Books to Borrow Claysburg Area Public Library Recommends

Insider's Guide to Quality, Affordable Healthcare: Practical Strategies to Navigate our Complex System and Save Money

By Lawrence Lazarus, MD and Jeffrey Foster, MD

These two seasoned doctors have put together a book with practical advice on how to navigate the healthcare system and keep costs down. They teach you how to ensure you are getting the best quality healthcare, the right kind of medical professional care, reduce your out-of-pocket expenses and help older family members cope with end of life issues.

This book helps you understand how the healthcare system works so you can :

• Find the best doctors and specialists and lower your cost

• Prevent medical errors (which account for more deaths than car accidents)

• Get a second opinion which can save your life.

• Understand your insurance options

• Secure a healthcare advocate ("guardian angel")

• Alternative or complementary treatments

• Your rights as a patient

The doctors emphasize the importance of having your own Personal Health Record. As you are referred to other physicians, specialist or hospitals, it is important that you maintain up-to-date records of your medical history and prescriptions. They recommend you use one of the websites available such as http://www.webmd.com/phr or http://www.health vault.com. You can print it out or upload it to your phone.

When should you get a second opinion? The doctors recommend:

• When you have a serious or life-threatening illness

• Your illness is not improving

• A diagnosis is not forthcoming

• Unresolved communication problems with your doctor

• Your doctor is not a specialist in your condition

• Your doctor says there is nothing more that can be done

• Your family urges you to get a second opinion

• Your doctor wants to make a referral

• The recommended treatment is risky or experimental

The last chapter talks about the future of healthcare. It discusses increased personalized medicine using genetic testing and pharmacogenomics, which is choosing the drugs and doses that would work best given a person's genetic makeup. There are new technologies which are changing the way we receive care.

The book is very easy to read and has practical examples of each point. At the end of a chapter, the main points are summarized. For more information, you may visit http://www.QualityAffordableHealthcare.net and get updated news and ask the authors questions.