Every one of us has experienced health care, but too many times, the experience has not been good. Perhaps our records have been lost or the physician is rushed and abrupt, spending more time looking at the computer than talking to us. Perhaps we are made to get tests we don't need or treatments that aren't fully explained, treatments we might not have gotten if we'd been fully informed about risks, benefits, and alternatives. And then we get an incomprehensible bill - usually, many different bills - that leaves us confused, frustrated, and in the worst cases, looking at a dire personal financial crisis. Why is that? Why, when the U.S. spends more on health care than any country in the world, can't we get it right? In Unraveled, physicians William B. Weeks and James N. Weinstein look at the health care experience through the eyes of patients and prescribe practical, effective remedies for a dysfunctional system. They offer simple steps that patients can take now to ensure that their care is effective, efficient, and satisfying, and that they have the information necessary to make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families. With easy-to-understand language and real-life examples, they explain how and why the health system works as it does, and what we can do to fix it. And they give a glimpse of a not-too-distant future where care will be built around the needs of the patients and delivered conveniently, seamlessly, with greater effectiveness and at lower cost. It's a future that offers greater satisfaction for patients AND for their providers, many of whom now feel trapped by an overly complex, bureaucratic system that robs them of the joy they once experienced in caring for patients. The Affordable Care Act provided millions with access to health care. Unraveled tells us how we can take the next steps to make health care work for all of us.
About the Author: William B. Weeks, MD, PhD, MBA, is a Professor at The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, where he studies health care value creation. He has been honored as the 2008 National Rural Health Association Outstanding Researcher and the 2016 Fulbright-Toqueville Distinguished Chair and IMéRA Visiting Professor at Aix-Marseille University. Dr. James N. Weinstein is CEO and President of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system where he is a leader in advancing 'informed choice' to ensure patients receive evidence-based, safe, effective, efficient, and appropriate care. An acclaimed spine surgeon and researcher, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, an Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient, and has been named one of "The 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare" by Modern Healthcare magazine.