The New Prescription

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...
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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.