Journalists and Journalism Students
Are you a journalist or journalism student? Have you considered using your skills to investigate and write about the healthcare system? That is a special kind of challenge!
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If so, it is vital that you be able to evaluate the daily hype related to diagnosis and treatment innovations and matters like the appropriateness and value of the billions we spend in health care. To be able to do this, you must understand the real nature of health care, what it can and can’t do, the kinds of decisions and how they are made, what their consequences can be and how to evaluate clinical and administrative choices.
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Perhaps most importantly, you will need to understand how scientists assess the results of care – so you can assess if interventions produced appropriate outcomes or were bad for patients. You may need to determine if treatments went sour as a consequence of error. Journalists reporting on health care should be able to pose meaningful and answerable questions about the value of medical procedures and processes, and the benefits and harms of medical testing and treatment. Those reporting on public policy should know how to evaluate which policies have good or bad impacts on patients and communities, and how appropriately taxpayers’ money is used.
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The purpose of health care is to keep people healthy; The Nature of Clinical Care articulates what that means, how that’s done, and how we measure and assess the results of care.
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We have introduced the material in three segments. Volume 1 deals with Physical Medicine and the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. Volume 2 addresses the care of the mind. It also broadens the care of the individual body and mind into the care of the population – the objective of Public Health. The third volume reveals important ideas patients must understand to participate meaningfully in their own care.
The material focuses on understanding concepts, rather than memorizing details. It is an accessible distillation of what you need to know without going though medical school.
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We divided the material into easy-to-understand, concise chapters. You can pretty much start anywhere and hop around, according to your interests, study or work requirements. The books incorporate interesting stories, a bit of weird humor, and examples from real life clinical care that make them more engaging.
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We all recognize that the health system is one of our most complex organizations, not surprising as it must address the complexity of humans, human nature and human health. This material will enable you to deal with the health system and write correctly and cogently about it. In summary, The Nature of Clinical Care is comprehensive, lucid, absorbing, and an excellent essential foundation for you to confidently deal with current and future healthcare issues.