Hanson (The Edge of Medicine, 2009), Chief of Intensive Care at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, dissects the past, present and future of health care.
Avatars that converse with patients, diagnose illness and schedule appointments might sound like science fiction, but, as the author writes, one such model has already been pioneered by Microsoft Research. While human interaction will not be rendered obsolete, Hanson makes an interesting case for technology’s role in effective medicine via innovations such as automated smart alarms and virtual stroke diagnosis. From primitive practices and medical disputes in colonial America to the “Marcus Welby” era when one doctor—usually a male in a tie—guarded illegible patient paperwork, health care has evolved into today’s diverse array of physicians and sleep-deprived interns, with an emphasis on teamwork and shared records. Some superfluity slows the narrative flow—e.g., a brief history of dog breeds makes the point that there are many medical specialties—and even the most technologically challenged reader can comprehend why cell-phone wielding doctors no longer struggle with the bulky Physicians’ Desk Reference. However, illuminating and even alarming information abounds, as when Hanson cites a 2009 New England Journal study in reporting that “only 1.5 percent of U.S. hospitals had a comprehensive records system present in all units.” Readers shouldn’t expect a health-care reform debate, but rather a glimpse of the future, complete with many upbeat possibilities. A thought-provoking look at technology’s role in modern health care.
Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-230-62115-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
What could, in less skilled hands, have been a shrill attack is in fact an admirably restrained and thorough examination of how the medical establishment has treated women as patients, as research subjects, and as health care providers. Medical journalists Laurence (author of the syndicated column ``Her Health'') and Weinhouse (a freelance writer for Elle and other magazines) combine solid research and personal interviews (sometimes with well-known individuals and sometimes with women whose identities are concealed) to create a compelling picture of what's wrong with women's health care. They show how medicine has discriminated against women as doctors; has excluded them as subjects in most research involving new drugs, medical treatments, and surgical techniques; and has regarded female patients as second-class citizens. Not surprisingly, the authors look at the surgicalization of reproduction, the lack of innovation in birth control, and the medicalization of menopause. They note that while often overtreated as obstetrical and gynecological patients, women, when they have other complaints, are frequently taken less seriously than men with similar symptoms. Laurence and Weinhouse examine the medical biases that lead to differences in how men and women with heart disease, kidney failure, cancer, and AIDS are diagnosed and treated. Not only do male physicians tend to dismiss women's complaints as psychosomatic, but since women have not been included in most research studies, adequate information is simply missing on how best to treat them. The authors touch all the bases, including sexual harassment of women doctors, the trivialization of women's mental health, the gender bias in pharmaceutical advertising, and the intrusion of the courts into women's personal medical decisions. They conclude with some hopeful signs of change: More women are becoming physicians, and more research projects are including female subjects. Comprehensive analysis, well presented and well documented. (First serial to Ladies' Home Journal; author tour)
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 1994
ISBN: 0-449-90745-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
A forceful, persuasive indictment of the fad of repressed memory therapy and its attendant theories of multiple personality disorder and satanic cult abuse. Ofshe (Social Psychology/Univ. of Calif., Berkeley), a Pulitzer Prize winner for public service reporting, and Mother Jones contributor Watters document the harm done by psychotherapists who practice memory therapy. Using the writings of its practitioners, the authors examine cases to show how powerful therapeutic techniques, such as hypnosis and guided imagery, implant in patients the erroneous belief that they are uncovering repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse. As memory therapy has grown, so has the diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, which the authors charge is a product of such therapy. Multiple personalities are believed to be formed in response to childhood abuse, and memory therapists claim that each alter personality can produce a set of memories of that abuse. Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of repressed memory therapy is the assertion by some of its leading proponents that among the abusers they have uncovered a secret international satanic cult linked to (among others) the Mafia, the Ku Klux Klan, and the CIA. Here the authors manfully resist the impulse to poke fun, but their disbelief is clear. Unsubstantiated theories are nothing new in the mental health field, but they assert that the current popularity of memory therapy is an especially serious problem. Aside from the primary victims—the patients subjected to such therapy—the authors point to the harm done to their families, who often must defend themselves in court against false accusations of abuse. Their hope is that mental health empiricists, who argue that practice should be based on scientific observation, will carry the day. Looks at some of the same cases as Elizabeth Loftus's The Myth of Repressed Memory (p. 908) but covers more ground and digs deeper. Sure to provoke angry outcries. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-684-19698-0
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
