the need for universal medical coverage. Health care workers, medicine buffs, and philosophers will find this thought-provoking book highly useful in their line of work and research.
Download or read book What Doctors Feel written by Danielle Ofri and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2013-06-04 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A look at the emotional side of medicine—the shame, fear, anger, anxiety, empathy, and even love that affect patient care Physicians are assumed to be objective, rational beings, easily able to detach as they guide patients and families through some of life’s most challenging moments. But doctors’ emotional responses to the life-and-death dramas of everyday practice have a profound impact on medical care. And while much has been written about the minds and methods of the medical professionals who save our lives, precious little has been said about their emotions. In What Doctors Feel, Dr. Danielle Ofri has taken on the task of dissecting the hidden emotional responses of doctors, and how these directly influence patients. How do the stresses of medical life—from paperwork to grueling hours to lawsuits to facing death—affect the medical care that doctors can offer their patients? Digging deep into the lives of doctors, Ofri examines the daunting range of emotions—shame, anger, empathy, frustration, hope, pride, occasionally despair, and sometimes even love—that permeate the contemporary doctor-patient connection. Drawing on scientific studies, including some surprising research, Dr. Danielle Ofri offers up an unflinching look at the impact of emotions on health care. With her renowned eye for dramatic detail, Dr. Ofri takes us into the swirling heart of patient care, telling stories of caregivers caught up and occasionally torn down by the whirlwind life of doctoring. She admits to the humiliation of an error that nearly killed one of her patients and her forever fear of making another. She mourns when a beloved patient is denied a heart transplant. She tells the riveting stories of an intern traumatized when she is forced to let a newborn die in her arms, and of a doctor whose daily glass of wine to handle the frustrations of the ER escalates into a destructive addiction. But doctors don’t only feel fear, grief, and frustration. Ofri also reveals that doctors tell bad jokes about “toxic sock syndrome,” cope through gallows humor, find hope in impossible situations, and surrender to ecstatic happiness when they triumph over illness. The stories here reveal the undeniable truth that emotions have a distinct effect on how doctors care for their patients. For both clinicians and patients, understanding what doctors feel can make all the difference in giving and getting the best medical care.
Download or read book Why Our Health Matters written by Andrew Weil and published by Hudson st Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses what has gone wrong with the American way of health to create the crisis in which the author feels the U.S. is embroiled, and offers a solution that calls for a completely new culture of health and medicine.
Download or read book Essential Evidence written by David Slawson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-10-08 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This manual helps clinicians easily to find the best available evidence to facilitate sound medical decisions. It is the first published compilation of highly relevant InfoPOEMs that the editors believe has the potential to change a clinician's practice. The editors have selected over 300 of the most influential, compelling POEMs, and organized them by topic for easy reference. Each POEM contains: Clinical Question: Poses a question that the study seeks to answer. Bottom line: Summarizes the findings of the research and places these findings into the context with the known information on the topic. The bottom line also is designed to help readers understand how to apply the results. LOE: Each review is given a Level of Evidence indicator. This allows the reader to discern an overall sense of how well the new information is supported. Reference: Displays the citation of the article being reviewed. Study Design: Identifies the procedures of the study (i.e., Meta-Analysis, randomized controlled trial). Setting: Identifies the environment in which the study took place (i.e., outpatient, inpatient). Synopsis: Provides a brief overview of the study design and results, but is not an abstract. The editors have pulled out only the most important information – the materials that readers need to judge the validity of the research and to understand the results. The manual opens with two complementary, original chapters: 1) Introduction to Information Mastery which covers the skills physicians need to practice the best medicine. 2) An Introduction to Evidence Based Medicine that reviews the key concepts and principles behind this practice model.
Download or read book The Checklist Manifesto written by Atul Gawande and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling author of Being Mortal and Complications reveals the surprising power of the ordinary checklist We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third. In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds. An intellectual adventure in which lives are lost and saved and one simple idea makes a tremendous difference, The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right.
Download or read book Spirit and Matter written by José Lacerda de Azevedo and published by . This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A radical paradigm for integrating modern Western medicine with mental and spiritual practices such as hypnotism, Macumba and Voodoo. The many well-documented case studies in this text attempt to force the reader to reconsider the nature of spiritual evolution, existence beyond death, reincarnation, and the so-called mind-body dichotomy.
Download or read book The Future of Public Health written by Committee for the Study of the Future of Public Health and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1988-01-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Nation has lost sight of its public health goals and has allowed the system of public health to fall into 'disarray'," from The Future of Public Health. This startling book contains proposals for ensuring that public health service programs are efficient and effective enough to deal not only with the topics of today, but also with those of tomorrow. In addition, the authors make recommendations for core functions in public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances, and identify the level of government--federal, state, and local--at which these functions would best be handled.
Download or read book Medicine Book written by Andrew Larry and published by . This book was released on 2021-08-02 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr. Andrew Larry is a retired doctor who combines his passion for storytelling and medicine in this detailed book. In this book, you will be guided on all things medicine and health-related and get detailed insights on what it's like to operate as a doctor for decades. You will learn everything you need to know about: Components of medicine Classification of drugs Drug pharmacokinetics Causes and symptoms of diseases Basics of dieting How much food you can eat daily Diseases, conditions, and treatments not related to medicine Remedies, including food, prescription drugs and medical treatments This book serves as a blueprint for your journey into medicine and other health-related matters. If you're a student, physician or practicing Doctor of Medicine, this book has something in store for you. Dr. Andrew Larry shares his stories and key learnings as if he's speaking right to you. A conversational and engaging piece of literature, on what is a serious subject matter. Let this book be your dose for a healthier and more enlightened life. "Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity." ― Hippocrates
Download or read book Access to Health Care in America written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1993-02-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans are accustomed to anecdotal evidence of the health care crisis. Yet, personal or local stories do not provide a comprehensive nationwide picture of our access to health care. Now, this book offers the long-awaited health equivalent of national economic indicators. This useful volume defines a set of national objectives and identifies indicatorsâ€"measures of utilization and outcomeâ€"that can "sense" when and where problems occur in accessing specific health care services. Using the indicators, the committee presents significant conclusions about the situation today, examining the relationships between access to care and factors such as income, race, ethnic origin, and location. The committee offers recommendations to federal, state, and local agencies for improving data collection and monitoring. This highly readable and well-organized volume will be essential for policymakers, public health officials, insurance companies, hospitals, physicians and nurses, and interested individuals.
Download or read book Surviving American Medicine written by Cary Presant and published by . This book was released on 2012-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in a time when the business of health-care has superseded the care of health. Health-care reform is a reality happening every day - and for you it means new ways of getting your care.
Download or read book Best Care at Lower Cost written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-05-10 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's health care system has become too complex and costly to continue business as usual. Best Care at Lower Cost explains that inefficiencies, an overwhelming amount of data, and other economic and quality barriers hinder progress in improving health and threaten the nation's economic stability and global competitiveness. According to this report, the knowledge and tools exist to put the health system on the right course to achieve continuous improvement and better quality care at a lower cost. The costs of the system's current inefficiency underscore the urgent need for a systemwide transformation. About 30 percent of health spending in 2009-roughly $750 billion-was wasted on unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, fraud, and other problems. Moreover, inefficiencies cause needless suffering. By one estimate, roughly 75,000 deaths might have been averted in 2005 if every state had delivered care at the quality level of the best performing state. This report states that the way health care providers currently train, practice, and learn new information cannot keep pace with the flood of research discoveries and technological advances. About 75 million Americans have more than one chronic condition, requiring coordination among multiple specialists and therapies, which can increase the potential for miscommunication, misdiagnosis, potentially conflicting interventions, and dangerous drug interactions. Best Care at Lower Cost emphasizes that a better use of data is a critical element of a continuously improving health system, such as mobile technologies and electronic health records that offer significant potential to capture and share health data better. In order for this to occur, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, IT developers, and standard-setting organizations should ensure that these systems are robust and interoperable. Clinicians and care organizations should fully adopt these technologies, and patients should be encouraged to use tools, such as personal health information portals, to actively engage in their care. This book is a call to action that will guide health care providers; administrators; caregivers; policy makers; health professionals; federal, state, and local government agencies; private and public health organizations; and educational institutions.
Download or read book Ordinary Medicine written by Sharon R. Kaufman and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2015-05-04 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of us want and expect medicine’s miracles to extend our lives. In today’s aging society, however, the line between life-giving therapies and too much treatment is hard to see—it’s being obscured by a perfect storm created by the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries, along with insurance companies. In Ordinary Medicine Sharon R. Kaufman investigates what drives that storm’s “more is better” approach to medicine: a nearly invisible chain of social, economic, and bureaucratic forces that has made once-extraordinary treatments seem ordinary, necessary, and desirable. Since 2002 Kaufman has listened to hundreds of older patients, their physicians and family members express their hopes, fears, and reasoning as they faced the line between enough and too much intervention. Their stories anchor Ordinary Medicine. Today’s medicine, Kaufman contends, shapes nearly every American’s experience of growing older, and ultimately medicine is undermining its own ability to function as a social good. Kaufman’s careful mapping of the sources of our health care dilemmas should make it far easier to rethink and renew medicine’s goals.
Download or read book What Matters in Medicine written by David Loxterkamp and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2013-02-18 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Primary care has come into the limelight with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the unchecked and unsustainable rise in American health care expenditures, and the crest of Baby Boomers who are now Medicare-eligible and entering the most health care–intensive period of their lives. Yet how much is really known about primary care? What Matters in Medicine: Lessons from a Life in Primary Care is a look at the past, present, and future of general practice, which is not only the predecessor to the modern primary care movement, but its foundation. Through memoir and conversation, Dr. David Loxterkamp reflects on the heroes and role models who drew him to family medicine and on his many years in family practice in a rural Maine community, and provides a prescription for change in the way that doctors and patients approach their shared contract for good health and a happy life. This book will be useful to those on both sides of primary care, doctors and patients alike.
Download or read book The Chief Concern of Medicine written by Ronald Schleifer and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2013-01-28 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlike any existing studies of the medical humanities, The Chief Concern of Medicinebrings to the examination of medical practices a thorough---and clearly articulated---exposition of the nature of narrative. The book builds on the work of linguistics, semiotics, narratology, and discourse theory and examines numerous literary works and narrative "vignettes" of medical problems, situations, and encounters. Throughout, the book presents usable expositions of the ways storytelling organizes itself to allow physicians and other healthcare workers (and even patients themselves) to be more attentive to and self-conscious about the information---the "narrative knowledge"---of the patient's story.
