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ASIN : B0CW1H2973 Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing; 1st edition (September 17, 2024) Publication date : September 17, 2024 Language : English File size : 3379 KB Text-to-Speech : Enabled Screen Reader : Supported Enhanced typesetting : Enabled X-Ray […]
ASIN : B0CW1H2973
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing; 1st edition (September 17, 2024)
Publication date : September 17, 2024
Language : English
File size : 3379 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 289 pages
Page numbers source ISBN : 1639735313
Best Sellers Rank: #5 in Personal Health
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Customer Reviews: 508 ratings
| ASIN : | B0CW1H2973 |
|---|---|
| Publisher : | Bloomsbury Publishing; 1st edition (September 17, 2024) |
| Publication date : | September 17, 2024 |
| Language : | English |
| File size : | 3379 KB |
| Text-to-Speech : | Enabled |
| Screen Reader : | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting : | Enabled |
| X-Ray : | Enabled |
| Word Wise : | Enabled |
| Print length : | 289 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN : | 1639735313 |
| Best Sellers Rank: | #5 in Personal Health |
| - | |
| Customer Reviews: | 508 ratings |
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Michael Doherty –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Such an amazing read
Blind Spots really digs deep and helps us understand just how broken our healthcare system is. When medical professionals are not encouraged to challenge the status quo, the outcome can be unforgivable
One person found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
insights into modern medicine
Wonderfully spells out the biases in modern medicine!! I hope those in the medical fields can reflect on Dr Makary’s points and make changes in their own environments…
One person found this helpful
JFR –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Critical Reading for ALL
Dr. Makary has succinctly described the issues affecting medical practice today. As a practicing and teaching physician for over 45 years I have become progressively more concerned regarding immediate adoption of each new drug and technology with little regard for objective evaluation. Dr. Makary has put in the effort to confirm what many of us suspected in this well researched and documented book. Skepticism and humility are characteristics we should be fostering in all physicians (and other providers).Medical hubris should be exposed in all of its forms.
13 people found this helpful
Vincent J. Kayser –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Busted a lot of myths
I’ve followed Dr. Makary for quite some time and whenever he appears on Fox he says such profound things. He’s raised some questions there that made me think about this book.
Mary Singh –
5.0 out of 5 stars
MUST MUST READ!!!!
This needs to be required reading for ALL!!! What an eye opener. Wake up America.
One person found this helpful
J. P. Becker –
5.0 out of 5 stars
So many lies from the medical establishment. For money and power.
Be skeptical of what your doctor tells you. Be VERY skeptical of what your doctor tells you.
Richard Mcfaul –
5.0 out of 5 stars
For everyone
As a physician, many medical books are difficult to impossible to digest unless you’ve been through medical school. Dr. Makary makes each chapter readable for most whether one has any medical background. Practicing for 40 years as a children heart specialist, I’ve used the phrase ‘we don’t know’ many, many times and should be a medical school class teaching future doctors they need not apologize to patients when the evidence is inconclusive. The author makes that point several times. Doctors like many or most people are entrenched with their beliefs so we need more books like this to give a warning to unchanging attitudes. This book achieves this goal.
18 people found this helpful
Kelly Boyd –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Bold and Courageous Prescription
Dr. Makary has diagnosed his own profession and shown it to be lacking in objective science-based medicine. He also prescribes a treatment, one which has been known from antiquity, but seldom practiced today – the freedom to question! This book will both shock and encourage you, as you realize that the mistakes of the past don’t have to be repeated, if such voices can be heeded.
3 people found this helpful
Joseph Marine –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book on the dysfunctional elements of American academic medical culture
This is a brilliant, riveting book by a leading American surgeon and health policy expert. Everyone who will ever give or receive medical care or advice should carefully read every word, especially doctors and health policy leaders. In lucid, highly readable and engaging prose, using personal anecdotes and skilled medical storytelling, Dr. Makary paints a clear picture of an American academic medical culture hampered by groupthink, self-importance, dogmatism, and careerism. He describes the problems clearly and suggests solutions. Reading the book itself is an antidote. I hope that a new generation of medical students and young doctors will read this book and be inspired to reform and improve the dysfunctional elements in academic medicine that Dr. Makary so clearly describes.
44 people found this helpful
James M Poole MD –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Medical establishment is bought by pharma
Discussion of topics I knew about as a physician, great to hear words from another MD
Sue C. Werner –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great information on medicine in America.
This is a wonderful book, filled with many insights about medicine and how closed minds can cause deaths. Everything should always be tested and retested to see if it a a definite new medical finding.
3 people found this helpful
mary jo –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of important information
There is nothing I don’t like
averageanne –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Opened my eyes
I always question medical dogmas but this book tells me that I was right to be skeptical. So many past decisions made by many people proved to be in the long run: Wrong!
Altoonafish –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-opening read
Half-way through the book and already learned enough to justify the buy. Easy to understand and confirms things I’ve long suspected.
sharon –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
This doctor is incredible
Don C –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very enlightening
This was written so a non medical person might be able to understand its wisdom. I’ll need to reread some parts, it made me more aware of what big pharma and the medical industry is all about.
One person found this helpful
David B. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Medicine makes mistakes
He goes through examples where official advise was wrong.
jralph –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
Thank you.
Susan Lunsford –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Answers some medical questions
Interesting. Used an idea at doctor today & he agreed
Maestrogris –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stimulating
Finally, an honest assessment of our medical system. Highly recommend!!!
Retrorob –
5.0 out of 5 stars
RUDE AWAKENING!
Truth be told, I have followed Dr. Marty Makary for a while, exactly because of books like this.If you think your doctor is up on all the latest medical buzz, I can assure you he or she is not.This book blows open wide the danger of medical dogma and the often times inability to change it.For instance, did you know that peanut allergies in children are almost 100% the fault of the medical community? See Chapter 1 “The Salem Peanut Trial”What if you found out that millions of women had healthy ovaries removed, to prevent cancer, when in fact, the most common form of ovarian cancer doesn’t start in the ovaries? See Chapter 8 “Challenging Certainty” The true origin of ovarian cancer.This is only the tip of the iceberg. Dr. Makary not only dispels group thought that we took for granted as “proven medicine” but exposes the underhanded tactics that are often used against anyone that dares to challenge prevailing beliefs.If knowledge is power, don’t hesitate on this book. Your life may depend on it.
One person found this helpful
Dr. B –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read, esp if you are a clinician or considering HRT
So I listened to this on audible, and was delighted that Dr. M recorded the book himself (I hate readers who cannot pronounce medical terms). I bought 3 hard copies to give my friends. This book is written by an exceptionally prominent physician at Hopkins who is at the point in his career where he can name names (and does!) and call out adherence to dogma that harms patients (and doctors too). As I was reading this, there was a newspaper story about a resident at GW who died by suicide, and it brought to mind how important it is that everyone hear what Dr. M has to say about the lunacy of modern medical training that continues dangerous practices in training that hurts docs and patients alike. Topics non-healthcare providers should definitely read include how our epidemic of dangerous peanut allergies came to be, myths about hormone replacement therapy that continue to harm women, and even that your appendix might not need to be removed. Parts of this book, esp the section on childbirth and preemies, were hard to listen to (as I am sure may be the case for many of us who have given birth), so be warned about upsetting content if you had a traumatic birth history. That said, it is so important for patients to know how to determine if your doctor is up to date on critical research vs blindly following dogma. Highly recommend!
6 people found this helpful
Al Lewis –
5.0 out of 5 stars
What doctors think they know might harm you.
The Blind Spot highlights the dangers of groupthink in medical research and practice. Once a consensus is formed, those who attempt to counter it are met with derision and blacklisting.I know this from firsthand experience, since I got blacklisted from conferences for calling out the workplace wellness industry, which as coincidence would have it was enabled by a lower-level employee of Dr. Makary’s own institution. Remember when your employer used to hire a “vendor” to line you up to take your blood and tell you and your employer all the undiagnosed diseases you had? The data quite clearly showed zero value in this but a combination of groupthink, profitability and payoffs to benefits consultants kept it going long past its Sell By date.Now imagine this groupthink thing playing out in the medical field as a whole. Accurate data is developed by independent, underfunded iconoclasts contradicting the consensus, a consensus feeding many careers. As Upton Sinclair said: “You can’t convince someone of something whose salary depends on believing the opposite.”So the medical establishment suppresses this dissent, blacklists the dissenters, and cuts off their research funding. The Blind Spot provides numerous examples of this.Example: antibiotics are not “harmless,” and are probably prescribed maybe twice as often as they should be, especially for children. Children given multiple antibiotics as babies and toddlers end up with adverse effects that don’t show up until years latger.Example: hormone replacement therapy got a bad rap due to one study way back in 2002 and is only now getting its mojo back as a quality-of-life improvement that also significantly reduces common health risks.Example: many people still don’t eat eggs because some researchers were bribed almost a half-century ago by the sugar lobby to demonize fat-and-cholesterol. It’s taken decades to undo that lie, largely because dissenters were suppressed. (My own nutrition course was taught by one of those perps, and it took me decades to get over it.) Even today, sugary products advertise “Contains No Cholesterol.”Example: most deadly ovarian cancers don’t originate in the ovaries. They originate in the fallopian tubes. This is well-established. But women are still subjected to invasive surgeries that don’t address this root cause.My only complaint about Blind Spot is that all the things that could have been in there that aren’t. For instance, few people know that most cavities (including my own, as it turned out) can be treated painlessly for $40 or less with a couple of drops of silver diamine fluoride. It’s been around for years, but for obvious reasons dentists don’t tell you about it. Perhaps Dr. Makary is saving nuggets like this one for a sequel…
97 people found this helpful
Kaneisland –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Medical “Groupthink” is making us sick.
The author shows us how “groupthink” of medical community pushed backward or wrong medical recommendations to public. They include peanut allergy, Estrogen/testosteron Replacement Therapies, blood donations from HIV/AIDS patients, smallpox and cowpox observation made by farmers. This book is very informative. One thing I am confused is his stance on mRNA “vaccine” technology.About half into the book, the author praises mRNA “vaccine” technology. Later, though, he states the traditional vaccine technology is proven to be effective and criticizes researchers/drug makers focusing on mRNA “vaccines” for profit-centered strategy. Which side is he for? By 2023, it was already clear that mRNA “vaccines” are very ineffective, cannot stop spread, does not last long. mRNA technology is an impressive technology, but it was used in a wrong application (COVID-19 vaccines).
4 people found this helpful
Catniss Eberdeen –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read
This is a well-written, well-documented, sometimes humorous, original, and substantive book. The basic premise is scary. So many of the things medical science has told us are good for us have turned out to be the opposite.The most valuable lesson I learned was to not unquestionably accept a doctor’s prescription.I hope Dr. Makary will follow up with another book on improvements made in public health under the new leadership in HHS.
Paul R. Cosenza –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great insight into medical science – and dogma
Dr. Makary gives great insight into the forces on medical science that misdirect clinical studies and their proper evaluation. Once standards of care (and their resultant economics) are established, new research which contradicts those standards are often ignored … or aggressively dispelled … to the harm of patients. From immunology to gynecology to antibiotics to surgery (and beyond), the author explains how medical dogmas can be antithetical to proper medical care.
anonymous –
5.0 out of 5 stars
incredible read
coming from a nurse trained at Barnes Jewish Hospital and practicing at Cedars Sinai, this is a book (speaking on behalf of my colleagues) we’ve all been waiting for. the question ‘why’ is so important in discovering the truth, and is what we all want at the end of the day, in regards to our health especially. hope more people read this book to keep an open mind
Jeffrey J. Brown –
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent explanation of cognitive dissonance and the suppression of contradictory evidence
I was most impressed with Dr. Makary’s chapter on cholesterol, and regarding inflammation and heart disease, Dr. Makary and several other researchers have suggested that the primary benefit of statins may be their anti-inflammatory properties, given that other drug types that do a great job of reducing cholesterol have been found to have no effect on heart attacks and total mortality outcomes.However, one of the primary side effects of statins is muscle weakness, and I was struck by a recent study on rising rates of heart failure in the US, which started rising in 2013, after a decline of several years (Among people younger than 45, there was a ninefold rise in heart failure deaths from 2012 to 2021).Note that the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiologists started recommending much wider use of statins in 2013.
8 people found this helpful
Holly –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very important to read
This book uncovers scientific fraud and the politics behind the fraud. It is important for everyone interested in science to read as well as people who want to trust the science. I have a Ph.D. but had to change career paths because of the immense scientific fraud in my field. I am now very skeptical of the “science” and need to read the publications myself to determine the scientific integrity. Too much pressure to publish or perish leads to fraud and punishes the honest scientists. Politics also abuse great scientists.
2 people found this helpful
A J –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye opening!
Thank you Dr. Makary for this factually based book. Too often we, as consumers of information, are expected to accept as truth the things our self proclaimed experts tell us. There are ways to accurately vet sources of information. It’s important for all of us to do that, and then to direct our attention to the honest brokers. Even then, the vetting must continue.
One person found this helpful
Nell Tortoriello –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great eye opening information
I have recommended it to all my young friends- women who needTo know about the benefits of hrt that I was denied.
One person found this helpful
Val Los Angeles –
5.0 out of 5 stars
at last… a brave doctor pausing us with some alternative logic.
I hope my granddaughters read this and learn to question and research ….on their own …about the ego and greed of some people and institutions.The desolate life and feelings that some people experienced when questioning the hierarchy …..and lost their income and status because of daring to have data upsetting the status quo of these “Chiefs”!
6 people found this helpful
Leah Wingfield –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank you Dr. Makary!
Dr. Makary is the kid in the crowd who points out that the emperor is actually not wearing any clothes. I am so grateful to him for following his curiosity and believing in the essential power of questioning the status quo and group think from powerful institutions. I am smarter and empowered to make better decisions for myself thanks to all of his books.
8 people found this helpful
DWR –
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb look at how the US medical establishment makes big mistakes
Medicine is complicated but in the current world opinions based on belief structures often outrun and then stifle medical science. This book looks at some of the biggest healthcare policy failures which have and continue touching most of our lives (diets, hormones, ovarian cancer, childbirth, antibiotics, vaccines). Dr Makary’s extraordinary insights into academic groupthink dissects the path to these policies. There will not be a single US reader of this book who has not been affected by some of these errors.
17 people found this helpful
MCS1968 –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very enlightening!
This took a while to arrive, but is a must-read for everyone!
P. Daw –
5.0 out of 5 stars
challenging medical dogma and the academia that enforces it
Dr Makary cites many studies and investigators but thisBook is great for thinking people everywhere, not just physicians. It looks at many standard practices that fail to stand up to rigorous scrutiny.
3 people found this helpful
Susan –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye opening
This book confirms what we’ve always suspected about the medical industry, food corporations and big pharma.
One person found this helpful
DPet –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another “must read” by Dr Makary! Excellent! Courageous to write, infuriating to read!
Thank you, Dr Makary, for continuing to pull back the layers to expose the dark corners of medicine. Thank you for your courageous efforts towards bringing transparency, integrity and truth to medicine. Please continue to ask the hard questions and publish your findings.
12 people found this helpful
Cindy N. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uncovering Medical Blind Spots
Great information! Lived the book and recommending it to friends.
N –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy read, super informative, perspective changing
Prior to reading this book, I had a very high degree of confidence that medicine was almost exclusively data-driven, in a good way.I still have very high regard for the field of medicine, but my views have been tempered in a useful way by this book. I think it could have a hugely positive effect by highlighting some of the opportunities to increase the receptivity of medicine to new ideas and new data.
16 people found this helpful
PD –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
It’s excellent. It tells the truth about our corrupt medical system.
Discerning consumer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is an ABSOLUTE MUST READ
This book is an absolute MUST READ. This is a mind blowing look at some of the things we (M.D.’s and the general public) were taught to believe as the gospel truths. If you believe everything YOUR doctor says,please understand that your doctor was probably also mislead by these studies and the misinterpretation of findings by those who would benefit (the authors and researchers) with the risks to the rest of us. I have ordered 4 copies of this book so far for physician friends and I can not recommend it more highly. If you think, this sort of manipulation and misrepresentation of data for the benefit of authors is not occurring today, then YOU MUST read this book. Recommend it for everyone. Thanks, once again, Dr. Makary!
8 people found this helpful
Eden H –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read it to self-educate about the dogmas of “modern” medicine
Insider exposing dogmas that the big phama and food industry rather keep perpetuating.
RJ Rates –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intersting and Insightful
Wow have we been lied to! This book is a MUST-READ if you want to see just how much we’ve been lied to by the medical and pharmaceutical industry. Shocking! Helpful info is included on how to make better choices with your health and diet.
2 people found this helpful
lisa –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye opener !!!
Wow. Medical field has been lying to us just like government. Very educational.
embryodirector –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very insightful
Being in Healthcare this book is a great read. Thought provoking and hope to apply lessons learned in my practice
One person found this helpful
Yvonne Brossette –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
Do not have to be a medical professional to read this. Very fascinating. Easy to read but shockingWill make you wonder about “medical studies”.
Lou skojec –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very important book on a subject we all need
Excellent points on much of what is wrong with modern medicine and a path to correcting so many errors and misconception. Why for years butter and eggs we were told bad now healthy. Bad medicine practices. Everyone in my opinion should read this book!
5 people found this helpful
Kindle Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Informative!
Dr Makary really puts our current healthcare in perspective. I’ve known about a lot about what he talks about in the book but he brought all of it up to date and not much has changed over the years! Its pretty sad, actually. You have to be your own doctor and/or ask numerous questions of your doctor.
3 people found this helpful
David Oaks –
5.0 out of 5 stars
stimulating
Reading this book is a great challenge. Highly recommended, you won’t be sorry.The author successfully makes the case for evidence based medicine.
A. Maurer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly exposing blind spots in medicine.
A very engaging and easy to read style. He shows where modern medicine has failed, and–more importantly–why, with recommendations on how to fix it.As a research scientist, he champions the scientific method, which today is being attacked by “experts” who believe their opinions are more important. He downplays, I think, the value of clinical observation but continually stresses individualized treatments over universal mandates.Thought provoking. He’s been named to lead the FDA in the new administration. If confirmed, his tenure should be interesting indeed!
KG –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shedding light on groupthink and blind spots in the medical community
An excellent exposé of the current state of medicine in the US and by extension other countries, presented in a calm, unbiased way with documented and verifiable studies. The subjects covered are broad, e.g. HRT, Peanut allergies, Covid etc. He challenges the groupthink mentality which is as prevalent in the “medical royalty” like NIH/FDA/CDC as it is in other bureaucracies. It is an easy read for the non-medical community but should be required reading for the incoming medical students and residents. People like Dr. Makary should be in policy-making areas of our government as a voice of reason among the elites.
2 people found this helpful
K Watson –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marty Mackary is easily understood and the book covers VERY important issues that…
Marty Mackary is easily understood and the book covers VERY important issues that every American needs to be aware of.At least 3 of his topics applied to my personal health problems and how Pharmaceuticals actually CAUSED those problems!Now we just pray that RFK Jr or someone will clean house in DC!
Carrie –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Missing blind spots
Great read of evidence based medicine and the many treatments or discontinued practices which were branded medical dogma. Very educational for those who like to advocate for their own health.The only reason I deducted a star is (my opinion/blindspot) that the author has completely missed the point on Covid vaccine injuries. Whether that may make the content of a future book it is to be seen. He is highly complimentary of Dr Kariko the inventor of mrna vaccines yet misses the harm this invention caused to many people.
12 people found this helpful
Emily C –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging and interesting book on medical group think
I came prepared to dislike the book due to some of the authors politics and positions, but the books contents are surprising persuasive and make some very good points (though he does have some blind spots, for example that children proscribed are probably battling more infections then those that were not).
Dave –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and easy to read
Fascinating and easy to read even though I have no medical education. I am only half way done and I will edit this review if warranted but I am eager to encourage you to read it as well. Especially if you are currently lacking a healthy skepticism for medical authority.Edit: Here are my favorite passages -Freedom of speech is not designed for easy speech – speech that is welcomed by the majority because it affirms their beliefs. It’s designed to protect speech that is uncomfortable – speech that challenges groupthink. Today, more than ever, organized medicine is finding ways to limit and stifle scientific debate.It’s ironic that universities claim to believe in inclusion and racial, ethnic, and age diversity but, oddly, ideological diversity is excluded.As Noam Chomsky described it, ‘If you don’t believe in freedom of speech for people you disagree with, you don’t believe in freedom of speech at all.'”The best way to fight bad ideas is with better ideas, not by canceling scientists.
18 people found this helpful
William F. Cosgriff –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ask more questions
An interesting and thought provoking look at how medicine is often side tracked, or goes down the wrong track entirely, because of dogmatic or “groupthink” approaches to treatments or therapies that are not based on solid trials or properly conducted studies. The answer is to ask more questions and demand better trials and studies. A good book for those wanting to understand how a helpful field such as medicine can too often get important matters so very wrong. An excellent read.
7 people found this helpful
bbneo –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, Every American should read
I have followed Dr Makary for a number of years.He is a brilliant cancer surgeon and public health expert.In this book, he lays out a number of important ways that human egos have led to bad public health advice… Even in these “modern times”.Would you believe that the American Academy of Pediatrics is RESPONSIBLE for the current epidemic of peanut allergies? Or that the “Women’s Health Initiative” has led to advice preventing women from getting life prolonging estrogen replacement therapy? Or that bad science starting in the 1960s led to bad advice urging people to go on a low fat diet?It’s all in there.
2 people found this helpful
Kindle Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye opening!!! Definitely recommend this, especially healthcare workers.
Let me start with I am a nurse in labor and delivery. My husband never wants to listen to my work stories, but one day, I came home and he had all kinds of work related questions for me, I was floored. He had heard the author speaking on a radio show promoting this book. He had me listen and asked me about some of things discussed related to the babies being born section. I listened and then I ordered the book! I have seen first hand some of things he talked about. Others were before my time, but shocking none the less to read how long things took to change because the “establishment” didn’t want to believe. I used to be that person that went by the “literature.” I didnt realize how much literature was being suppressed. There have been many things I have seen in my career that I at one time didn’t believe in until I saw it firsthand. So I am aware the dogma exists to not believe, but after seeing it for myself, I now keep an open mind to new ideas. The section on skin to skin contact with mom is a perfect example. What sealed it for me was when I was caring for a mom whose baby had a congenital condition and birth defects that were incompatible with life, meaning the baby was going to die no matter what. Mom wanted to try to carry the baby to term, hopefully deliver a living baby, and hold him until he died in her arms. He was born and in doctors’ hands, not doing well. I put him skin to skin with mom, and he immediately started improving. He was breathing and pink and like any otherwise healthy baby. He did so well that mom decided to let other family members hold him. In their arms he would stop breathing and turn purple, they would panic and ask me what to do, i would take baby and put him skin to skin with mom, reminding them, mom wanted to hold him while he died. However, every time he went skin to skin, he started breathing again and turned pink without any medical intervention at all. This went back and forth for hours as the various family members took their turns. In the end, the baby lived for 12 hours and eventually died in mom’s arms as planned, but mom got 12 hours with her precious baby that she wouldn’t have had without skin to skin contact. I had seen doctors recommend certain treatments or procedures that parents have refused, and everything turns out fine, to the point of me thinking, “miracles do happen.” I now have changed my practice to side with patients and support whatever decisions they make. I stand up to doctors and routinely question the “why” when I dont agree. I share with them and my patients my experiences with “going against the norm.” In many cases, it has strengthened my relationship and trust with patients and doctors.This book really opened my eyes to the politics involved in research studies that i was never aware of. It actually angers me to see how closed-minded and set in their ways some of these doctors are. I, too, was fired from a job for standing up for what I believed in when I didn’t agree with how things were happening, and it turned into a blessing in disguise. I have very strong feelings on some healthcare concerns that are being politicized and just tried to “fly under the radar” and not share my thoughts with people with opposing views just to not rock the boat, but once i started opening up debate dialogue I found both sides have valid points. I agree with Dr. Makary that we need more studies. On any topic, there should be 2 independent studies to validate results. Politics has no place in scientific research. Doctors should be allowed to research what they want, and journals shouldn’t be able to quash legitimate articles just because they don’t like how the results turned out. Their job should be to review the methodology and statistics to ensure it was not an “altered outcome” but not reject it on topic alone. To think that so many people have died because of the politics involved in progressive doctors questioning the status quo and trying to make it better is appalling. As Dr Makary says, saying, ” I don’t know” is better than making something up or passing off opinion as fact. His discussion about studies being done or falsified just to push the agenda of an industry shows the bias in the medical community is not towards improving healthcare and looking for a better way to help people, but to uphold their own prior achievements. I grew up learning that the only thing constant is change. Things are constantly changing. It is ok for things to be one way and new discoveries to change those things multiple times. Hopefully those behind the scenes responsible for preventing good new research will read this and take the blinders off and open their eyes to new ideas, at least be open to legitimate debate and research to prove or disprove those ideas, and not just shut them down because they dont like the idea initially.
41 people found this helpful
James Bell –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye Opening
I was very impressed with the quality of the evidence described in this book. This author is clearly at home with current “evidence based” medicinal care. He is not afraid to go against the groupthink ideas of Western medicine.As a retired medical doctor, I have been through the pressures applied by Big Pharma, to promote their new drugs. The “drug reps” visit your office, often carrying copies of “ papers, recently published in peer reviewed medical journals “. They use them as a means of promoting their new drug. I learned over time to be skeptical about these results. Medications such as statins, calcium channel blockers, and anti- inflammatory agents were, in many cases not effective or found when used by large numbers of patients to have serious and potentially lethal side effects.Medicine has turned into robotic encounter in which providers try to find a diagnosis/ disease and then gleefully prescribe the “right drug”- often times the drug just promoted by Pharmaceutical Company X.There is no attempt to sort out other issues going on in the patient’s life and therefore put the current stress in their life in the proper context. One disease and one drug is the magical solution, all done in under 10 minutes, and your out the door.I trained at McGill University and McMaster University, in Family Medicine in the early 1970s. I was trained during my residency by Dr. Dave Sackett who as you described was always pushing “evidence based” medicine but who still very seriously felt the need to have a relationship with the patient.I felt then, as I do now, that a lot of the positive outcomes in my specialty were as result of the relationship with the doctor- a placebo like effect. The patient felt better, long before the “pill” had a chance to work. Remember, we are basically “energy fields “ these fields can be modified in an instant.Thank you to Dr. Makary for your time and effort in writing this book. I will be reading your other books in the future.Dr. J. Bell.
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