Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker And Poorer

“My choice for the economics book of the year…it’s the best description I have yet read of a huge economic problem that we know how to solve—but is so often misunderstood.”—David Leonhardt, New York Times

Our health care is staggeringly expensive, yet one in six Americans has no health insurance. We have some of the most skilled physicians in the world, yet one hundred thousand patients die each year from medical errors. In this gripping, eye-opening book, award-winning journalist Shannon Brownlee takes readers inside the hospital to dismantle some of our most venerated myths about American medicine. Brownlee dissects what she calls “the medical-industrial complex” and lays bare the backward economic incentives embedded in our system, revealing a stunning portrait of the care we now receive.

Nevertheless, Overtreated ultimately conveys a message of hope by reframing the debate over health care reform. It offers a way to control costs and cover the uninsured while simultaneously improving the quality of American medicine. Shannon Brownlee’s humane, intelligent, and penetrating analysis empowers readers to avoid the perils of overtreatment, as well as pointing the way to better health care for everyone.

With a new afterword offering practical advice to patients on how to navigate the health care system.

Shannon Brownlee’s stories and essays about medicine, health care, and biotechnology have appeared in such publications as The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Time. Born and raised in Honolulu, she holds a master’s degree in biology from the University of California. She is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. Brownlee lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and son.

Award-winning journalist Shannon Brownlee takes readers inside the hospital to examine the hypocrisies and dismantle some of our most venerated myths about the American medical system. Using the stories of real patients and physicians, Overtreated debunks the idea that most of medicine is based in sound science, and shows how our health care system delivers unnecessary care that is not only expensive and wasteful but can actually imperil the health of patients.

The interests of politicians and the medical-industrial complex continually trump those of patients, seducing the wealthy with unnecessary procedures and leaving the poor with haphazard access to treatment. Backward economic incentives allow patients with chronic conditions to receive ineffective care, and red tape undermines even the best-intentioned doctors. Tens of thousands of patients die each year from overtreatment.

Nevertheless, Overtreated ultimately conveys a message of hope by reframing the debate over health care reform. Americans worry about rationing—that any effort to rein in the high cost of health care will result in limited access to life-saving treatments. Covering the uninsured seems like an insurmountable problem because it will drive up costs even more. Overtreated proposes a way to control costs and cover the uninsured, while simultaneously improving the quality of American medicine. Shannon Brownlee’s humane, intelligent, and penetrating analysis empowers readers to avoid the perils of overtreatment, as well as pointing the way to better health care for everyone.

"My choice for the economics book of the year . . . It's the best description I have yet read of a huge economics problem that we know how to solve—but is so often misunderstood."—David Leonhardt, The New York Times

"My choice for the economics book of the year . . . It's the best description I have yet read of a huge economics problem that we know how to solve—but is so often misunderstood."—David Leonhardt, The New York Times

"In her persuasive Overtreated, Shannon Brownlee . . . argues that too much medicine—for many patients, much of the time—is doing serious damage to the nation's health, while also costing us an arm and a leg . . . Brownlee's larger point that we should try to cut back on unnecessary care is well taken, as are her suggestions for change, including: better coordination among doctors, a restructuring of incentives to favor preventive care, and better information for patients."—Amanda Schaffer, The Washington Post

 

"Her argument is compelling . . . [a] worthwhile and thought-provoking volume."—The Boston Globe

"A compelling and damning indictment of the way health care is organized and delivered in the richest country in the world. If Michael Moore's film Sicko exposed viewers to the excruciating dilemmas faced by people who can't access American medicine, Overtreated provides the flip side, with compelling stories of people who are injured or die because they get too much of a good thing."—Canadian Medical Association Journal

"Overtreated is a necessary, if bitter tonic . . . we desperately need an unbiased examination of the mess we're in and some substantive ideas for fixing it. Overtreated delivers on both counts . . . Brownlee uncovers some truly amazing facts [and] has given us a thoughtful push in the right direction."—The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“This book is written for a sophisticated general audience. I hope it is widely read, providing patients with the needed resolve to stop demanding that their physicians prescribe the latest procedure, poultice or potion that marketing and medical journalism foists on them . . . Brownlee’s presentation is brilliant journalism.”—Journal of the American Medical Association

“The cardiologist who found blocked arteries in nearly every patient . . . the brilliant breast cancer cure that too often killed patients . . . Brownlee uses anecdotes of medical misdeeds, mistakes, and misunderstandings to illustrate a surprising truth at the heart of American healthcare: More isn't necessarily better. Shoring up her conclusions with groundbreaking findings from a group of researchers at Dartmouth, Brownlee also points the way to workable solutions.”—O Magazine

 

“Exhaustive takedown of the U.S. health-care system . . . Overtreated eclipses Michael Moore’s reporting and eschews his polemics. By piling on facts, Brownlee shows why Americans spend so much on health care yet are in measurably poorer shape than the residents of just about every other developed nation."—Conde Nast Portfolio

“Alarming and intriguing . . . Brownlee gives each of her theme-based chapters an emotional core by rolling out a story.”—Bloomberg.com

 

"Overtreated should be read by anyone interested in health case economics."—Tyler Cowen, marginalrevolution.com

“Finally, someone willing to expose the dirty little secret of US health care. If you have insurance you will certainly get too much health care, and in this situation more is definitely not better. Shannon Brownlee's book, Overtreated, will open your eyes to the problems and point the way to the answers.”—Susan Love, M.D., author of Dr.

Shannon Brownlee’s stories and essays about medicine, health care, and biotechnology have appeared in such publications as the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, and Time. Born and raised in Honolulu, she holds a master’s degree in biology from the University of California. She is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. Brownlee lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and son.

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA
Distributor: MPS
Publication Date: 09-02-2008
Pages: 368
Measurements: 8.25in X 5.50in