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Review of The Price We Pay by Marty Makary
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BookBrowse Reviews The Price We Pay by Marty Makary
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The Price We Pay
Butterfly
Yellow
by Thanhha Lai,
Daniel Suarez
by Marty Makary
Voted 2019
Best Young
Adult Award
Winner by
What Broke American Health Care--and How to
Fix It
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Published:
Sep 2019, 288 pages
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Book Reviewed by:
Tara Mcnabb
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Evening in
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by Lucia Berlin
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The In-Betweens
by Mira Ptacin
In this daring exposé of American healthcare, Dr. Marty
Makary hits the road in search of answers to why medical
costs are skyrocketing and leaving thousands of Americans
in debt.
The Hippocratic Oath is one of the oldest affidavits in history, originating
in ancient Greece. Written by Hippocrates between the fifth and third
centuries BC, it is still used in medical schools by students upon
graduation as a sacred oath of ethics; one of the key promises new
physicians swear to follow is to "do no harm." According to Dr. Marty
Makary, however, this promise is becoming increasingly forgotten in the
States. In his exposé of the nation's for-profit healthcare system,
1 ofUnited
3
The Price We Pay, Makary clearly demonstrates that a disturbing
regimen of overtreating and overcharging has overtaken American
"A fascinating
history of an
American
community of
Spiritualists... a
fabulous read."
—Elizabeth Gilbert
Reader Reviews
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12/28/19, 2019
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hospitals, fueled by the increased privatization of medical services in
A chronicle of rare
Review
of decades
The Price
We
Marty Makary
recent
(for
a Pay
briefby
comparison
of American healthcare https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index...
to other
power and humanity
countries, see Beyond the Book).
that proves the better
spirits of our nature
Ahead of writing the book, the author traveled the country, from
can thrive against any odds.
Pennsylvania to New Mexico, in order to hear from average Americans
about their experiences with the healthcare system. He also interviewed
Enter
medical professionals about their beliefs about the industry, which
tended to differ dramatically from those held by patients. Again and
again he found individuals who were victims of medical establishments'
unethical billing practices and subpar care, and professionals who were
out of touch with the needs of those they served. The work successfully
links patients' frustrations, despite their geographic distance from each
other.
Makary's research shows that medical professionals often are unaware
of their employers' exploitative policies, much less the impact such
policies can have on people's lives. For example, many American
healthcare providers demand hospitals file lawsuits against patients who
cannot afford to pay steep bills, then garnish those patients' wages.
When Makary shared information about this with other medical
professionals, he found a shocking lack of awareness across the industry.
Many had little idea about how widespread the practice is:
Wordplay
The Big Holiday Wordplay
Enter Now
Again and again, I observed this irony of hospital leaders appalled
by the idea of lawsuits filed against patients without realizing their
own hospitals engaged in just such predatory practices. Clearly,
there is a disconnect.
Later, he convincingly argues that such "predatory practices" have
gotten so out of control that many people avoid getting care because
they are terrified of receiving a bill they cannot pay.
As the book unfolds, it becomes apparent that more and more
Americans are losing trust in a medical system that is more concerned
with making money than helping people. Makary finds an extreme
example of this in a large Amish community in Pennsylvania. Through his
interviews with community members, he discovered an astonishing fact:
many in the town take an Amtrak to Mexico when someone in their
family gets seriously ill. They find the six-day train ride to a foreign
country worth the arduous journey, insisting that hospitals in Mexico are
more affordable and transparent. Makary stresses that such cases
should be a call to action for doctors, nurses, and hospital leaders to
hold their profession accountable and protest for more equitable
healthcare nationwide.
Books that
entertain,
engage
& enlighten
As a surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, Makary brings a sharp
authority to his writing that is both illuminating and entertaining. His
remarkable acuity shines throughout the text, and riveting descriptions
of medical procedures are common. There are also surprising moments
of sarcasm that poke fun at today's tech-obsessed culture: "(For young
readers, ground mail was a way people sent written documents, like
letters, from the 1600s through the late twentieth century.)"
There is a satisfying message of hope present despite Makary's sobering
findings. He often highlights his profession's movers and shakers,
doctors and students who are fed up with 'the game.' These bright
minds are coming up with their own solutions to America's exploitative
healthcare system, and it's nothing short of exhilarating to learn about
their efforts. As a reader, I was especially moved by the author's own
determination to help change the industry. He and his team have set up
projects aimed at making healthcare more affordable, transparent, and
accountable. One such example is Improving Wisely, which is a database
aiming to identify areas of overuse, underuse, or misuse in treatment
using a physician-led, consensus process.
With so much bitterness surrounding our country's medical system, The
Price We Pay offers a much-needed diagnosis of what exactly is wrong
with it, and imagines bold solutions to what we can do about it.
Reviewed by Tara Mcnabb
2 of 3
This review is from the November 13, 2019 issue of BookBrowse
Recommends. Click here to go to this issue.
12/28/19, 7:28 PM
Review of The Price We Pay by Marty Makary
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Beyond the Book:
Healthcare: U.S. vs. Europe
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12/28/19, 7:28 PM