Helping a friend find people to share stories for his book.

[Denzie]

I’m writing on behalf of a dear friend Richard Douglass. Richard has been asked by Cambridge Scholars to write a book about the history and evolution of the US health care system and why our way if doing medical care in the US is much more expensive than any other nation while our outcomes are usually average. He is an Emeritus Professor in Health Administration and Policy and has 54 years of experience.

One highlight of the book is to use cases to illustrate system failures to patients and communities. This includes our failure to focus on primary prevention in lieu of treatment, dependence on the most expensive drugs without always having evidence of superior efficacy, access or delays in diagnosis, issues of justice and inclusion that lead to disparities, and the relative ignorance of most people about the medical care system upon which we depend. Related issues are of interest, such as the distribution of specialists and resources that can affect decisions about where, or even if, medical care is sought.

Another issue of importance is the presence or absence of support for caregivers and the consequences of poor levels of caregiver support.

If you have had an experience that illustrates a system failure in finance, communications, inter-state insurance complications, quality of care assurance, access justice or other issues he would like to hear your story. PM me and I will connect you. He is looking for 12-20 highly representative case illustrations for the book to be published next year by Cambridge Scholars in the U.K.

[anrean]

Hi DenizieI think I have a lot of good input for your friend's book, both as a patient and from the doctor's perspective. Could you please have him email me at [e-mail] or call me- at 716 275 3211

Thank you

[Pessa in reply to anrean]

I am alive because of the excellent medical care that I receive. I am tired of all the bashing of everything American.

[anrean in reply to Pessa]

I am glad you have had positive experiences - some of us have had a combination, with the bad experiences really testing our patience and reserves.

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer in reply to Pessa]

As am I. There are still many inequalities. Some states patients have to drive 3-4 hours for a blood draw. Some peoples doctors don’t know to look for lung cancer in people who never smoked. A huge portion of the country doesn’t have access to clinical trials. Pharmaceutical companies have to let promising studies drop because they can’t fill the number of patient slots needed. What an insurance company can cover varies from state to state.

In order to fix something you have to understand where it went wrong. Denial won’t help those who don’t have access or who have been taught to fear doctors and hospitals. Nor will it help those people who believe pharmaceutical companies are purposely hiding curative treatments from them.

This is why I agreed to help my friend find people to share their stories.

[Breezecherie]

I have a complicated history with lung cancer, diagnosis, insurance, I can email my story if you're interested, if your willing to provide your email address. You can send it at [e-mail]

[Breezecherie]

You can read my medical story available on healthUnlocked