Overview

Why is surgery so expensive? For a brief moment--and this is difficult to admit--I found myself tempted to schedule the surgery. A completely unnecessary surgery. The operation would have taken me twenty stress-free minutes, she would have gone home three hours later, and I would have been paid close to a thousand dollars. I was presented with every excuse to take out this woman's gallbladder. The only problem- there was no medical reason to do so. Surgeon Paul Ruggieri, MD, reveals little-known truths about his profession--and the hidden flaws of our healthcare system--in this compelling and troubling account of real patients, real doctors, and how money influences medical decisions behind the scenes. Even many well-informed patients have no idea what may be contributing to the cost of their surgery. With up-to-date research and stories from his practice, Ruggieri shows how business arrangements among hospitals, insurance companies, and surgeons affect who gets treatment--and whether they get the right treatment. Pulling back the curtain from the hospital bed, he explains how to safeguard one's own health (and finances), and how America can make surgery more affordable for all without sacrificing quality care. Why is surgery so expensive? Surgeon Paul A. Ruggieri reveals little-known truths about his profession-and the hidden flaws of our healthcare system-in this compelling and troubling account of real patients, real doctors, and how money influences medical decisions behind the scenes. Even many well-informed patients have no idea what may be contributing to the cost of their surgery. With up-to-date research and stories from his practice, Ruggieri shows how business arrangements among hospitals, insurance companies, and surgeons affect who gets treatment-and whether they get the right treatment. Pulling back the curtain from the hospital bed, he explains how to safeguard one's own health (and finances), and how America can make surgery more affordable for all without sacrificing quality care.

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9780425272312

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Reviews

Surgeon Ruggieri tutors readers on the economic forces that make the surgical theater tick. Ruggieri is a fine storyteller, which is a good thing, for although he peppers the book with dramatic anecdotes from his practice, his real exploration focuses on the financial side of the medical equation... Top-shelf instruction on the mechanics of the medical economy. Kirkus Reviews A vital conversation about money in medicine that we have not had, but desperately need to have. A deeply personal and powerful analysis with sweeping implications for addressing waste in medicine. Dr. Ruggieri challenges why healthcare continues to have an expensive carve-out to the same accountably principles that govern other industries. He offers serious ways to cut waste and increase value by making medicine more patient-centered, more efficient, and more transparent. Marty Makary MD, Johns Hopkins surgeon and author of UnaccountablePraise for Confessions of a Surgeon Honest and angry, this cutting memoir by a midcareer surgeon feels like an act of penitence. Booklist Looks hard at a profession that is changing in ways that Ruggieri does not always find to be positive [a] look into a corner of medicine we seldom see. Providence Journal Surgeon Ruggieri tutors readers on the economic forces that make the surgical theater tick. Ruggieri is a fine storyteller, which is a good thing, for although he peppers the book with dramatic anecdotes from his practice, his real exploration focuses on the financial side of the medical equation... Top-shelf instruction on the mechanics of the medical economy. -- Kirkus Reviews A vital conversation about money in medicine that we have not had, but desperately need to have. A deeply personal and powerful analysis with sweeping implications for addressing waste in medicine. Dr. Ruggieri challenges why healthcare continues to have an expensive carve-out to the same accountably principles that govern other industries. He offers serious ways to cut waste and increase value by making medicine more patient-centered, more efficient, and more transparent. --Marty Makary MD, Johns Hopkins surgeon and author of Unaccountable Praise for Confessions of a Surgeon Honest and angry, this cutting memoir by a midcareer surgeon feels like an act of penitence. -- Booklist Looks hard at a profession that is changing in ways that Ruggieri does not always find to be positive...[a] look into a corner of medicine we seldom see. -- Providence Journal A vital conversation about money in medicine that we have not had, but desperately need to have. A deeply personal and powerful analysis with sweeping implications for addressing waste in medicine. Dr. Ruggieri challenges why healthcare continues to have an expensive carve-out to the same accountably principles that govern other industries. He offers serious ways to cut waste and increase value by making medicine more patient-centered, more efficient, and more transparent. --Marty Makary MD, Johns Hopkins surgeon and author of Unaccountable Praise for Confessions of a Surgeon Honest and angry, this cutting memoir by a midcareer surgeon feels like an act of penitence. -- Booklist Looks hard at a profession that is changing in ways that Ruggieri does not always find to be positive...[a] look into a corner of medicine we seldom see. -- Providence Journal

A vital conversation about money in medicine that we have not had, but desperately need to have. A deeply personal and powerful analysis with sweeping implications for addressing waste in medicine. Dr. Ruggieri challenges why healthcare continues to have an expensive carve-out to the same accountably principles that govern other industries. He offers serious ways to cut waste and increase value by making medicine more patient-centered, more efficient, and more transparent. --Marty Makary MD, Johns Hopkins surgeon and author of Unaccountable Praise for Confessions of a Surgeon Honest and angry, this cutting memoir by a midcareer surgeon feels like an act of penitence. -- Booklist Looks hard at a profession that is changing in ways that Ruggieri does not always find to be positive...[a] look into a corner of medicine we seldom see. -- Providence Journal

Surgeon Ruggieri tutors readers on the economic forces that make the surgical theater tick. Ruggieri is a fine storyteller, which is a good thing, for although he peppers the book with dramatic anecdotes from his practice, his real exploration focuses on the financial side of the medical equation... Top-shelf instruction on the mechanics of the medical economy. -- Kirkus Reviews A vital conversation about money in medicine that we have not had, but desperately need to have. A deeply personal and powerful analysis with sweeping implications for addressing waste in medicine. Dr. Ruggieri challenges why healthcare continues to have an expensive carve-out to the same accountably principles that govern other industries. He offers serious ways to cut waste and increase value by making medicine more patient-centered, more efficient, and more transparent. --Marty Makary MD, Johns Hopkins surgeon and author of Unaccountable Praise for Confessions of a Surgeon Honest and angry, this cutting memoir by a midcareer surgeon feels like an act of penitence. -- Booklist Looks hard at a profession that is changing in ways that Ruggieri does not always find to be positive...[a] look into a corner of medicine we seldom see. -- Providence Journal

Author Information

Paul A. Ruggieri, M.D., is a board-certified general/laparoscopic surgeon and the author of books, including Confessions of a Surgeon.

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