The Secrets of Medical Decision Making: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of the Health Care Machine [Paperback]

Oleg I. Reznik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

We are all patients at some time. Is the medical industry giving us the best treatment possible, at the best price? We all know that it isn't. This new book shows what goes on behind the scenes of the current medical care and how it impacts the patient.
Dr. Reznik describes actual cases from his clinical practice showing the most common paths that lead to increased patient suffering. This book offers possible solutions for outpatient, inpatient, preventive, and end-of-life care settings.

Learn about:

The Medical Box and how it affects the care you receive

When to avoid risky and uncomfortable tests

Hazards of under-treatment, over-treatment, and mistreatment

How to make an informed medical decision in your best interests

Cancer and how to approach your treatment

Planning for quality of life during end-of-life issues

Foreword by Colin P. Kopes-Kerr, MD, JD, MPH, Vice-Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine, and Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program, at University Hospital and SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY.

"The Secrets of Medical Decision Making should be read by everyone, because all of us are sometimes in need of medical care. It is an eye-opener, a call to arms and a guide."
-Robert Rich, Ph.D., author of Cancer: A Personal Challenge

"Dr. Reznik candidly exposes the conflicting interests inherent in contemporary medical practice. This empowering and insightful book is a must read for healthcare professionals and the patients they treat."
-Beth Maureen Gray, R.N., B.S.

"The Secrets of Medical Decision Making awakens the reader rather quickly with startling revelations about the lack of seriousness the health care industry has towards a society of wellness. If this book at least motivates its readers to become more involved in medical decision making when seeking treatment, it will have succeeded as a critically needed public service."
- James W. Clifton, Ph.D., LCSW

"As a Canadian and a health care provider this book frightens me. This book lays out what our country is headed for if we privatize health care in Canada. A must read for everyone working, or accessing, health care in North America and for anyone who has any doubts that we must take drastic action to preserve Universal Health Care in Canada."
- Ian Landry, MA, MSW, RSW

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I recommend The Secrets of Medical Decision Making to all patients interested in their health and keeping healthy." -- Lillian Cauldwell, noted author

"Motivates its readers to become more involved in medical decision making when seeking treatment, a critically needed public service." -- Rev. James W. Clifton, Ph.D., LCSW

"Reznik candidly exposes the conflicting interests inherent in contemporary medical practice. A must read for healthcare professionals and patients." -- Beth Maureen Gray, R.N., B.S.

"Secrets of Medical Decision Making is a must read for everyone working, or accessing, health care in North America." -- Ian Landry, MA, MSW, RSW (Nova Scotia)

"This book should be read by everyone, because all of us are sometimes in need of medical care." -- Bob Rich, Ph.D., Author of Cancer: A Personal Challenge

From the Author

I introduce a concept of a Medical Box—forces that have a stronger hold on most physicians than the heavy chains of prison shackles. Here are, what I call, the four corners of the Medical Box:

Fear of litigation.

Financial and time pressure.

Guidelines of Health Care authorities.

The current Medical Model—disease oriented thinking.

The text illustrates how each of these is played out in everyday patient care. A number of practical recommendations are offered. The most important theme, overarching the entire book, is empowering prospective patients to use their own common sense and trust their own judgment in making medical decisions about their medical care.

A foreword to the book is written by Colin P. Kopes-Kerr, MD, JD, MPH, who is a Vice Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine, and Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program, at University Hospital and SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY.

A blurb is written by an Australian psychologist and an award winning author, Dr. Bob Rich.

This book is of vital concern to everyone in the USA. It explains complex concepts in a language the average person will understand, and enables the reader to deal with the medical establishment in an intelligent way.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Loving Healing Press (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932690174
• ISBN-13: 978-1932690170
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,096,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a Clinical Instructor of Family Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University department of Family Medicine, working at OHSU Richmond Clinic. I see adults, children, do low-risk obstetrics and hospital work, run a mind-body medicine clinic, teach residents and medical students.

I was born in Odessa, Ukraine and came to the US with my family in 1988. Two years later I was accepted to New York University from which I received a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience in 1995. In 2000 I graduated Medical School at SUNY Downstate, and went on to a Family Practice Residency Program at SUNY Stony Brook, which I completed in 2003, receiving a Resident-Teacher Award.

A vital part of my education was my nine-year apprenticeship with a teacher of mind-body integrative medicine, Madame Colette Aboulker-Muscat (1909-2003). Colette practiced mind-body integrative medicine for seventy years. She was a master of mental techniques that can effect profound changes in the mind and body. It is with her that I witnessed and learned how to facilitate profound changes in the mind and body through the use of creative imagination.

I am certified by The American Institute for Mental Imagery (a post-graduate training center in New York City, which teaches this method) in Imagination, Mental Imagery, and Phenomenology.

I spend most of my out-of-office time reading both conventional and mind-body literature, preparing lectures on mind-body topics, and writing. I enjoy spending my free time with my wife and our two boys, going to the park, beach, or just hanging out in the back yard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Primum Non Nocere", July 29, 2006

By 

Lee Gooden "OALA" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secrets of Medical Decision Making: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of the Health Care Machine (Paperback)

House, E.R. and Grays Anatomy are not realistic portrayals of the American medical system. According to Dr. Resnik physicians are so afraid of litigation that any deviation from pre-set protocols to treat the patient as an individual and not the so-called disease is unusual. Doctors like Greg House, John Carter would be immediately dismissed and find it impossible to acquire mal-practice insurance. It is chilling to think that the media inspired idea of the omnipotent good-hearted doctor like Marcus Welby or reassuring throaty voiced Dr. Kelly Bracket from Emergency is so false.
When sickness strikes us or a loved one, we expect that in this technological twenty-first century age of marvels that just like our cars or appliances that have `crapped the bed':
A. We can be fixed with some kind of medication or therapy.
Or
B. Our parts can be removed and replaced and we can continuer our lives already in progress and unabated.

Doctor Reznik has pried our heads from the sand, removed our rose-colored glasses and has cut off our source of pap from the glass teat. He has taught us to advocate for ourselves and ask questions, even while the insurance and pharmaceutical behemoths perpetuate the myth that an American homeostasis of mental and physical health is only one more pill, test or procedure away.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Informative!, January 13, 2006

By 

Marj "Marj" (Detroit MI area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secrets of Medical Decision Making: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of the Health Care Machine (Paperback)

Dr Reznik has written a highly informative book that Americans need to read for the knowledge that most of us don't have. In today's constantly changing medical world, we need all the help that we can get. Many thanks to Dr Reznik for sharing with us.

(posted for a friend in Cicero, NY, not able to access the website)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important, Enlightening, Instructive, an Eye Opener, May 26, 2006

By 

Richard R. Blake (Bridgman, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Secrets of Medical Decision Making: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of the Health Care Machine (Paperback)

Oleg I. Reznik M.D. has coined the term "Medical Box" to illustrate the boxed-in thinking imposed on physicians. He calls the four corners of the box: fear of litigation, financial and time pressure, guidelines of Health Care authorities, and the current Medical Model, disease oriented thinking.

Dr. Reznik uses vignettes from actual medical records, his own experience, and from the experiences of his colleagues to further illustrate the implications of the obstacles placed on the physician and the medical profession as a whole.

Each vignette reflects the perspective of the physician, the patient and family, sometimes the societal, and finally the spiritual/philosophical view as it relates to treatment, suffering, guilt, and in the final preparation of facing death.

Reznik supports the belief that the patient should assume more responsibility in learning the options available to him, the side effects that may result, and the expected results of taking action. He suggests asking these three questions. What is the doctor trying to find out from the testing? How will this additional information affect medical management and prognosis? What does the testing entail? What are the risks of test or procedure?

"Secrets of Medical Decision Making" freely uses detailed descriptions of medical treatments, tests, and procedures written in a layman's language. Rezik has produced an outstanding work. This is a guide to help patients avoid becoming victims of the health care machine. It is truly an eye opener. Dr. Rezik is well qualified to write this book. He is a board certified family physician. This study is an important addition to studies on patient advocacy. Rezik has done thorough research and has provided comprehensive reference documentation. Physicians, medical practitioners, and patients will all benefit from reading this book. It is both, enlightening, and instructive. This is a book to be read and read again.