In “You: The Smart Patient” doctors Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz help out uninformed patients.
The authors note that “routine surgery” is as illogical as “non-alcoholic gin” and point out that medical mistakes in U.S. hospitals cause “an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 fatalities a year. You can see what a slippery problem this is; we can’t even nail down a true number,” they note.
The authors tell you how to “case out” a hospital, why second (or third) opinions are important and how to take control of your health insurance.
Their “smart patient quiz” featuring 40, multiple-choice questions is a quick way to learn what you don’t know. For example:
– If you have to have heart bypass surgery, how many of those procedures should your chosen hospital do annually? 500.
– What’s the most accessible, often free, health-care resource around? Your pharmacist.
– The two words most likely to cause more patient/doctor tension (other than “I’ll sue”) are “second opinion.”
– Want to know how good an insurance company is at handling claims? Ask a billing expert in your doctor’s office or hospital.
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