Overview

A slippery slope is an illustrative scenario in which events progress from an initially innocent step to a cascade of subsequent misfortunes. Each development that sequentially follows is increasingly inevitable, difficult to stop and more harmful than the last. The result is an unpredictable catastrophe. It warns participants of the possibility of unintended consequences from a seemingly innocent or valid opening action. Most of the time a slippery slope argument is criticized as a logical fallacy, e.g., if we allow our children to choose the movie this time they will, consequently, expect to be able to select the school they go to or the doctors they visit. Other times it is said to augur a political, legal, tactical threat, e.g., the U.S. government in the 1960s posited that if one country in a region became communist, the others would inevitably follow, and then all would fall into the sphere of the Soviet Union.  These exercises are dismissed as being excessively fantastical stretches or falsely deterministic. The popular and medical literature, however, make no reference to medicine's Slippery Slope.  There are no popular titles that mention it or the Shared Decision Movement, the main bulwark against medical misadventures. Every hour, thousands slip from a comfortable and healthy status to an arm-flailing, knee-buckling, body-spiraling, face-to-the-floor catastrophe.  The book addresses this quick but preventable spiraling of good health into medical disaster. My goal is to inform the readership about The Slope and to provide the tools to avoid it or to successfully slalom their way down it. 

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9781538121627

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This is one of the best healthcare books I've read in years: Clear, provocative, empowering and often funny, The Slippery Slope of Healthcare offers a much-needed dose of honesty in a healthcare industry that often confuses, bullies and overwhelms. You don't have to be a patient to pick up this book. This one should be read by anyone who's interested in learning how to be a good advocate for a loved one.--Mackenzie Dawson, New York Post Dr. Steven Z. Kussin is that extraordinary rarity: a writer on a professional, often technical, subject who writes in a clear, accessible, entertaining--and, of all things, witty--style. His new book, The Slippery Slope of Healthcare: Why Bad Things Happen to Healthy Patients and How to Avoid Them, is both a timely wake-up call on how to avoid the many pitfalls of unnecessary and sometimes even dangerous health care, and a stylistic joy to read. Much of our accumulated medical wisdom, he writes, is out of date, out of the question, or created out of the blue by bad evidence. He thereby primes us for his critical analysis of much of today's healthcare for the well. He also makes this reader say, Man, I wish I had written that sentence! After reading The Slippery Slope of Healthcare, you'll never think about medical advice in quite the same way again.--Thomas Cathcart, co-author with Daniel Klein of the New York Times bestseller, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

. . .an empowering compendium of health-care advice, focused on the pitfalls of overdiagnosis. Though Kussin places blame on health-care providers for pushing unnecessary care--and on patients for demanding it--he isn't aiming for expose or outrage, but rather to arm readers with the tools for better decision making. . . . His affable, enthusiastic guide will leave readers feeling smart, informed, and better prepared for taking a nonalarmist and responsible approach to their own health.-- Publishers Weekly Dr. Steven Z. Kussin is that extraordinary rarity: a writer on a professional, often technical, subject who writes in a clear, accessible, entertaining--and, of all things, witty--style. His new book, The Slippery Slope of Healthcare: Why Bad Things Happen to Healthy Patients and How to Avoid Them, is both a timely wake-up call on how to avoid the many pitfalls of unnecessary and sometimes even dangerous health care, and a stylistic joy to read. Much of our accumulated medical wisdom, he writes, is out of date, out of the question, or created out of the blue by bad evidence. He thereby primes us for his critical analysis of much of today's healthcare for the well. He also makes this reader say, Man, I wish I had written that sentence! After reading The Slippery Slope of Healthcare, you'll never think about medical advice in quite the same way again.--Thomas Cathcart, co-author with Daniel Klein of the New York Times bestseller, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes Kussin advises that patients seek medical information from free, legitimate resources like MedPage Today and Medline Plus. We should also pay attention to which screening tests save lives, and be your own advocate. Before saying yes to what might seem like the latest miracle treatment, Kussin writes, think about mighty forces like the stature of doctors before saying yes to the latest exam or prescription. Cautionary and empowering.-- Booklist Steven Kussin has written a truly funny and forthright book about a sad and serious reality - how healthy people are made to worry that they might be unhealthy and end up losing their health in the process. There is much to learn in this book about how to survive in the surprisingly evidence-free, pro-profit U.S. health care system populated by many doctors who don't understand health statistics.--Gerd Gigerenzer, Director, Harding Center for Risk Literacy, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin This is one of the best healthcare books I've read in years: Clear, provocative, empowering and often funny, The Slippery Slope of Healthcare offers a much-needed dose of honesty in a healthcare industry that often confuses, bullies and overwhelms. You don't have to be a patient to pick up this book. This one should be read by anyone who's interested in learning how to be a good advocate for a loved one.--Mackenzie Dawson, New York Post

Author Information

Steven Kussin, MD, is a physician, author, television commentator, and a pioneer in the Shared Decision movement. He founded and led his clinical practice for three decades. He then wrote, Doctor, Your Patient Will See You Now: Gaining the upper hand in your medical care (Rowman & Littlefield). He founded The Shared Decision Center in Central New York. It was one of the first private independent practices of its type in the country and served consumers across the nation. He retired from his center in 2015.

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