|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Review
"The good news is that at least a few Canadian physicians have developed a way to practice medicine that is tailored tothe unique needs of [the elderly], an approach that increases comfort and dignity, allows the frail elderly to stay at home in comfort longer and choose the terms of their final days. John Sloan is the Vancouver-based general practitioner and UBC Medical School professor who has pioneered this new approach, which is long on common sense and kindness and notably short on high tech interventions and expensive multiple medications. He makes the case for it in his 2009 book A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System is Failing the Elderly." (The Tyee 20091128)
"There is real anger in his newly released book...Sloan's experiences of seeing energetic patients transformed into near-zombies because of over-medication after trips to the hospital, have led him to call for radical changes to medical treatment for the elderly -- including keeping them out of the hospital, if at all possible. These seemingly common-sense recommendations are radical because they swim against the stream of modern medicine." (The Province 20091203)
"Frail old folks gobble up health-care resources -- and too often gain no benefit. That's the message in Dr. John Sloan's provocative new book, A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System is Failing the Elderly. A Vancouver family physician, Sloan has spent the past 15 years doing home care exclusively for old people." (Toronto Star 20101111)
"Dr. Sloan treated the elderly at home for many years. (Yes, he made house calls!) His recent book, A Bitter Pill, is an utterly convincing indictment of the way we're wasting money on useless care for the elderly, while making their lives worse. It's essential reading for anyone who's interested in health-care reform, as well as for anyone who's responsible for an elderly person or anyone who is or will become one." (Globe & Mail )
"There is real anger in his newly released book...Sloan's experiences of seeing energetic patients transformed into near-zombies because of over-medication after trips to the hospital, have led him to call for radical changes to medical treatment for the elderly -- including keeping them out of the hospital, if at all possible. These seemingly common-sense recommendations are radical because they swim against the stream of modern medicine." (The Province 20091203)
"Frail old folks gobble up health-care resources -- and too often gain no benefit. That's the message in Dr. John Sloan's provocative new book, A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System is Failing the Elderly. A Vancouver family physician, Sloan has spent the past 15 years doing home care exclusively for old people." (Toronto Star 20101111)
"Dr. Sloan treated the elderly at home for many years. (Yes, he made house calls!) His recent book, A Bitter Pill, is an utterly convincing indictment of the way we're wasting money on useless care for the elderly, while making their lives worse. It's essential reading for anyone who's interested in health-care reform, as well as for anyone who's responsible for an elderly person or anyone who is or will become one." (Globe & Mail )
Product Description
An investigation into why the health care system does not work for old people, who are in fragile health, and what we can do about it.
Medical treatment of elderly people is not working. Worse, it is often harmful, says author John Sloan, a family physician who has worked primarily with the elderly for more than twenty years. In A Bitter Pill, he examines why medical treatment -- from modern medicine's one-size-fits-all prevention strategy to hospital stays that don't benefit anyone -- is failing them and identifies solutions to the problem.
In clear, accessible language, Sloan argues that we must understand what people in poor health at the end of their lives really need: comfort, dignity, and quality of life. He also argues that caregivers, sons, daughters, nurses, doctors, and social workers -- all of us -- must assume responsibility for what happens to the elderly and give these loved ones the kind of care we hope, one day, someone will give us.
(20100726)
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Retired MD,
By
This review is from: Bitter Pill (Paperback)
In our pursuit of healthcare reform in Canada we need to seek models of what is good and what failures exist. John Sloan has shone a powerfullight on the care of the elderly and found it wanting. He proposes an attractive alternative based upon his own working experience. During these times of diminishing resources his suggestions for change must be considered by all those concerned. It is a win for all concerned!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read for Caregivers of the Elderly,
This review is from: Bitter Pill (Paperback)
While Dr. Sloan tends toward the repetitive, this book is a must read for anyone who provides care for the fragile elderly. The focus of this book is on how medications can adversely effect the functioning of the fragile elderly and how the fragmentation of the medical system can contribute to a decline in their quality of life. Dr. Sloan's practice is focused on the elderly and is home based. He sees the effects of prescribed medications which follow the protocols developed with younger people in mind. He makes the case that medications very often cause side effects which adversely effect function and therefore the quality of life of the fragile elderly while likely doing little of benefit. He warns that a trip to hospital can often exacerbate impaired function when multiple specialists prescribe multiple medications without communicating with general practitioners. If you are involved in the care of a fragile elderly person, this book is for you.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes me want to stand up and cheer,
By Kristi Swede - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Bitter Pill (Paperback)
As a person who takes care of the frail elderly in a hospital setting every working day, Dr. John Sloan's book makes me want to stand up and shout! It is as if he looked over my shoulder to see the insanity I deal with every day - elderly people who'd be better off at home, yet are now in a system designed to "rescue" the critically ill and injured, but only put them at risk while wasting valuable resources.Some days, I can hardly bear to see what we do to/for our elderly, or what is considered the standard of care for people who are too frail to benefit from preposterous and potentially harmful interventions, yet aren't offered even the simplest kindnesses or basic interventions - hot tea, a warm blanket, an appetizing meal, or prompt toileting. Dr. Sloan is no easier on the system which is sagging under the weight of care to a full house of those frail elderly who cannot and do not benefit from gee-whiz medicine, and daily regimens of three dozen pills, as the critically ill pile up in the ambulance bay and emergency room hallways. Dozens of solutions are proposed every day. One of the simplest is offered here - compassionate, thoughtful, appropriate care of the elderly. Facing some very hard truths about what aging really involves, and how it inevitably ends, no matter how you intervene. But as Dr. Sloan shows, how you intervene does matter, but it doesn't always have to involve the heavy machinery of modern medicine. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Required Reading,
By M. McConnell - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Bitter Pill (Paperback)
Dr. Sloan relies on his wealth of patient care experience and specific examples to articulate what is wrong with how we care for our elders. He does this without preaching or seeming condescending and I think that is a reflection of the passion and compassion that seem to have been the motivation for this work.I highly recommend this to anyone in health care (like me) who cares for the elderly, is elderly, or has plans to become elderly. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE NEEDS OF THE FRAIL ELDERLY,
By W. Sheridan "Epistemological Entrepreneur" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bitter Pill (Paperback)
The North American population, along with the rest of humanity, is ageing at a predictable rate. Longevity is increasing, and the median age is on the rise. The United Nations predicts that the challenge of ageing will be one of the most important social issues of the 21st century. Most countries are NOT adequately preparing for this challenge.Amongst the elderly, some are healthy and robust, but many are not. Dr. Sloan visits and attends to those seniors who are both frail and ill. Their numbers will only grow as longevity continues to increase and medical intervention continues to innovate. Regrettably however, conventional medical practices do NOT serve the needs of the frail. As Dr. Sloan sees it, there is a radical disconnect between the methods of conventional medicine and the needs of the frail elderly. In most cases these people are suffering from multiple pathologies, their systems can no longer benefit from standardized medication, and their primary concerns are to maintain simple functions and gain some degree of comfort. More tests, more procedures, more drugs - none of these will any longer help. What WILL help is to listen effectively to their articulated needs, and administer the kind of assistance that will restore functioning (walking, eating, etc.) and produce comfort (easing pain and constant worrying). None of this is really very hard to do - BUT it will only likely happen in the context of an understanding of both the benefits AND the limits of conventional medicine. This is the case that Dr. Sloan makes. The available evidence clearly indicates that his is correct. The demographic trends now underway suggest that the current situation will only worsen. Both medical care givers AND the elderly themselves need to read this book, and then pass it onto someone in a policy-making role. Only through the coordinated actions of the elderly, medical practitioners, and health policy-makers can the true needs of the frail elderly be administered to, and the costly mis-application of resources be corrected. |
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
