by Rudolph Mueller, M.D.
Olin Frederick, Inc., 2001
Rudolph Mueller, M.D., from the Introduction:
“This is the story of the American healthcare system at the turn of the millennium from my perspective as a primary care and geriatric physician.”
“The premise of this book is that the American healthcare system is sick, As Sick As It Gets. It is a system with a confused purpose and mission, contaminated by its focus on money and its exploitation of the massive cash flow that modern medical technology has created. Its mission should be to maximize the well-being and health of every individual and our society as a whole, as well as to prevent illness and relieve pain.”
“This book includes the true stories of real-life illnesses of people who cannot afford adequate healthcare or who are denied it and my everyday experiences with them. It also includes stories about the system, the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance industry and HMOs, and the providers. These accounts are from one practice of one primary care physician… ”
Comment: Dr. Mueller defines the problems of our sick health care system in terms of his real life patients and our current flawed policies that impair their care. He provides an economic picture of the great wealth in our system which has been distributed with a misdirected mission of enhancing the personal wealth of the few, rather than improving the health of the many. He then explains why a single payer, national health care program is the imperative solution.
The link above will provide the publisher’s information about this very readable and informative account. It should provide lay audiences and advocates with an excellent understanding of what really has gone wrong with our health care system and what we can do about it.