3 Tips to Get to Know Your Doctor
Here is a USA Weekend piece on the type of advice I give in Critical Decisions – how to make stronger connections with your doctor.
Are Numbers a Barrier to Good Doctor-Patient Communication?
Helping patients understand their treatment choices is often no simple matter. In order for good communication to take place, doctors and patients must talk with each other in a language both parties can understand. Here is a piece in which I discuss an earnestly communicative hematologist describing the risks and benefits of treating leukemia to his patient.
Early Morning Radio Interview in Australia
Listen to this interview I conducted with a radio station in Australia. Good Q&A about Critical Decisions. Toughest part of the interview was remembering that although it was 4:30 in the afternoon my time, it was 6:30 the next morning for the Aussies!
Great Piece on Critical Decisions
Here is a well-written piece by The Global Mail discussing Critical Decisions. Take a look.
My Take on Shared Decision Making
Put simply, shared decision making is the gold standard — the sine qua non* — for how medical decisions ought to be made. The pipe medical choice is rarely a function of medical facts alone. Tough decisions require value judgments, and it is the patient’s valuesthat often determine which choice is best. An operation cannot…
Beware Overreaching Government Efforts to Detect Breast Cancer
JoAnn Pushkin’s breast cancer was diagnosed at an advanced stage because the density of her breasts obscured the tumor on her mammograms. That was shocking news to Pushkin, who only learned that her breasts were radiologically dense at the time of her diagnosis. Activated by this revelation, she has become a leading advocate of legislation,…
Autographed Copies of Critical Decisions Available
I’m happy to say that my favorite independent bookstore, Flyleaf Books, is working with me to make autographed copies of Critical Decisions available to anyone who orders through them. You can order on their website: www.flyleafbooks.com If you do, add a note to your order asking for an autographed copy Or you can order the…
Physicians, Psychopaths, and Reality T.V. Stars
Charlotte Scott had an eye for madness—for just the right amount of madness. As a booker for The Springer Show, her job was to find—and forgive me if I’m getting too technical here—minor nut jobs, the kind of people who were just unbalanced enough to make for entertaining T.V. but not so wacky that they would…
Video Introduction to Critical Decisions
Want a sneak peak into why I wrote Critical Decisions? Take a look at this 5 minute video. Feel free to send links to all your friends, so they won’t fall behind the times!
Critical Decisions is Finally Available for Public Consumption!
At long last, my new book Critical Decisions is out there, ready to reach (fingers crossed!) a wide and appreciative audience. I’m really excited about this book. It pulls together ideas that have been smoldering in my brain for two decades — research, reflections and experiences (AKA “stories”). In the book, I relate the fascinating…