Medical Choices, Medical Chances : How Patients, Families, and Physicians Can Cope with Uncertainty

by Bursztajn, Harold J., M.D.; Feinbloom, Richard I., M.D.; Hamm, Robert M., Ph.D.; Brodsky, Archie

• ISBN13: 9780595165179
• ISBN10: 0595165176
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-28
• Publisher: Iuniverse Inc

Summary

Considered ahead of its time since the first publication in 1981,Medical Choices, Medical Chancesprovides a telescope for viewing how developments in the fields of medical research, medical technology, and health care organization are likely to influence the doctor-patient relationship in the 21st Century. The book explores this intricate web of relationships among doctors, patients, and families and offers a new framework for mastering the emotional and intellectual challenges of uncertainty, while at the same time providing tools for all concerned to regain control from managed care. It is a must-read for all those interested in medicine and where it is headed in the new millennium. Hilary Putnam is Walter Beverly Pearson Professor of Modern Mathematics and Mathematical Logic at Harvard University. He is termed by Wikipedia to be: " a key figure in the philosophy of mind during the 20th century."

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Hilary Putnam
Introduction	xxiii
PART I A NEW SCIENCE OF MEDICINE	1	(114)
A Case of Uncertainty	3	(17)
Uncertainty in Science	20	(34)
Uncertainty in Medicine	54	(31)
Uncertainty in Everyday Life	85	(30)
PART II CHANCE AND CHOICE	115	(116)
Decision Analysis in Medicine	117	(31)
Decision Analysis: Use with Caution	148	(26)
Unconscious and Conscious Gambling	174	(30)
Gambling Skills for Medicine	204	(27)
PART III RELATIONSHIPS	231	(86)
A Family	233	(27)
Trust	260	(33)
Compliance Versus Caring	293	(24)
PART IV FAMILY DECISIONS	317	(72)
Death in the Home	319	(30)
Birth in the Home	349	(40)
PART V CONTEXTS	389	(55)
Medical Milieux	391	(28)
Can It Work?	419	(25)
References	444	(5)
Index	449