Demanding Medical Excellence : Doctors and Accountability in the Information Age (97 Edition)

Demanding Medical Excellence is a groundbreaking and accessible work that reveals how the information revolution is changing the way doctors make decisions. Michael Millenson, a three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee as a health-care reporter for the Chicago Tribune, illustrates serious flaws in contemporary medical practice and shows ways to improve care and save tens of thousands of lives.

"If you read only one book this year, read Demanding Medical Excellence. It's that good, and the revolution it describes is that important."—Health Affairs

"Millenson has done yeoman's work in amassing and understanding that avalanche of data that lies beneath most of the managed-care headlines. . . . What he finds is both important and well-explained: inconsistency, overlap, and inattention to quality measures in medical treatment cost more and are more dangerous than most cost-cutting measures. . . . [This book] elevates the healthcare debate to a new level and deserves a wide readership."—Library Journal

"An involving, human narrative explaining how we got to where we are today and what lies ahead."—Mark Taylor, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Read this book. It will entertain you, challenge, and strengthen you in your quest for better accountability in health care."—Alex R. Rodriguez, M.D., American Journal of Medical Quality

"Finally, a health-care book that doesn't wring its hands over the decline of medicine at the hands of money-grubbing corporations. . . . This is a readable account of what Millenson calls a 'quiet revolution' in health care, and his optimism makes for a refreshing change."—Publishers Weekly

"With meticulous detail, historical accuracy, and an uncommon understanding of the clinical field, Millenson documents our struggle to reach accountability."—Saty Satya-Murti, M.D., Journal of the American Medical Association

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Introduction: A Different Kind of Revolution

Part One: Doing the Right Thing and Doing the Right Thing Right

1. Some Do, Some Don't

2. What Doctors Don't Know

3. First, Do No Harm

4. Saving Lives, Bit by Byte

5. State of the Art

6. State of the Science

Part Two: Changing the Paradigm of Medical Practice

7. Trust Me, I'm a Doctor

8. The Doctor's Car and the Car Companies' Doctors

Part Three: Holding Medicine Accountable for Results

9. A New York State of Mind

10. The Empire Strikes Back

11. Show Time

12. Changing the System from Within

13. The Early Worm Gets the Bird

Part Four: The Promise and Perils of Managed Care

14. Money, Managed Care, and Mom

15. Medicine in the Information Age

16. Power to the Population

Epilogue: A Celebration of Medicine's Future

Afterword: Still Demanding Medical Excellence

Notes

Index