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In Defiance of Death Exposing the Real Costs of End-of-Life Care

Kenneth A. Fisher, Lindsay E. Rockwell, Missy Scott

Foreword by Benjamin Brown, M.D.

Book Code: C9710

ISBN: 0-275-99710-3

ISBN-13: 978-0-275-99710-6

DOI:

240 pages, figures; tables

Praeger Publishers

Publication: 3/30/2008

List Price: $39.95 (UK Sterling Price: £22.95)

Discount Price: $31.96 Business Email Newsletter May 08. Use code E0853. Save 20%. Ends 6/6/2008.

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Also Available: Ebook

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Endorsement From U.S. Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI): Dr. Fisher thoroughly examines the patchwork that has become the terribly inefficient U.S. healthcare system--more than just the "warts and all." This thoughtful examination backed with the facts should serve as a primer to the medical community, patients and families, and to legislators to fully examine their role and responsibility to correct the course we're on. It may be too late...
Endorsement From Dr. Tom Johnson,
Professor of Internal Medicine Emeritus, Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine,
and former Dean of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine: It is generally agreed that there are significant problems in the equitable delivery and cost effective financing of healthcare for all our citizens. The usual American way to solve problems is to offer simple solutions without having an in-depth understanding of all the issues and parameters causing the problems. Dr. Ken Fisher in his book In Defiance of Death clearly delineates the intricacies of the problems involved in caring for elderly and terminal patients. Then, using his extensive knowledge and experience he offers a series of solutions based on the etiologies of these problems. It is an excellent book, which was instructive to this reader.
Endorsement From Tom George, M.D.,
Michigan State Senator: Our present healthcare system is not meeting our needs and is just too expensive. Dr. Fisher explains the problems and offers thoughtful solutions.
Endorsement From The Reverend Jean A. Miller,
Formerly Church Minister of Pastoral Care, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan: Not only is this book shocking in its depiction of the often -heartless care of the dying, it responds to the current overuse of unnecessary procedures and treatments that is costing our country billions in wasted dollars every year. And that's just end-of-life care. Dr. Fisher's proposals for reform are realistic and straightforward; and being invitational, they invite both dialogue and systemic changes in every aspect of healthcare.

Description: Death is a natural part of life. But it has become a painful, protracted, humiliating process that is often inappropriate for the healthcare patient, puts an undue financial and emotional burden on the family, and provides a model of improper care for physicians in training. And it's expensive--about 22 percent of all medical expenditures are for people in the last year of their lives. Further, while studies show that 90 percent of all people would prefer to die at home surrounded by family and friends, the reality is that more than 70 percent die in institutions. As Dr. Ken Fisher argues so passionately in this book, it's time for a change. End-of-life care in the U.S. has evolved over the years into a nightmare for patients and family members, and it has created a near-crushing financial burden on the medical system that is not just excessive but unsustainable. It has driven the cost of healthcare out of reach for many people, and it is a large factor in preventing the creation of universal coverage. In Defiance of Death reviews the current state of end-of-life care and highlights its many problems from a variety of economic, political, and social perspectives. Fisher and Rockwell illuminate the ethical dilemmas we all face as technology allows us to prolong life--but at a huge human and financial cost. This book documents these problems and provides a historical perspective of how our medical system evolved. It argues that America's "defiance of death" is far too costly and recommend that all stakeholders--including the public, medical community, Congress, and business leaders--join together to create a system that improves end-of-life care for everyone involved. This book, with workable solutions to improve our medical system, helps point the way.

Table of Contents:

List of Illustrations
Foreword by Dr. Benjamin Brown
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Dying in America Today
Chapter Two: Roots of the Problem: The Patient Self-Determination Act, Advance Directives, and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Chapter Three: Why We Need Appropriate Care Committees
Chapter Four: The Three Most Typical End-of-life Populations
Chapter Five: Hospitals, Escalating Costs, and End-of-Life Care
Chapter Six: Nursing Homes
Chapter Seven: Palliative Care and Hospice
Chapter Eight: A Big Step in The Right Direction: The VA Transforms End-of-Life Care
Chapter Nine: Results of My Non-Scientific, Revealing Survey
Chapter Ten: The Winds of Change: Suggestions for New Directions in End-of-life Care
Appendix I: The Survey Questionnaires
Appendix II : Family-Physician Interactions
Appendix III: The Baby K Case
Appendix IV: In Support of Appropriate Care Committees
Cardiologists Get Wake-up Call on Stents by Mike Mitkam, (selected text) Journal of the American Medical Association.
Geographical Variations in Medicare Spending, Editorial by Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Annals of Internal Medicine.
Physician-Owned Specialty Hospitals and Coronary Revascularization Utilization Too Much of a Good Thing? By Peter Cram, MD, MBA Gary E. Rosenthal, MD (Selected Text) Journal of the American Medical Association.
How Physicians Can Change the Future of Health Care by Michael E. Porter, PhD, MBA Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg, PhD, MEngr, MS, (Selected Text) Journal of the American Medical Association.
For Further Reading: A Selection of Titles for Further Investigation
Appendix V: American Medical Education
American Medical Education 100 Years after the Flexner Report by Molly Cooke, M.D., David M. Irby, Ph.D., William Sullivan, Ph.D., and Kenneth M. Ludmerer, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine.
Appendix VI: Pharmaceutical Company Issues
Surviving Sepsis--Practice Guidelines, Marketing Campaigns, and Eli Lilly by Eichacker PQ, Natanson C, Danner RL. New England Journal of Medicine.
Appendix VII: The Economic Impact of Our Health Care if We Do Not Change
Aging Baby Boom Generation Will Increase Demand and Burden on Federal and State Budgets, GAO Report
Appendix VIII: The Truth About Americas Health Care SystemMost Expensive Bad Results
What Cannot Be Said on Television About Health Care by E.J. Emanuel, MD. (abstract) Journal of the American Medical Association.
Appendix IX: Dying in America
National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Statement on Improving End-of-Life Care, National Institutes of Health, State-of-the-Science Conference Statement
Appendix X: Universal Health Care in America: The Lure of a Quick Fix
Universal Health Care in America: The Lure of a Quick Fix by Kenneth A. Fisher, M.D.
Glossary
Index

LC Card Number: 2007043726

LCC Class: R726

Dewey Class: 179

PDF Catalogs:
Greenwood History Spring 2008.pdf	Praeger Public Library Spring 2008.pdf


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