Overview

In this examination of the doctor-patient relationship, Drs. Wen and Kosowsky argue that diagnosis, once the cornerstone of medicine, is fast becoming a lost art, with grave consequences. Using real-life stories of cookbook-diagnoses-gone-bad, the doctors illustrate how active patient participation can prevent these mistakes. Wen and Kosowsky offer tangible follow-up questions patients can easily incorporate into every doctor's visit to avoid counterproductive and even potentially harmful tests. In the pursuit for the best medical care available, readers can't afford to miss out on these inside-tips and more: - How to deal with a doctor who seems too busy to listen to you - 8-Pillars to a Better Diagnosis How to tell the whole story of your illness - Learning test risks and evaluating whether they're worth it - How to get a working diagnosis at the end of every doctor's visit By empowering patients to engage with their doctors as partners in their diagnosis, When Doctors Don't Listen is an essential guide that enables patients to speak up and take back control of their health care.

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9780312594916

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Reviews

<p> A comprehensive guide to improving doctor-patient relations through empowering patients to take an active role in their care. . .As health care becomes more complex and political, this book provides clear direction toward better care. <br>-- Kirkus Reviews <br> Doctors Wen and Kosowsky (Pocket Emergency Medicine, co-editor) nudge the medical consumer empowerment movement forward with this provocative dialogic guide to help patients get the right diagnosis and treatment while avoiding the pitfalls of formulaic cookbook medicine. It all starts with an open conversation, the pair assert--much like the banter between car owner and mechanic on NPR's popular Car Talk program--and ends with an active M.D.-patient partnership. You are the key to your own health, and you have to help your doctor help you, the duo insist. Recounted are hair-raising stories of patients who bore the brunt of doctors leaping to worst-case reasoning instead of listening to what their patients were telling them, like Jerry the car mechanic with a pulled muscle who was treated for a heart attack. The team warns consumers that the transformation from passive recipient of medical care to active partner won't be easy, but provide plenty of how-tos in their 8 Pillars toward building a patient-doctor partnership. Theirs is an urgent call to action for patients, and a stark heads-up for doctors and the troubled healthcare industry they serve. <br>-- Publishers Weekly<br> <br> This is a well-written book on an innovative approach to healthcare reform: it challenges patients to take charge of their health and every medical encounter with their doctor. An important topic and an important book--I encourage my patients to read it. <br>--Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer <br> I have always said that a hospital can kill you as sure as cure you. You must be your own best advocate. Follow the advice of Drs. Wen and Ko

<p> This is a well-written book on an innovative approach to healthcare reform: it challenges patients to take charge of their health and every medical encounter with their doctor. An important topic and an important book--I encourage my patients to read it. <br>--Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer <br> I have always said that a hospital can kill you as sure as cure you. You must be your own best advocate. Follow the advice of Drs. Wen and Kosowsky...and transform from being a patient to an advocate for your own health. <br>--Fran Drescher, actor, producer, activist, and author of Cancer Schmancer <br> It's critical for patients to advocate for their own health. This book teaches you how...Read it; it will change radically how you approach your doctors. <br>--Melissa Etheridge, Grammy Award-winning musician and host of The Melissa Etheridge Radio Show<br> <br> This clearly-written, brilliantly and creatively thought-out book, filled with fascinating and horrifying examples of how doctors are now trained to not listen to their patients in order to 'rule out' diseases, focuses on 'ruling in' diagnoses that not only are accurate, but that will save billions of dollars per year in lawsuit-driven tests. A brave, terrific, essential work. <br>--Samuel Shem, M.D., Ph.D., author of The House of God and The Spirit of the Place <br> Leana Wen and Josh Kosowsky have written an authoritative guide to answer a seemingly simple question: How should you talk to your doctor? Through fascinating examples taken from their own clinical experiences, they show how doctors' training fails to teach real listening skills. But Drs. Wen and Kosowsky don't stop there: They also offer up constructive and practical advice that just might save your life. <br>--Darshak Sanghavi, MD, Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, health care columnist for Slate, contributing edi

<p> This is a well-written book on an innovative approach to healthcare reform: it challenges patients to take charge of their health and every medical encounter with their doctor. An important topic and an important book--I encourage my patients to read it. <br>--Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer <br> I have always said that a hospital can kill you as sure as cure you. You must be your own best advocate. Follow the advice of Drs. Wen and Kosowsky...and transform from being a patient to an advocate for your own health. <br>--Fran Drescher, actor, producer, activist, and author of Cancer Schmancer <br> It's critical for patients to advocate for their own health. This book teaches you how...Read it; it will change radically how you approach your doctors. <p>--Melissa Etheridge, Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winning musician <p> This clearly-written, brilliantly and creatively thought-out book, filled with fascinating and horrifying examples of how doctors are now trained to not listen to their patients in order to 'rule out' diseases, focuses on 'ruling in' diagnoses that not only are accurate, but that will save billions of dollars per year in lawsuit-driven tests. A brave, terrific, essential work. <p>--Samuel Shem, M.D., Ph.D., author of The House of God and The Spirit of the Place <p> Leana Wen and Josh Kosowsky have written an authoritative guide to answer a seemingly simple question: How should you talk to your doctor? Through fascinating examples taken from their own clinical experiences, they show how doctors' training fails to teach real listening skills. But Drs. Wen and Kosowsky don't stop there: They also offer up constructive and practical advice that just might save your life. <p>--Darshak Sanghavi, MD, Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, health care columnist for Slate, contributing editor at Parents magazine, and author of A Map of the C

<p> This is a well-written book on an innovative approach to healthcare reform: it challenges patients to take charge of their health and every medical encounter with their doctor. An important topic and an important book--I encourage my patients to read it. <br>--Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer <br> I have always said that a hospital can kill you as sure as cure you. You must be your own best advocate. Follow the advice of Drs. Wen and Kosowsky...and transform from being a patient to an advocate for your own health. <br>--Fran Drescher, actor, producer, activist, and author of Cancer Schmancer <br> It's critical for patients to advocate for their own health. This book teaches you how...Read it; it will change radically how you approach your doctors. <br>--Melissa Etheridge, Grammy Award-winning musician and host of The Melissa Etheridge Radio Show <br> A comprehensive guide to improving doctor-patient relations through empowering patients to take an active role in their care. . .As health care becomes more complex and political, this book provides clear direction toward better care. <br>-- Kirkus Reviews <br> Doctors Wen and Kosowsky (Pocket Emergency Medicine, co-editor) nudge the medical consumer empowerment movement forward with this provocative dialogic guide to help patients get the right diagnosis and treatment while avoiding the pitfalls of formulaic cookbook medicine. It all starts with an open conversation, the pair assert--much like the banter between car owner and mechanic on NPR's popular Car Talk program--and ends with an active M.D.-patient partnership. You are the key to your own health, and you have to help your doctor help you, the duo insist. Recounted are hair-raising stories of patients who bore the brunt of doctors leaping to worst-case reasoning instead of listening to what their patients were telling them, like Jerry the car mechanic with a

Author Information

DR. LEANA WEN is an Attending Physician and Director of Patient-Centered Care Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University. Inspired by her own childhood illness and then her mother's long battle with cancer, Dr. Wen is passionate about guiding patients to advocate for better care. A former Rhodes Scholar and Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School, she has published dozens of articles on patient-doctor communication. She speaks around the world on patient empowerment and healthcare reform. DR. JOSH KOSOWSKY is assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and the Clinical Director of the Brigham & Women's Emergency Medicine Department. He is the author of over two dozen articles and textbook chapters, and is co-editor of Pocket Emergency Medicine.

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