The New Prescription

by Haines, Cynthia; Metcalf, Eric (CON)

• ISBN13: 9780757315558
• ISBN10: 0757315550
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-02
• Publisher: Hci

Summary

It's a great time to need medical care. Doctors can offer an endless array of medications, surgeries, imaging tests, and genetic tests that would have been hard to imagine even a decade ago. But there's a catch. The cost of this care is skyrocketing, and treatments are growing out of reach for many people. The money they can save on health care could go toward their many other household needs. What's more, about $700 billion of the annual healthcare tab in the United States is wasted on unnecessary care, medical mistakes, preventable conditions, and lack of coordination between health providers. That's about $1,500 for every man, woman, and child in America. Although we read a lot about what policy-makers, insurance companies, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, and the other big players in health care could do differently to cut healthcare costs, virtually no one is talking about what the public can do to save money on health care costs. Other countries can show us that more medical care doesn't mean better health. The authors, Cynthia Haines, M.D., and health writer Eric Metcalf, reveal some of the most egregious problems with a medical system gone awry, opening readers' eyes to how to better navigate the changes underway. Using solid research, insiders' insights, and patient anecdotes, they offer cost-effective and potentially life-saving ways to get more out of health care while using less of it.

Author Biography

Cynthia Haines, M.D., is a family physician and faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She is chief medical officer of HealthDay, an award-winning consumer and professional news service that provides daily health news to traditional and new media, as well as a wide variety of hospital sites. She hosts HealthDay TV and is a featured medical editor and writer on a variety of health information websites. Eric Metcalf, M.P.H., is a health writer and radio essayist who has worked on the multimillion-selling Doctors Book of Home Remedies line and other popular book franchises. His work has appeared in Prevention and Better Homes Gardens magazines, Reader's Digest Books, Health.com, and WehMD.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Health Care: Do We Need as Much as We're Using?	p. 5
Your Primary Care Provider and You: The Team Approach to Better, More Affordable Health Care	p. 35
Building a Better, More Cost-Effective Relationship with Your Primary Care Doctor	p. 53
Don't Pay for Chronic Diseases…Avoid Them!	p. 87
Preventing Other Common Health Problems	p. 133
Treating Chronic Conditions Better, with Less Cost	p. 157
Developing the New Prescription Mind-Set	p. 203
Keep Your Money, Enjoy Your Better Health	p. 231
Bibliography	p. 247
Index	p. 263
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