A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System Is Failing the Elderly

by John Sloan

Overview

What’s worse than the failure of the health care system to adequately care for seniors? The fact that it’s actually doing them harm. In A Bitter Pill, Dr. John Sloan investigates the reasons why the medical community is unable to provide lasting health to seniors, concluding that incorrect assumptions have led to the current health crisis among the elderly. In a remarkable argument, Sloan contends that medical measures based in prevention actually do seniors more harm than good, diminishing their current quality of life in the hopes of preventing future disease. Sloan maintains that we must understand what those in poor health really need — a way to enjoy the final stages of their lives. A valuable resource for caregivers, nurses, doctors, and children of the elderly, this book may just turn the tide of medical misconception that has plagued the senior community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781926812045
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	12/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	280 KB

About the Author

John Sloan, MD is a senior academic physician in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia, and has spent most of his 30 years' practice caring for the frail elderly. He has done original research in drug therapy in the elderly, and published numerous articles on care of the elderly, and authored a textbook on Primary Care Geriatrics, Protocols in Primary Care Geriatrics, which was re-issued as a Second Edition, and translated into Japanese. He has lectured throughout Canada and in Europe and the United States, and is sought-after as an inspirational speaker on geriatrics. Dr. Sloan holds a degree in English and Philosophy, as well as a graduate degree in Biology. Non-medical interests include bluegrass and Burgundy. He lives with his wife in Vancouver and Roberts Creek.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1. Welcome to Our Health Care System, Mary McCarthy
Chapter 2. The Dependent Elderly: All the Wrong Stuff
Chapter 3. Where One-Size-Fits-All Health Care Came From
Chapter 4. The Dependent Elderly Meet the Cookbook System: Not What the Doctor Ordered
Chapter 5. How the Square Peg Fares: Some Mangles from the Forced Bad Fit
Chapter 6. You Should See the Other Guy
Chapter 7. Lock Them up and Throw Away the Key
Chapter 8. Nobody Asked Us: What Dependent Old People Want and Need
Chapter 9. Starting Back: Healthier Health Care
Chapter 10. Mary McCarthy Revisited
Notes
References
Index