New Year, New Self: Surviving Your Doctors by Richard Klein, MD Book Review and Giveaway

Health is always a top pick on our New Year's resolution list, so I am very happy to present this book to you today, as it might be helpful to you!


"Every year at least 100,000 patients die in American hospitals because of malpractice. You might want to read that statistic again. It is more than the number of soldiers who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. (that makes you think for a second doesn't it?) And that figure doesn't represent those who are hurt or maimed, which is probably two or three times that number," notes Dr. Richard Klein.


Synopsis: SURVIVING YOUR DOCTORS: Why the Medical System is Dangerous to Your Health and How to Get Through it Alive is a timely, and much needed, guide to getting the best care possible out of a flawed system, offering patients a prescription for maneuvering their way through the healthcare maze. 

The book thoroughly addresses all aspects of the health care system with including such topics as:
- How to deal with the 'organized crime' of insurance providers and plans;
- How to protect your health at the doctor's office;
- Does your kid really need that shot?;
- Prescription and over the counter drugs, and the need to beware of the "spoonful of sugar that makes the 'medicine' go down";
- And how to successfully handle and live through every procedure from general blood work to invasive surgery.


Through a series of real life stories of medical mishaps, anecdotes, and checklists, SURVIVINGYOUR DOCTORS provides patients with in-depth explanations about the system and guidance in both recognizing their own health care needs and talking to their health care providers about those needs.


Some examples of the advice Dr. Klein provides includes:
-- Be friendly to all health care staff despite fear of the outcome, or anger due to administrative difficulties within the office. Negativity breeds negativity. Your Momma told you this, and you know it's true. Even if you are complaining, be nice and understanding, and you will get farther with the people who are controlling how long you have to wait, or who can help you when there is a problem with your bill!
-- Make a list of all symptoms and questions to streamline the length of your visit. We frequently forget them, when our doctor asks their own questions. By having a checklist, you can make sure you tell/ask your doctor everything.
-- Do research beforehand; know what your doctor should be looking at, and make sure he/she looks at it. You know your family's health history, the doctor doesn't. So let them know about a history that might be affecting your health now.
-- Ask all questions up front (before the doctor has mentally moved on to the next patient), even if the questions seem redundant, irrelevant or silly. This means BEFORE he/she stands up to leave. Ask while they are talking to you, and looking AT YOUR file.
-- Question your doctor's diagnoses and opinions."do not blindly follow orders". Doctors are human, not computers. If you don't provide them with all your symptoms, or they don't ask the right questions, you might get a wrong diagnosis. Yes, 'Google Doctor' is not the best way to diagnosis yourself. But if you have an idea of different treatments, or ailments, then you can ask about them, and the questions might trigger your doctor to think differently about what is wrong with you.
-- Be your child's advocate- know when antibiotics SHOULD be prescribed, and what alternative treatments may be better for your child.  Question what is being given to your child, and WHY. You got them this far, it is up to you to make sure they get correct medical treatment as well!
-- Get a second opinion! Most insurance policies DO cover second opinion appointments! They want to be sure before you cost them alot of money too! And it's not just for diagnoses!  Your pharmacist can be your best friend. Sometimes they are more apt to know of possible drug interactions and side effects, because they know more about you- like you work construction and are in the sun alot, which can interfere with some antibiotics! My pharmacist once warned me that a side effect was severe migraines, because he knew I used migraine medicine, and suggested a different medicine. The doctor agreed and happily, it worked just as well as the first choice AND was cheaper! 
   Did you know you should have TWO readings done on your mammograms? I never gave it much thought, but at my last mammogram, they did this. I received one result while I was still there, then they had a second reading by the radiologist specialist, whose results I got a week later. After reading this book I was glad my gyn uses this Women's Center!
-- Have morning procedures or surgeries. It makes perfect sense- surgery/procedure rooms are more sterile in the morning! The doctor and his team will be more alert and reactive. Infection from germs from a previous case are your number one worry!
-- Know your insurance policy/terms. While your doctor's office typically has an employee there to get referrals and permissions from insurance companies, they are busy dealing with companies for ALL their patients! If you know what is covered, or not, when the doctor suggests it, you might be able to make a diagnosis via a different route that IS covered by your insurance, and that will save you literally thousands of dollars. 


All in all this is a good book, that is you are not aware of the inner workings of the medical/insurance fields, will be an eye opener! There is alot of really practical advise that will have you rethinking your visit to your doctor's office! I highly recommend this book as a resource for your family!


About the Author: Richard S. Klein M.D., is a practicing physician specializing in internal medicine and infectious diseases. An associate professor of medicine, Dr. Klein also teaches at New York Medical College. He is the author of From Anecdote to Antidote


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Disclosure / Disclaimer: I was sent this book, free of charge, for review purposes, by newman Communications. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.