Author: Lee Lipsenthal
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780978532116
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
The system of medicine, world-wide, is in a state of rapid change. This has left physicians in a state of anxiety, fatigue and even burnout. Finding Balance in a Medical Life is the culmination of the authors years of working with large physician groups, evaluating physician health research and delivering workshops to physicians and their families. It is intended to help physicians, healthcare professionals and their families to understand how they find themselves 'stuck' in their work lives and even in their personal relationships. It explores the ramifications of the physician personality structure and helps the reader to analyze their own personality. It clarifies the effect of medical training and practice on the physicians' health and relationships. It teaches the reader various tools and techniques to manage stress, enhance performance, and improve communication as well as how to plan their futures in by identifying their life purpose. About the Author Lee Lipsenthal, M.D., ABHM is a recognized leader, teacher and pioneer in the field of provider wellness. He is an internist by training and is internationally known for his research work with Dr. Dean Ornish, in preventive cardiology. He is also well known in the field of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Lipsenthal is a member of the American Medical Association Physician Well-being Planning Committee and has authored many professional and popular publications on healthcare provider wellness medicine. He is a frequently invited workshop presenter and speaker at healthcare conferences in the U.S. and world-wide. "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is an eloquent, potent way of enhancing awareness and promoting healing in ourselves, ourfamilies, and our patients. It is a call to action that may help you save a very important life. Yours." - Dean Ornish, M.D., Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is distilled from the author's experience over many years of teaching physicians about managing stress, improving performance, and increasing connection with life s purpose. I know you will enjoy it and find it useful." - Andrew Weil, MD "Lee Lipsenthal brings tremendous insights into the stresses and strains of being a physician. Put down your medical journal and pick up this book; it may be the most important read of your life." - Steve McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, Hill Physicians Medical Group
Finding Balance in a Medical Life
Author: Lee Lipsenthal
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780978532116
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
The system of medicine, world-wide, is in a state of rapid change. This has left physicians in a state of anxiety, fatigue and even burnout. Finding Balance in a Medical Life is the culmination of the authors years of working with large physician groups, evaluating physician health research and delivering workshops to physicians and their families. It is intended to help physicians, healthcare professionals and their families to understand how they find themselves 'stuck' in their work lives and even in their personal relationships. It explores the ramifications of the physician personality structure and helps the reader to analyze their own personality. It clarifies the effect of medical training and practice on the physicians' health and relationships. It teaches the reader various tools and techniques to manage stress, enhance performance, and improve communication as well as how to plan their futures in by identifying their life purpose. About the Author Lee Lipsenthal, M.D., ABHM is a recognized leader, teacher and pioneer in the field of provider wellness. He is an internist by training and is internationally known for his research work with Dr. Dean Ornish, in preventive cardiology. He is also well known in the field of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Lipsenthal is a member of the American Medical Association Physician Well-being Planning Committee and has authored many professional and popular publications on healthcare provider wellness medicine. He is a frequently invited workshop presenter and speaker at healthcare conferences in the U.S. and world-wide. "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is an eloquent, potent way of enhancing awareness and promoting healing in ourselves, ourfamilies, and our patients. It is a call to action that may help you save a very important life. Yours." - Dean Ornish, M.D., Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is distilled from the author's experience over many years of teaching physicians about managing stress, improving performance, and increasing connection with life s purpose. I know you will enjoy it and find it useful." - Andrew Weil, MD "Lee Lipsenthal brings tremendous insights into the stresses and strains of being a physician. Put down your medical journal and pick up this book; it may be the most important read of your life." - Steve McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, Hill Physicians Medical Group
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780978532116
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
The system of medicine, world-wide, is in a state of rapid change. This has left physicians in a state of anxiety, fatigue and even burnout. Finding Balance in a Medical Life is the culmination of the authors years of working with large physician groups, evaluating physician health research and delivering workshops to physicians and their families. It is intended to help physicians, healthcare professionals and their families to understand how they find themselves 'stuck' in their work lives and even in their personal relationships. It explores the ramifications of the physician personality structure and helps the reader to analyze their own personality. It clarifies the effect of medical training and practice on the physicians' health and relationships. It teaches the reader various tools and techniques to manage stress, enhance performance, and improve communication as well as how to plan their futures in by identifying their life purpose. About the Author Lee Lipsenthal, M.D., ABHM is a recognized leader, teacher and pioneer in the field of provider wellness. He is an internist by training and is internationally known for his research work with Dr. Dean Ornish, in preventive cardiology. He is also well known in the field of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Lipsenthal is a member of the American Medical Association Physician Well-being Planning Committee and has authored many professional and popular publications on healthcare provider wellness medicine. He is a frequently invited workshop presenter and speaker at healthcare conferences in the U.S. and world-wide. "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is an eloquent, potent way of enhancing awareness and promoting healing in ourselves, ourfamilies, and our patients. It is a call to action that may help you save a very important life. Yours." - Dean Ornish, M.D., Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is distilled from the author's experience over many years of teaching physicians about managing stress, improving performance, and increasing connection with life s purpose. I know you will enjoy it and find it useful." - Andrew Weil, MD "Lee Lipsenthal brings tremendous insights into the stresses and strains of being a physician. Put down your medical journal and pick up this book; it may be the most important read of your life." - Steve McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, Hill Physicians Medical Group
Advanced Medical Life Support
Author: National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (U.S.)
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett
ISBN: 9781284196115
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"NAEMT's Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) course is the first EMS education program that fully addresses how to best assess and manage the most common medical crises in patients, offering a "think outside the box" methodology. It is for all levels of practitioners with a strong commitment to patient care, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and physicians"--
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett
ISBN: 9781284196115
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"NAEMT's Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) course is the first EMS education program that fully addresses how to best assess and manage the most common medical crises in patients, offering a "think outside the box" methodology. It is for all levels of practitioners with a strong commitment to patient care, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and physicians"--
Your Money or Your Life
Author: David M. Cutler
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199839743
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
The problems of medical care confront us daily: a bureaucracy that makes a trip to the doctor worse than a trip to the dentist, doctors who can't practice medicine the way they choose, more than 40 million people without health insurance. "Medical care is in crisis," we are repeatedly told, and so it is. Barely one in five Americans thinks the medical system works well. Enter David M. Cutler, a Harvard economist who served on President Clinton's health care task force and later advised presidential candidate Bill Bradley. One of the nation's leading experts on the subject, Cutler argues in Your Money or Your Life that health care has in fact improved exponentially over the last fifty years, and that the successes of our system suggest ways in which we might improve care, make the system easier to deal with, and extend coverage to all Americans. Cutler applies an economic analysis to show that our spending on medicine is well worth it--and that we could do even better by spending more. Further, millions of people with easily manageable diseases, from hypertension to depression to diabetes, receive either too much or too little care because of inefficiencies in the way we reimburse care, resulting in poor health and in some cases premature death. The key to improving the system, Cutler argues, is to change the way we organize health care. Everyone must be insured for the medical system to perform well, and payments should be based on the quality of services provided not just on the amount of cutting and poking performed. Lively and compelling, Your Money or Your Life offers a realistic yet rigorous economic approach to reforming health care--one that promises to break through the stalemate of failed reform.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199839743
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
The problems of medical care confront us daily: a bureaucracy that makes a trip to the doctor worse than a trip to the dentist, doctors who can't practice medicine the way they choose, more than 40 million people without health insurance. "Medical care is in crisis," we are repeatedly told, and so it is. Barely one in five Americans thinks the medical system works well. Enter David M. Cutler, a Harvard economist who served on President Clinton's health care task force and later advised presidential candidate Bill Bradley. One of the nation's leading experts on the subject, Cutler argues in Your Money or Your Life that health care has in fact improved exponentially over the last fifty years, and that the successes of our system suggest ways in which we might improve care, make the system easier to deal with, and extend coverage to all Americans. Cutler applies an economic analysis to show that our spending on medicine is well worth it--and that we could do even better by spending more. Further, millions of people with easily manageable diseases, from hypertension to depression to diabetes, receive either too much or too little care because of inefficiencies in the way we reimburse care, resulting in poor health and in some cases premature death. The key to improving the system, Cutler argues, is to change the way we organize health care. Everyone must be insured for the medical system to perform well, and payments should be based on the quality of services provided not just on the amount of cutting and poking performed. Lively and compelling, Your Money or Your Life offers a realistic yet rigorous economic approach to reforming health care--one that promises to break through the stalemate of failed reform.
What Kind of Life
Author: Daniel Callahan
Publisher: What Kind of Life
ISBN: 9780878405732
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
From the author of Setting Limits comes a challenging exploration of the proper goals of medicine in our rapidly changing society--a work destined to spark debate and influence policy for years to come.
Publisher: What Kind of Life
ISBN: 9780878405732
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
From the author of Setting Limits comes a challenging exploration of the proper goals of medicine in our rapidly changing society--a work destined to spark debate and influence policy for years to come.
You Bet Your Life
Author: Paul A Offit
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541620380
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
One of America’s top physicians traces the history of risk in medicine—with powerful lessons for today Every medical decision—whether to have chemotherapy, an X-ray, or surgery—is a risk, no matter which way you choose. In You Bet Your Life, physician Paul A. Offit argues that, from the first blood transfusions four hundred years ago to the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine, risk has been essential to the discovery of new treatments. More importantly, understanding the risks is crucial to whether, as a society or as individuals, we accept them. Told in Offit’s vigorous and rigorous style, You Bet Your Life is an entertaining history of medicine. But it also lays bare the tortured relationships between intellectual breakthroughs, political realities, and human foibles. Our pandemic year has shown us, with its debates over lockdowns, masks, and vaccines, how easy it is to get everything wrong. You Bet Your Life is an essential read for getting the future a bit more right.
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541620380
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
One of America’s top physicians traces the history of risk in medicine—with powerful lessons for today Every medical decision—whether to have chemotherapy, an X-ray, or surgery—is a risk, no matter which way you choose. In You Bet Your Life, physician Paul A. Offit argues that, from the first blood transfusions four hundred years ago to the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine, risk has been essential to the discovery of new treatments. More importantly, understanding the risks is crucial to whether, as a society or as individuals, we accept them. Told in Offit’s vigorous and rigorous style, You Bet Your Life is an entertaining history of medicine. But it also lays bare the tortured relationships between intellectual breakthroughs, political realities, and human foibles. Our pandemic year has shown us, with its debates over lockdowns, masks, and vaccines, how easy it is to get everything wrong. You Bet Your Life is an essential read for getting the future a bit more right.
U.S. Health in International Perspective
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309264146
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 421
Book Description
The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309264146
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 421
Book Description
The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author: Rebecca Skloot
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307589382
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386
Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Independent (U.K.) • Times (U.K.) • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307589382
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386
Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Independent (U.K.) • Times (U.K.) • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
Life Alert
Author: Dede Korkut
Publisher: Winepress Publishing
ISBN: 9781579213343
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Life Alert provides solid ammunition for Christians, missionaries, and converted Muslims with medical evidence proving that Muhammad s prophetic visions were really nothing more than epileptic seizures. This book provides examination of the following areas: Elementary neurology in layman s terminology Muhammad s medical history and its meaning Actual case studies of others with the same physical problems as Muhammad and their spiritual experiences How his visions came to be accepted as revelations from Allah The implications of these findings on the Islam religion Illustrated with brain charts, photographs, and diagrams, conclusive medical evidence shows the truth about the founder of the Muslim religion and allows followers to objectively study this prophet and draw their own conclusions.
Publisher: Winepress Publishing
ISBN: 9781579213343
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Life Alert provides solid ammunition for Christians, missionaries, and converted Muslims with medical evidence proving that Muhammad s prophetic visions were really nothing more than epileptic seizures. This book provides examination of the following areas: Elementary neurology in layman s terminology Muhammad s medical history and its meaning Actual case studies of others with the same physical problems as Muhammad and their spiritual experiences How his visions came to be accepted as revelations from Allah The implications of these findings on the Islam religion Illustrated with brain charts, photographs, and diagrams, conclusive medical evidence shows the truth about the founder of the Muslim religion and allows followers to objectively study this prophet and draw their own conclusions.
William Osler
Author: Michael Bliss
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 9780802085412
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 626
Book Description
In his time the most famous physician in the world, Canadian-born William Osler (1849-1919) is still the best-known figure in the history of medicine. This new, definitive biography by Michael Bliss is the first full-scale life of Osler to appear since 1925. An award-winning medical historian, Bliss draws on many untapped sources to recreate Osler's life and medical times for a new generation of readers. Born at Bond Head, north of Toronto, Osler rose from obscurity to become the greatest medical teacher and writer in three countries. At Canada's McGill University, America's Johns Hopkins University, and finally as regius professor at Oxford, Osler was idolized by two generations of medical students and practitioners, for whom he came to personify the ideal doctor. His quest was to bring high standards and scientific methods into general practice in the medical world and to give teaching hospitals a solid place in the education of doctors. The publication of his book, The Principles and Practice of Medicine (1892), established him as the authority of modern medicine, a position he held well into the new century. Osler was revered as the high priest of the advent of twentieth-century medicine. In this fine biography, Michael Bliss animates the epic quality of Osler's life - not only in telling his personal story, but in setting that story against the dramatic backdrop of the coming of modern medicine. Winner of the Jason A. Hannah Medal, awarded by the Royal Society of Canada and the Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 9780802085412
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 626
Book Description
In his time the most famous physician in the world, Canadian-born William Osler (1849-1919) is still the best-known figure in the history of medicine. This new, definitive biography by Michael Bliss is the first full-scale life of Osler to appear since 1925. An award-winning medical historian, Bliss draws on many untapped sources to recreate Osler's life and medical times for a new generation of readers. Born at Bond Head, north of Toronto, Osler rose from obscurity to become the greatest medical teacher and writer in three countries. At Canada's McGill University, America's Johns Hopkins University, and finally as regius professor at Oxford, Osler was idolized by two generations of medical students and practitioners, for whom he came to personify the ideal doctor. His quest was to bring high standards and scientific methods into general practice in the medical world and to give teaching hospitals a solid place in the education of doctors. The publication of his book, The Principles and Practice of Medicine (1892), established him as the authority of modern medicine, a position he held well into the new century. Osler was revered as the high priest of the advent of twentieth-century medicine. In this fine biography, Michael Bliss animates the epic quality of Osler's life - not only in telling his personal story, but in setting that story against the dramatic backdrop of the coming of modern medicine. Winner of the Jason A. Hannah Medal, awarded by the Royal Society of Canada and the Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine
Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309217105
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200
Book Description
During the last 25 years, life expectancy at age 50 in the United States has been rising, but at a slower pace than in many other high-income countries, such as Japan and Australia. This difference is particularly notable given that the United States spends more on health care than any other nation. Concerned about this divergence, the National Institute on Aging asked the National Research Council to examine evidence on its possible causes. According to Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries, the nation's history of heavy smoking is a major reason why lifespans in the United States fall short of those in many other high-income nations. Evidence suggests that current obesity levels play a substantial part as well. The book reports that lack of universal access to health care in the U.S. also has increased mortality and reduced life expectancy, though this is a less significant factor for those over age 65 because of Medicare access. For the main causes of death at older ages-cancer and cardiovascular disease-available indicators do not suggest that the U.S. health care system is failing to prevent deaths that would be averted elsewhere. In fact, cancer detection and survival appear to be better in the U.S. than in most other high-income nations, and survival rates following a heart attack also are favorable. Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries identifies many gaps in research. For instance, while lung cancer deaths are a reliable marker of the damage from smoking, no clear-cut marker exists for obesity, physical inactivity, social integration, or other risks considered in this book. Moreover, evaluation of these risk factors is based on observational studies, which-unlike randomized controlled trials-are subject to many biases.
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309217105
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200
Book Description
During the last 25 years, life expectancy at age 50 in the United States has been rising, but at a slower pace than in many other high-income countries, such as Japan and Australia. This difference is particularly notable given that the United States spends more on health care than any other nation. Concerned about this divergence, the National Institute on Aging asked the National Research Council to examine evidence on its possible causes. According to Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries, the nation's history of heavy smoking is a major reason why lifespans in the United States fall short of those in many other high-income nations. Evidence suggests that current obesity levels play a substantial part as well. The book reports that lack of universal access to health care in the U.S. also has increased mortality and reduced life expectancy, though this is a less significant factor for those over age 65 because of Medicare access. For the main causes of death at older ages-cancer and cardiovascular disease-available indicators do not suggest that the U.S. health care system is failing to prevent deaths that would be averted elsewhere. In fact, cancer detection and survival appear to be better in the U.S. than in most other high-income nations, and survival rates following a heart attack also are favorable. Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries identifies many gaps in research. For instance, while lung cancer deaths are a reliable marker of the damage from smoking, no clear-cut marker exists for obesity, physical inactivity, social integration, or other risks considered in this book. Moreover, evaluation of these risk factors is based on observational studies, which-unlike randomized controlled trials-are subject to many biases.