Book Review
Surviving Your Doctors
By
Mar 2, 2010 - 2:10:26 PM

Why the Medical System is Dangerous to Your Health and How to Get through it Alive

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - “Every year at least 100,000 patients die in American hospitals because of malpractice. You might want to read that statistic again. It is more than the number of soldiers who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars combined…and that figure doesn’t represent those who are hurt or maimed, which is probably two or three times that number,” notes Dr. Richard Klein.

SURVIVING YOUR DOCTORS: Why the Medical System is Dangerous to Your Health and How to Get Through it Alive (Rowman &Littlefield, Feb 2010, $32.95) is a timely and much needed guide to getting the best care possible out of a flawed system, offering patients a prescription for maneuvering their way through the healthcare maze.

With more than 38 years of experience in the healthcare industry, and 20 years of experience testifying in malpractice lawsuits, Dr. Richard S. Klein reveals important information about how malpractice happens, and what patients can do to prevent it from happening to them.

SURVIVING YOUR DOCTORS thoroughly addresses all aspects of the health care system with poise and humor, including such topics as:
How to deal with the ‘organized crime’ of insurance providers and plans;
How to protect your health at the doctor’s office;
Does your kid really need that shot?;
Prescription and over the counter drugs, and the need to beware of the “spoonful of sugar that makes the ‘medicine’ go down”;
And how to successfully handle and live through every procedure from general blood work to invasive surgery.

Through a series of real life stories of medical mishaps, anecdotes, and checklists, SURVIVING YOUR DOCTORS provides patients with in-depth explanations about the system and guidance in both recognizing their own health care needs and talking to their health care providers about those needs.
From emergency rooms to pharmacies; from surgery to the doctor’s office, SURVIVING YOUR DOCTORS will show you how things really work, what medical workers really think, and how to take back control of your health and the care you receive.

Some examples of the advice Dr. Klein provides in SURVIVING YOUR DOCTORS include:
Ask all questions up front (before the doctor has mentally moved on to the next patient), even if the questions seem stupid or irrelevant
Make a list of all symptoms and questions to streamline the length of your visit
Question your doctor’s diagnoses and opinions…“do not blindly follow orders”
Be friendly to all health care staff despite fear of the outcome or anger due to administrative difficulties within the office
Do research beforehand; know what your doctor should be looking at, and make sure he/she looks at it
Get a second opinion!

These tips display a very small portion of the wealth of alarming information and valuable advice Dr. Klein offers in SURVIVING YOUR DOCTORS.

About the Author:
Richard S. Klein M.D., is a practicing physician specializing in internal medicine and infectious diseases. An associate professor of medicine, Dr. Klein also teaches at New York Medical College. He is the author of From Anecdote to Antidote.

Surviving Your Doctors:
Why the Medical System is Dangerous to Your Health and How to get through It Alive
Dr. Richard S. Klein
Rowman & Littlefield
Feb. 2010, $ 32.95
ISBN: 978-1-4422-0139-2

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