The Bottom Line: A Layman's Guide to Medicine

Medical errors are responsible for at least 195,000 unnecessary deaths each year and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has resulted in the creation of drug resistant-bacteria - we are in the ''post-antibiotic era'' for certain diseases. Yet hope remains. The baby boomers' distrust of authority and ''experts'' may once again serve them well. They are still healthy enough to have many years of quality life ahead of them, if they are proactive. Unfortunately, even educated laymen have little understanding of medical treatment and often have no choice but to follow the physician's guidance. This book is written to fill that void. Its sole purpose is to focus on documented outcomes from medical therapy. Books explaining disease processes and treatments are commonplace. Usually the only real difference is the author is a famous physician or celebrity, or the author is promoting a trendy new ''discovery.'' This book is written from a totally different perspective. About six years ago while working in the medical intensive care unit of a regional medical center, I became disillusioned because my patients continued to die or to have poor medical outcomes despite aggressive advanced medical care. My research training significantly influences my thought processes; I I reasoned that if my patients were dying despite our efforts, then perhaps the care they were receiving was not really as ''advanced'' as we thought. I asked my chief physician if there were any books available discussing patient outcomes. ''No,'' he said. ''Insurance companies keep that information locked up.'' The information does exist, but it is scattered throughout the medical literature. Here, I have attempted to consolidate it into one source and simplify it as much as possible so that you can make truly informed decisions. Richard Stanzak is a critical care nurse. He also worked as a molecular biologist for fourteen years, seven of them for Eli Lilly pharmaceuticals in both research and development. As a traveling ICU nurse he has been employed at 19 different assignments. He has worked in major trauma units, transplant units, cardiac units and hospitals from 1150 beds to 8 beds. He has experienced first-hand the problems of healthcare and can certainly attest this is a national problem. Stanzak is the author and/or co-author of several papers and also has several patents. He is the lead author of a benchmark paper on the cloning of genes responsible for the production of erythromycin. He was engaged in research at Eli Lilly when Prozac was first discovered and Genentech first licensed the insulin gene to Lilly. As a critical care nurse, he is responsible for providing teaching to patients or families about drugs, diseases and procedures.