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.

The high cost and high risk of many medical procedures are big issues. 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...

The high cost and high risk of many medical procedures are big issues. 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 Ã??' we are in the Ã??'post-antibiotic eraÃ??' for certain diseases. Yet hope remains. The baby boomersÃ??' distrust of authority and Ã??'expertsÃ??' 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  what constitutes good health care; often people have no choice but to follow the physicianÃ??'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 Ã??'discovery.Ã??' 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, Ithe author became disillusioned because his patients continued to die or to have poor medical outcomes despite aggressive advanced medical care. His research training significantly influences his thought processes; he reasoned that if his patients were dying despite all efforts, then perhaps the care they were receiving was not really as Ã??'advancedÃ??' as was thought. He sked his chief physician if there were any books available discussing patient outcomes. Ã??'No,Ã??' he said. Ã??'Insurance companies keep that information locked up.Ã??' The information does exist, but it is scattered throughout the medical literature. Here, a health care professional has attempted to consolidate it into one source and simplify it as much as possible so that you can make truly informed decisions.

Foreword Chapter 1. The Best Medicine for Whom? Is Medical Science an Oxymoron? Physician Prescribing Patterns Better Living through Chemistry? Orphan Drugs Why do you th

Foreword Chapter 1. The Best Medicine for Whom? Is Medical Science an Oxymoron? Physician Prescribing Patterns Better Living through Chemistry? Orphan Drugs Why do you think they call it a check up? There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch The High Cost of Health Drug Misrepresentatives Direct to Consumer Ads Chapter 2. A Pill for All Ills and An Ill for All Pills Drugs Ã??' the Fourth Leading Cause of Death The Poison is in the Dose Bitter Pills Chapter 3. Profits without Honor The Best Health Money Can Buy Profits of Doom Mediocre Medicine Iatrogenesis: the Third Leading Cause of Death in the US The Money Machine Chapter 4. Pill Pushing for Non-Diseases Invented Diseases The Medicalization of Life Inventing Diseases Pharmacotherapy for Non-diseases You Is What You Think You Is Somatization and Medicalization WhatÃ??'s in a Name? Genetic Markers or Marked for Death Misdiagnoses Victimized by Drugs Medical Errors and Iatrogenic Induced Illness Chapter 5. Medical Malfeasance Sleep Deprivation: Nightmare on Your Street Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Health Care Workers Hunger Pangs Not So Free Fall Restraining Orders Sore Losers Hurting for a Fix Chapter 6. Creepy Crawlies, Bad Bugs And Malicious Microbes Magic Bullets or Just Shooting Blanks Superbugs Antibiotic Abuse Increasing rates of infection Contaminated Equipment and Surfaces ICU Breeding Grounds for InfectionVISA Ã??' DonÃ??'t Leave the Hospital With It Dirty Talk Bad Blood Primum non nocere: First, Do No Harm Chapter 7. Bedpan Blues Critical Condition Chapter 8. Cover Your Assets Defensive Medicine No Apology Needed The Devil in the Doctor Medical Obfuscation and Uninformed Consent Chapter 9. MedicineÃ??'s Marginal Benefits Outcomes from Aggressive Medical Therapy The Small Role of Medicine in Mortality Determinants of Health Improving Life Expectancy Life Extension The Failure of Medical Care to Extend Life Expectancy Chapter 10. Disease Prevention Preventive Medicine? Healthiest Nations Dietary Effects on Mortality Exercise Obesity Cigarette Smoking Social Factors Chapter 11. Stressed to Kill Risk Factors Worry Work Related Stress Lack of Education Environmental Stressors Seasonal & Diurnal Stressors Grief Chapter 12. Broken Hearted Boondoggles in Cardiology Flawed Studies Chapter 13. Bad Medicine The Failure of Success Epilogue - The Future of Health Care in America Index