Do You Care About Your Health? Then You Need to Read 'The Treatment Trap'

With health care reform a prime objective of the Obama administration, the subject matter of The Treatment Trap is a compelling component in the national debate. Taking advantage of Rosemary Gibson's knowledge gleaned from extended experience in the field of medical care and Janardan Singh's similar knowledge but from a financial perspective, the authors explore the most neglected issue in American medicine today: the overuse of medical care, including needless surgery and other invasive procedures, out-of-control x-ray imaging, profligate testing, and other wasteful practices that have become routine among too many American doctors. Their combined reporting and analysis concentrates on the human aspects of this disturbing trend in health care, with personal experiences that reflect poorly on hospitals as well as physicians. They show how money spent for questionable and even useless care is diverting major funds that could be better used to treat patients who are genuinely sick and sometimes cannot afford the extravagant charges of the American health-care system. Their suggestions for reforming the delivery of health care, and their cautions to individual consumers about how to deal with situations they may encounter, make The Treatment Trap essential reading for medical care consumers, health-care professionals, and policymakers alike.

Publishers Weekly: "A Welcome Guide" for Patients

Great Publishers Weekly review of the book: "Here's a book that might do more than health reform to get readers to question doctors' recommendations . . . offer[s] tales of patients who have been horrifically - sometimes fatally - ill-advised by doctors to have unnecessary medical procedures with unexpected complications. . ."

The authors cite experts who say the problem is systemic - doctors get paid for procedures - but suggest that patients can protect themselves by becoming informed consumers . . . A welcome guide in a process that too often depends on a patient's leap of faith."

Read the entire review

What People Are Saying about "The Treatment Trap"

Applause for The Treatment Trap: How the Overuse of Medical Care Is Wrecking Your Health and What You Can Do to Prevent It by Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh

"A wake-up call for Americans." -- Dr. Christine Cassel, President, American Board of Internal Medicine

"This is a 'buyer beware' book for prospective medical care consumers. The examples of patient harm are individually important: together they create a tapestry of practice patterns that should give you the courage to constructively challenge the recommendations you get from your doctor." -- Paul O'Neill, former U.S. Treasury Secretary

"Combining facts with compelling stories, Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Singh put a human face on the shameful statistics of unnecessary medical care. But, more than just an expose, The Treatment Trap challenges the core of medical professionalism: putting the patient's interest first." -- Lucian Leape, M.D., Adjunct Professor, Harvard School of Public Health

"This book vividly depicts many of the ways in which health services are overused in the current health-care system at a time when candor, transparency and thoughtfulness are most needed. We will not achieve meaningful or lasting health reform until we solve the overuse problem." -- Mark R. Chassin, M.D., President, The Joint Commission

"Gibson and Singh have done us all a great service. The Treatment Trap is a frank account of what can happen if we assume that more treatment is always better. The good news is that patients can take steps to avoid becoming victims." -- Marjorie Ginsberg, Executive Director, Center for Healthcare Decisions

"The book is a must-read for Congress and the White House. The authors show that we are paying a steep price for overtreating patients." -- Margaret O'Kane, President, National Committee for Quality Assurance

"A powerful, poignant, apolitical and sobering must-read." -- Jennse Chin Hansen, R.N., former CEO/Executive Director, On Lok Senior Health Care Services

"Patients and consumers are woefully uninformed about the epidemic of overtreatment that is part and parcel of health care today. By exposing the human suffering and huge cost of unnecessary care, this book challenges everyone. It warrants serious reading and focused attention. -- Gerry Shea, Assistant to the President, AFL-CIO

"Gibson and Singh are courageous messengers who bring a light side of health care that has long been kept in the darkness. It is a wake-up call for consumers and health-care providers alike." -- Connie Barden, R.N., Past President, American Association of Critical Care Nurses