Everyone knows of the Hippocratic Oath, the famous
invocation sworn by all neophyte physicians. But most don't realize
that the father of modern medicine was an avid listener and a constant
bedside presence. Hippocrates believed in the doctor-patient connection
and gained worldwide renown for championing science over mysticism
while respecting and advocating the potency of human healing. Today,
argues Dr. David H. Newman, medicine focuses narrowly on the rewards of
technology and science, exaggerating their benefits and ignoring or
minimizing their perils. Dr. Newman sees a disconnect between doctor
and patient, a disregard for the healing power of the bond, and,
ultimately, a disconnect between doctors and their Oath.
The root of this divergence, writes Dr. Newman, lies in the patterns of
secrecy and habit that characterize the "House of Medicine," modern
medicine's entrenched and carefully protected subculture. In reflexive,
often unconscious defense of this subculture, doctors and patients
guard medical authority, cling to tradition, and yield to demands that
they do something or prescribe something. The result is a biomedical
culture that routinely engages in unnecessary and inefficient
practices, and leaves both patient and doctor dissatisfied. While
demonstrating an abiding respect for, and a deep understanding of, the
import of modern science, Dr. Newman reviews research that refutes
common and accepted medical wisdom. He cites studies that show how
mammograms may cause more harm than good; why antibiotics for sore
throats are virtually always unnecessary and therefore dangerous; how
cough syrup is rarely more effective than a sugar pill; the power and
paradox of the placebo effect; how statistics and studies themselves
are frequently deceptive; and why CPR is violent, invasive -- and
almost always futile.
Through an engaging, deeply researched, and eloquent narrative laced
with rich and riveting case studies, Newman cuts to the heart of what
really works -- and doesn't -- in medicine and rebuilds the bridge
between physicians and their patients. |
Hippocrates' Shadow
Secrets from the House of Medicine
by David Newman
Scribner,
2008
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