Hope or hype : the obsession with medical advances and the high cost of false promises
Annotation Medical science has always promised -- and often delivered -- a longer, better life. But as the pace of science accelerates, do our expectations become unreasonable, fueled by an industry bent on profits and a media desperate for big news?Hope or Hype is a taboo-shattering look at what drives the American obsession with medical "miracles," exposing the equipment manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies; doctors and hospitals too quick to order surgery; the politicians; the press; and our own "technoconsumption" mindset. The authors spread blame for the parade of so-called miracle cures that too often are marginally effective at best -- and sometimes downright dangerous. They examine consumers? eager embrace of medical advances, and present riveting stories of the conscientious doctors and researchers who blew the whistle on ineffective treatments. Finally, they provide sane, practical recommendations for the adoption of new developments. The consequences of questionable practices include costly recalls, billions in wasted money, and the pain and suffering of innumerable patients and their families. In short, they must stop
eBook, English, ©2005
AMACOM, American Management Association, New York, ©2005
1 online resource (xvi, 335 pages) : illustrations
9780814428597, 9780814408452, 0814428592, 0814408451
57929103
Can there be too much of a good thing? the hazards of uncritically embracing medical advances
What's the problem? don't we need lifesaving new treatments?
Medical innovations and American culture: the call of the sirens
Why more isn't always better: red herrings, side effects, and superbugs
Why newer isn't always better: unpleasant surprises, recalls, and learning curves
Social hazards: what we lose by uncritical use of new treatments
How things really work: opinion makers and regulators of medical advances
What will you swallow? how drug companies get you to buy more expensive drugs than you may need
Making friends, playing monopoly, and dirty tricks: other industry strategies
Stacking the deck? how to get the "right" answer in clinical research
"Cancer cured
film at 11:00": the media's role in disseminating medical advances
Doctors and hospitals: fueling the drive for new and more
Advocacy groups: Mother Teresa's waiting room
Holes in the safety net: the FDA and the FTC
Ineffective. inferior or needlessly costly new drugs
Medical devices that disappoint
Ineffective or needlessly extensive surgery
Weight loss technology: shedding pounds from your waistline or your wallet?
For doctors: evidence-based medicine
For insurers and researchers: pay now or pay more later
For all decision makers: getting value for money
For government: regulatory approaches to improve the dissemination of medical innovations
For consumers: shared decision making. Can there be too much of a good thing? the hazards of uncritically embracing medical advances
What's the problem? don't we need lifesaving new treatments?
Medical innovations and American culture: the call of the sirens
Why more isn't always better: red herrings, side effects, and superbugs
Why newer isn't always better: unpleasant surprises, recalls, and learning curves
Social hazards: what we lose by uncritical use of new treatments
How things really work: opinion makers and regulators of medical advances
What will you swallow? how drug companies get you to buy more expensive drugs than you may need
Making friends, playing monopoly, and dirty tricks: other industry strategies
Stacking the deck? how to get the "right" answer in clinical research
"Cancer cured
film at 11:00": the media's role in disseminating medical advances
Doctors and hospitals: fueling the drive for new and more
Advocacy groups: Mother Teresa's waiting room
Holes in the safety net: the FDA and the FTC
Useless, harmful, or marginal: popular treatments that caused unnecessary disability, dollar costs, or death
Ineffective or inferior new drugs
Medical devices that disappoint
Ineffective or needlessly extensive surgery
Weight loss technology: shedding pounds from your waistline or your wallet?
Crossing the threshold: improving the transition from "experimental" to "standard care"
For doctors: evidence-based medicine
For insurers and researchers: pay now or pay more later
For all decision makers: getting value for money
For government: regulatory approaches to improve the dissemination of medical innovations
For consumers: shared decision making
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