What Your Doctor Won't (or Can't) Tell You [Hardcover]

Evan S. Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2004

An internist and cardiologist tells you what others may be afraid to-and what can save your life: where to look, what to ask, and what to avoid when you need quality health care for yourself and your family.

Dr. Evan Levine, a New York cardiologist, believes he has a responsibility. The practice of medicine in America today has deteriorated and everyone must look harder to find good health care. Dr. Levine wants to give people the facts that can really help them-the truth about the scams doctors, hospitals, and drug and insurance companies are running, all in an effort to put profits ahead of healing patients; and the vital tips we need to find the appropriate general physician, specialist, and hospital in our area.

How do you choose a good doctor? Check for his or her board certification, medical schools, and rankings; and never accept a doctor assigned automatically by a hospital. How do you find the right hospital-where things will be done professionally and correctly? Go to a university hospital, especially during an emergency; make sure an ER doctor calls your primary physician; and always question a test being administered. Levine's book is chock-full of essential information on second opinions, clinical studies, and the tricks of the trade that doctors, hospitals, and drug and insurance companies use to maximize their profits-at the expense of your health-and your wallet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Levine, a practicing internist and cardiologist, is "disturbed about the direction and the deterioration of modern medicine in this country" and has written this book "to tell you what you can do, as a medical consumer, to get the very best treatment." To that end, he offers a mixed bag of useless and useful information, tempered with personal anecdotes. His topical chapters end with summary lists of advice, which, though enlightening, aren't consistently practical. Intelligent remarks on how to choose a doctor mix with obvious statements, such as "Make sure the physician accepts your insurance"; and Levine's advice to "get out" if you find yourself in a substandard hospital may be unrealistic. However, the book also contains some pertinent and sensible advice, including Levine's counsel for patients to bring their medical records with them and keep a family member by their bedside. One of his best recommendations is that "it never hurts at least to ask the nurse if there is a doctor that she or he would recommend," since "nurses almost always know which doctor is good and which is not." And Levine's counsel on getting a second opinion can be lifesaving. In regards to the pharmaceutical industry's rampant reign, Levine says, "We've all heard of Americans purchasing medications abroad, and for some I guess it is an alternative." Otherwise, he advises, "buy generic." Perhaps this uneven book's greatest contribution will be to generate a grassroots uprising that "will be the beginning of the end of the greatest rip-off ever imposed on the American consumer," i.e., our current health care system.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Evan Scott Levine, M.D., has been a practicing cardiologist and internist in New York for twelve years, with offices in the Bronx and in Yonkers, New York. He is affiliated with Montefiore Medical Center, where he is a clinical assistant professor in medicine.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1st Printing edition (February 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399151508
• ISBN-13: 978-0399151507
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bottom Line: You're Your Own Doctor, April 12, 2004

By 

J. Marren "jtm497" (Glen Ridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Your Doctor Won't (or Can't) Tell You (Hardcover)

This excellent book only underscores what we're all learning the hard way--the days of putting complete trust in your doctor are over. Levine has written a pretty scary book. He starts with what happens in the hospital--the standard procedures to make life easier for an overworked, undertrained staff that can result in deadly infections, the dangers of the emergency room, the perilous journey from your room to your x-ray or a lab. Levine then transitions to your doctor's office, and details the many ways you can be talked into unnecessary tests, medications or procedures. Needless to say the pharmaceutical industry takes a beating, as Levine describes how doctors are pressured into prescribing new drugs when older, cheaper generics are just as good if not better.
The bottom line is that each of us is responsible for our own care, and luckily with the internet we have the tools we need to make informed decisions. If I can sum up Levine's advice in one word, it's question, question, question!
My only problem with this book really lies with the publisher--it badly needs a good index! The book is chockful of good information especially in the area of cardiology, Levine's specialty, but going back and finding it would be a chore. Maybe in the paperback....

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Dr. Evan Levine, February 22, 2004

By 

Evan Levine (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What Your Doctor Won't (or Can't) Tell You (Hardcover)

I wish I didn't have to leave a rating, but since I did I certainly wasn't going to leave a bad one or write one under a pseudonym. I'm trying to do the right thing here, and make all of you aware that this health care system stinks! It stinks for the patients and it stinks for the good doctors out there. I try to present a well balanced review of the system and give all of you advice on how to get decent care.

The Publisher's Weekly review feels that it is impossible to ever leave a hospital that is substandard, obviously this "writer" doesn't know what's going on out there. I've helped patients get out of these hospitals for years,and give actual case stories in the book. They also think that it is obvious that eveyone knows only to go to a doctor that accepts your insurance. But I'm sure many of you reading this have have made trips to the doctor's office not knowing if the doctor took your insurance or worse gotten care from doctors who informed you afterwards (sometimes by a staggering bill) that they did not accept your insurance.

I want all of you to know that I wrote this book because so many people (first family , then friends, and friends of friends) came to me wondering if they were getting good care. Too often the were not!

I hope this helps.

Evan S. Levine
PS, e-mail me at evanlevinemd.com if you have questions.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shocking and revealing!, September 24, 2004

By 

P. GOODMAN - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Your Doctor Won't (or Can't) Tell You (Hardcover)

I was shocked to learn that drug companies and medical suppliers "court" and "pay" (my quotes) doctors to use their products.

The author explains the process behind the FDA approving a drug and that some doctors have a conflict of interest while taking part in the approval process.