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“Before you see a doctor, you should read this book.”
“Essential for all those who want to intelligently reclaim responsibility for their own health.”
“Enlightening.”
“A powerful and coherent case that American medicine has gone badly astray.”
“A clear and concise explanation of how American medicine has gone astray...a must read for both patients and doctors.”
“Fulfills the criteria for high quality in health services: the right diagnosis and the right prescription at the right time.”
“Acompelling and well-documented analysis... a book every American should read.”
“Abramson’s book will have you rethinking your relationship with your doctor and your health.”
Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine by John Abramson
Overview
According to Abramson, Americans are overmedicated and overmedicalized as a result of the commercialization of health care. Falling prey to marketing campaigns, we demand unnecessary and expensive drugs and procedures, believing they constitute the best possible medical care. Wrong, says Abramson: though more post–heart attack procedures are performed in the U.S. than in Canada, one-year survival rates are the same. Similarly, notes Abramson, a former family practitioner who teaches at Harvard Medical School, we spend more on high-tech neonatology than other Western countries but have a higher infant-mortality rate because of inattention to low-tech prenatal care. Abramson deconstructs the scientific sleight of hand in presenting clinical trial results that leads to the routine prescription of pricey cholesterol-lowering drugs even when their effectiveness has not been proven; he examines what he calls "supply-sensitive medical services"—the near-automatic use of medical technologies, such as cardiac catheterization, less because they are needed than because they are available. Abramson's bottom line: "More care doesn't necessarily mean better care." Arguing firmly that doctors should focus more on lifestyle changes to improve health, Abramson seems less credible when he writes off depression as "exercise-deficiency disease" and disposes of cancer in little more than a page. Still, he makes a powerful and coherent case that American medicine has gone badly astray and needs a new paradigm—one untainted by profits.
Customer Review
This is one of the best books I've ever read on healthcare (and I've read quite a few). Abramson absolutely nails what's wrong with healthcare in this country. Ever wonder why you can't turn on the television without being blitzed by arthritis ads? Or why the United has the most expensive health care in the world, but poor health outcomes compared to other countries? Do the expensive heroic surgeries and interventions for cancer and cardiac events really save lives? You will be amazed by what you learn in this book. And Abramson doesn't dumb down the science--he leads you carefully through the analysis that guides his conclusions, so you can see for yourself how pharma companies manipulate the numbers to bolster use of dubious new products. Talk about "lying with statistics."
After you read Overdosed Americans, I recommend reading Overdiagnosed by Welch. The authors of Overdiagnosed come to similar conclusions as Dr. Abramson, but they focus on a few of the big oversold conditions (osteoporosis, high blood pressure) and concentrate more on what you need to know as a consumer.
Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine by John Abramson
