The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care-and Avoiding the Worst,   ISBN:9780738213040

Customer Rating: 

I read about this book on People's Pharmacy,
ordered it right away. Got a great price too.
At least one person in every family should read
this book-it could save someone's life.

Customer Rating: 

As a Nurse, I found this guide an indispensible reference to use as a patient.
In todays world, it is imperative to have a bedside advocate. The next best thing a patient can have is this book. It is loaded with avenues to obtain the best medical care, and how to know when to ask questions. This should be on everyones bookshelve!

Customer Rating: 

For almost 20 years my work has put me in firsthand contact with unfortunate folks unnecessarily hurt and even killed by the carelessness of some memebers of the medical profession. Sometimes the patient's best efforts would not have prevented the harm. But often, if the patient had known just a few simple things, he'd have been able to protect himself. Malone's book teaches those simple things.

Malone has actually written this book against his own financial interests. He is one of the nation's leading medical malpractice attorneys, yet is actually telling you how to prevent future medical harm. It's as if he wants fewer clients! This is because he hates seeing the unnecessary harm some of the medical professionl is causing. Consider this: Medical negligence kills more people than murder. Malone wants it stopped, and this book can be a major way to stop it. Not reading this book before next subjecting yourself or your family to the increasingly common dangers of medical treatment -- even routine exams, much less anything more involved -- would be irresponsible. So take your safety into your own hands. Malone's book can save more lives a day than there are pages in the book.

Customer Rating: 

Anyone who uses U.S. medical care should have this book. It is a great book to read cover to cover to educate yourself about critical issues to your own survival when seeking or receiving medical care. On the other hand, it makes a great handy reference or "guidebook" as you walk through the healthcare system. Read the chapter on finding the right surgeon before getting cut. Read the Appendix on the steps you can take to reduce the risk of hospital infection before you head to the hospital.

Your health and your medical care are too important not to have this book on your shelf.

Customer Rating: 

Pat Malone started out exposing medical blunders for the Miami Herald, then became a patients' lawyer making doctors and hospitals pay for their mistakes. Now he has written a terrific guide to help people avoid some of those appalling mistakes and their miserable consequences. This is not an exercise in "first, kill all the doctors." Rather, it is a recognition that health care providers are mortal -- sometimes distracted or tired, sometimes not well-informed about a particular patient's problem. Malone strikes a neat balance in this well-written volume. From his own cases, he offers enough heart-breaking stories of medical whiffs to motivate even the most sluggardly patient. But he mostly provides a series of crisp, sensible steps that patients should take to protect themselves by making sure they have the right doctor or hospital, that the doctor has heard what the problem really is, that diagnoses and drug regimens make sense, and that health care providers are following sound protocols.

If you have ever gotten sick, or think you might in the future, this book is worth a close look.