Koncocoo

Best Medicaid & Medicare

Medicare For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))
Medicare For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9781119293392) was previously published as Medicare For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9781119079422). When you should sign up A clear explanation of how Medicare works How you qualify What Medicare covers — and costs The myriad options available How to choose a Part D plan How Medicare works with other healthcare benefits.
Reviews
"Despite being a ‘current’ volume much of the information is out of sync with current requirements."
"Highly recommend for the ease & amount of valuable information Patricia provides."
"Fast shipping - easy to read - helpful in beginning your quest with Medicare, and the different parts of it."
"I found this book very helpful."
"Great book."
"This book is exactly what I needed and answered a lot of my questions about Medicare."
"I got this book for my husband who has been freaking out about how to make an educated decision about our impending foray into retirement."
"Anyway, there are many steps to comparing prices and the book helps you navigate and I really appreciated that section."
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Essentials of Hospital Medicine: A Practical Guide for Clinicians
Hospital Medicine is the fasting growing field of Medicine, and the importance of hospitalists in the delivery of care and success of hospitals continues to increase.
Reviews
"Clear and concise, nice compliment to Washington Manual Therapuetics."
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Get What's Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs (The Get What's Yours Series)
A coauthor of the New York Times bestselling guide to Social Security Get What’s Yours authors an essential companion to explain Medicare, the nation’s other major benefit for older Americans. Social Security provides the bulk of most retirees’ income and Medicare guarantees them affordable health insurance. In Get What’s Yours for Medicare , retirement expert Philip Moeller explains how to understand all these important choices and make the right decisions for your health and wealth now—and for the future. “The indispensable guide to Medicare that does for this essential program what Get What’s Yours does for Social Security.” (Jane Bryant Quinn, author of How to Make Your Money Last and Making the Most of Your Money Now).
Reviews
"From those wonderful people who brought you Get What's Yours For Social Security, (see my review) comes the companion volume on Medicare. Social Security handles Medicare registration, which sadly does not simplify the process, and often complicates it as we start those programs at different ages. -COBRA does not delay the need to sign up for Medicare. - Health Savings Account contributions must cease six months prior to Medicare enrollment. -Although Social Security will send money anywhere in the world, Medicare is only available in the USA. -The penalty for late registration of Part D (drugs) is 1% per month you are late – added to all your monthly payments for life. -Unlike original Medicare, private Medicare Advantage plans usually end at the state line. But they are subsidized by Medicare ($10,000 per person) and so have smaller premiums than Medicare. -If a provider tells you in advance you are not covered, you must ask them to file a claim with Medicare anyway. The endnotes in Get What’s Yours for Medicare are much more valuable than usual."
"The demographics are drastically changing: "Between 2010 and 2050, the United States population ages 65 and older will nearly double, the population ages 80 and older will nearly triple, and the number of nonagenarians and centenarians will quadruple." And so, we need to be extra careful, because medical expenses can wipe us out: "Medical expenses are, sadly, a leading cause of personal bankruptcy." There are 3 big Medicare steps: (1) Sign up at the right time and avoid penalties; (2) Choose from one of two Medicare paths: Original Medicare (with or without Medigap supplemental insurance) and a Part D drug plan, or, Medicare Advantage; (3) Understand what Medicare covers. Perhaps one bit of "good" news is that the insurance marketeers will be anxious to sell us insurance: "No one, it seems, is happier about our coming 65th birthdays than the private insurers who want to sell us policies. There is a big reason the insurance companies are after our business--they get big payouts--up to $10,000 from Uncle Sam for every new policy. There is a Glossary of terms, as well as an Appendix listing links to helpful resources. Advance Review Copy courtesy of NetGalley."
"HOWEVER, being that Medicare involves the government, there are a myriad of exceptions and loopholes, but you at least get an idea of how things are in the medical world once you become a "senior" and what you have to deal with."
"It's a dry read, but has great information for anyone getting ready for Medicare and the maze of options."
"I recommend it to all upcoming and current medicare users."
"Finally I understand all those things about Medicare that my parents couldn't really explain to me!"
"And Ms. Wendy........who cut 3 years at a hearing without, any prior knowledge of same."
"I expect this book will continue to be a useful resource as I make important decisions about Medicare over the next year."
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Best Medicaid & Medicare

Medicare For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))
Get tips on navigating the Medicare maze Determine the best time to enroll—and how Save money by avoiding costly mistakes. For 18 years, as a senior editor of AARP's publications, she wrote hundreds of articles on Medicare and served as its online "Ask Ms. Medicare" columnist, answering thousands of questions sent by Medicare beneficiaries across the nation.
Reviews
"Despite being a ‘current’ volume much of the information is out of sync with current requirements."
"Highly recommend for the ease & amount of valuable information Patricia provides."
"Fast shipping - easy to read - helpful in beginning your quest with Medicare, and the different parts of it."
"I found this book very helpful."
"Great book."
"This book is exactly what I needed and answered a lot of my questions about Medicare."
"I got this book for my husband who has been freaking out about how to make an educated decision about our impending foray into retirement."
"Only in Medicare part D there is some info, the rest is irrelevant."
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Best Federal Jurisdiction Law

The Federalist Papers, Including the Constitution of the United States: (New Edition)
Later scholarship has identified the authors to be Alexander Hamilton, George Washington's Chief of Staff and first Secretary of the Treasury; John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States; and James Madison, father of the Constitution, author of the Bill of Rights, and fourth President of the United States.
Reviews
"Less educated from our point of view, but if you read the Federalist Papers you'd think it was only for the highly educated."
"It's a bit of a struggle when it comes to reading and completely understanding, but I'll make it through."
"What stands out most is that the United States Constitution was not build from any abstract political theories but on the practical and self-evident realities of human nature."
"it is a tough read at times if you don't find the content interesting, and some of it is dry, but there are other treasure troves buried in the book."
"How would a citizen say he didn't like the plot line."
"Apparantly the country was about to break up into 13 little countries, or maybe four countries of combined states. These men were convinced that without a uniting Constitution The USA would be conquered by European countries, or that the factions the country would break up into would be a perpetual war with each other over small matters."
"1: It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force."
"If you wonder what the Constitution ought to mean to you today, read this, and the "companion" to it: the Anti-Federalist Papers, penned by other founding fathers (Patrick Henry among them) who felt that the Constitution gave the Federal government too much power."
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Best Elder Family Law

How to Protect Your Family's Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs: Medicaid Secrets (11th ed.)
(search for ISBN. 978-1941123072). Written by an elder law attorney with over 25 years of experience, this book will help anyone with a family member faced with a long-term stay in a nursing home who wishes to preserve at least some of their assets by qualifying for the Medicaid program. "' The most detailed, plain-English guide I've found to the rules so far is called 'How to Protect Your Family's Assets From Devastating Nursing Home Costs.'". The maze of ever-changing rules and differences between states (and even counties) can be overwhelming, but I felt that Medicaid Secrets armed me with specific questions to ask--questions that would help me understand the various viable options (and their risks and pitfalls) that a qualified ElderCare Attorney might suggest. I suppose one could debate whether there truly are Medicaid "secrets," or whether information buried in a maze of bu­reaucratic language (based on federal law and implemented in significantly different ways by each of the fifty states, and then implemented at the local level by individual clerks) really is in plain sight for all to see. Regardless, Heiser clearly has poured his considerable expertise and his years of practical experience into the publication of a book that I believe practitioners and clients will find extremely useful . Excellent resource to prepare for conversations with lawyer about protecting family assets to care for parents. 5 STARS: Good book to have for people who want to leave some money to kids (not have it all spent on nursing homes.
Reviews
"This book has great information on Medicaid benefits and how to protect your assets in most situations."
"This is a great book for anyone looking to start planning for medicaid or begin planning for their retrierment."
"Good start."
"Great information."
"Excellent resource to prepare for conversations with lawyer about protecting family assets to care for parents."
"It is well worth taking the time to read this book."
"Most of it your probably know....."
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Best Health Risk Assessment

Essentials of Managed Health Care (Essentials of Managed Care)
As the most widely-used textbook on managed care, Essentials of Managed Health Care provides an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the key strategic, tactical, and operational aspects of managed health care and health insurance.
Reviews
"I'm a healthcare administration and management student and this is a really great resource even after the class was complete."
"When I got my MHA I studied this book."
"The information is a lot of background (past issues) before the real subject matter is presented."
"We use the book as a research document."
"I got this book for my class and it was very helpful."
"This has been a very good book."
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Best Medical History & Records

Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge
Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge, Third Edition is an outstanding student resource and guide to the history of healthcare informatics, current issues, basic informatics concepts, and health information management applications.
Reviews
"Needed for school... wasn’t fun reading."
"Rental got here quickly and it was exactly what I needed for class."
"I purchased the third edition but the second edition was the book I received...I am disappointed but I don't have time to reorder and wait without a book.."
"Horrible book."
"had to buy this for a class, did not use it much."
"There are so many typos/formatting mistakes in the Kindle version it is very distracting and detracts from the content."
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Best Medical Management & Reimbursement

CPT 2016 Standard Edition (Cpt / Current Procedural Terminology (Standard Edition))
The CPT 2016 Standard Codebook helps professionals remain compliant with annual Current Procedural Terminology code set changes.
Reviews
"good to have for healthcare claims professionals."
"Comprehensive, easy to follow guidelines just like the 2015 edition."
"Great price."
"Just what was needed for my class and cheaper than the schools required purchase."
"The tabs were unusable as apparently the book had been through some heat enough to glue them down to the page from which they were to be used."
"Color coded pages."
"It's doing the job that I need it to do."
"Not worth the price but need it for school."
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Best Health Care Delivery

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
In Being Mortal , bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. “ Being Mortal , Atul Gawande's masterful exploration of aging, death, and the medical profession's mishandling of both, is his best and most personal book yet.” ― Boston Globe. combining his years of experience as a surgeon with his gift for fluid, seemingly effortless storytelling . has provided us with a moving and clear-eyed look at aging and death in our society, and at the harms we do in turning it into a medical problem, rather than a human one.” ― The New York Review of Books. “A deeply affecting, urgently important book--one not just about dying and the limits of medicine but about living to the last with autonomy, dignity, and joy.” ― Katherine Boo. Gawande's book is not of the kind that some doctors write, reminding us how grim the fact of death can be. Rather, he shows how patients in the terminal phase of their illness can maintain important qualities of life.” ― Wall Street Journal (Best Books of 2014). “ Being Mortal left me tearful, angry, and unable to stop talking about it for a week. A surgeon himself, Gawande is eloquent about the inadequacy of medical school in preparing doctors to confront the subject of death with their patients. “We have come to medicalize aging, frailty, and death, treating them as if they were just one more clinical problem to overcome. Being Mortal is not only wise and deeply moving, it is an essential and insightful book for our times, as one would expect from Atul Gawande, one of our finest physician writers.” ― Oliver Sacks. May it be widely read and inwardly digested.” ― Diana Athill, Financial Times (UK). “A great read that leaves you better equipped to face the future, and without making you feel like you just took your medicine.” ― Mother Jones (Best Books of 2014). One hopes it is the spark that ignites some revolutionary changes in a field of medicine that ultimately touches each of us.” ― Shelf Awareness (Best Books of 2014). “A needed call to action, a cautionary tale of what can go wrong, and often does, when a society fails to engage in a sustained discussion about aging and dying.” ― San Francisco Chronicle.
Reviews
"People of any age want the right to lock their doors, set the temperature they want, dress how they like, eat what they want, admit visitors only when they're in the mood. Yet, nursing homes (and even assisted living communities) are geared toward making these decisions for people in order to keep them safe, gain government funds, and ensure a routine for the facility. In addition, Dr. Gawande shows how end-of-life physical conditions are most often treated as medical crises needing to be "fixed," instead of managed for quality of life when treatment has become futile. He tells a great story of a doctor who convinced a nursing home to bring in two dogs, four cats and one hundred birds!"
"In reading many of his previous books I found he always asked questions: Why do we do things; for what purpose; is this working to achieve the best results for the patient in his physical and cultural circumstance? In speaking of elder care he sadly points out that "Our reluctance to honestly examine the experience of aging and dying has increased the harm and suffering we inflict on people and has denied them the basic comforts they need most". He looks at the "Dying Role" as the end approaches describing it as the patient's ability to "share memories, pass on wisdom and keepsakes, settle relationships, establish legacies and make peace with their God. Gawande shares his deep seated feelings in this book by revealing personal vignettes of how friends and family coped with these powerful and challenging issues."
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Best Health Policy

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
In Being Mortal , bestselling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. “ Being Mortal , Atul Gawande's masterful exploration of aging, death, and the medical profession's mishandling of both, is his best and most personal book yet.” ― Boston Globe. combining his years of experience as a surgeon with his gift for fluid, seemingly effortless storytelling . has provided us with a moving and clear-eyed look at aging and death in our society, and at the harms we do in turning it into a medical problem, rather than a human one.” ― The New York Review of Books. “A deeply affecting, urgently important book--one not just about dying and the limits of medicine but about living to the last with autonomy, dignity, and joy.” ― Katherine Boo. Gawande's book is not of the kind that some doctors write, reminding us how grim the fact of death can be. Rather, he shows how patients in the terminal phase of their illness can maintain important qualities of life.” ― Wall Street Journal (Best Books of 2014). “ Being Mortal left me tearful, angry, and unable to stop talking about it for a week. A surgeon himself, Gawande is eloquent about the inadequacy of medical school in preparing doctors to confront the subject of death with their patients. “We have come to medicalize aging, frailty, and death, treating them as if they were just one more clinical problem to overcome. Being Mortal is not only wise and deeply moving, it is an essential and insightful book for our times, as one would expect from Atul Gawande, one of our finest physician writers.” ― Oliver Sacks. May it be widely read and inwardly digested.” ― Diana Athill, Financial Times (UK). “A great read that leaves you better equipped to face the future, and without making you feel like you just took your medicine.” ― Mother Jones (Best Books of 2014). One hopes it is the spark that ignites some revolutionary changes in a field of medicine that ultimately touches each of us.” ― Shelf Awareness (Best Books of 2014). “A needed call to action, a cautionary tale of what can go wrong, and often does, when a society fails to engage in a sustained discussion about aging and dying.” ― San Francisco Chronicle.
Reviews
"People of any age want the right to lock their doors, set the temperature they want, dress how they like, eat what they want, admit visitors only when they're in the mood. Yet, nursing homes (and even assisted living communities) are geared toward making these decisions for people in order to keep them safe, gain government funds, and ensure a routine for the facility. In addition, Dr. Gawande shows how end-of-life physical conditions are most often treated as medical crises needing to be "fixed," instead of managed for quality of life when treatment has become futile. He tells a great story of a doctor who convinced a nursing home to bring in two dogs, four cats and one hundred birds!"
"In reading many of his previous books I found he always asked questions: Why do we do things; for what purpose; is this working to achieve the best results for the patient in his physical and cultural circumstance? In speaking of elder care he sadly points out that "Our reluctance to honestly examine the experience of aging and dying has increased the harm and suffering we inflict on people and has denied them the basic comforts they need most". He looks at the "Dying Role" as the end approaches describing it as the patient's ability to "share memories, pass on wisdom and keepsakes, settle relationships, establish legacies and make peace with their God. Gawande shares his deep seated feelings in this book by revealing personal vignettes of how friends and family coped with these powerful and challenging issues."
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Best Health Care Administration

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
Already, a simple surgical checklist from the World Health Organization designed by following the ideas described here has been adopted in more than twenty countries as a standard for care and has been heralded as “the biggest clinical invention in thirty years” ( The Independent ). “I read The Checklist Manifesto in one sitting yesterday, which is an amazing tribute to the book that Gawande has crafted. “Few medical writers working today can transmit the gore-drenched terror of an operation that suddenly goes wrong--a terror that has a special resonance when it is Dr. Gawande himself who makes the initial horrifying mistake. Thoughtfully written and soundly defended, this book calls for medical professionals to improve patient care by adopting a basic, common-sense approach.” ― The Washington Post. “ The Checklist Manifesto is beautifully written, engaging, and convincingly makes the case for adopting checklists in medicine, a project to which Gawande has devoted significant time over the last several years. It is in many ways the most personal of his books, a direct call to action to change the way health care is delivered through straightforward and simple, yet proven, means. Fascinating reading.” ― New York Times Book Review. Read this book and you might find yourself making checklists for the most mundane tasks--and be better off for it.” ― BusinessWeek. “Riveting and thought-provoking.” ― The Times (UK).
Reviews
"Very easy to read, very engaging, and it is useful information."
"I was surprised to learn of the dramatic improvement in outcomes that can be achieved through the disciplined use of simple checklists."
"The book gave several good examples,, from many different fields including medicine, construction, flights, and investments where a checklist greatly improved the results."
"Also would like to comment that the many bad reviews have been made by people who haven't completely read the book or understood it."
"Examples of checklists working in various fields."
"Dr. Gawande's book should be required reading for anyone not only in the professional world, but anyone just trying to make their life a little easier and their task management more efficient."
"Gawande does a masterful job of making easy to understand the incredible value of checklists."
"I've read all 4 of Gawande's books and would read another if he made it."
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Best Health Risk Assessment

Motivational Interviewing in Health Care: Helping Patients Change Behavior (Applications of Motivational Interviewing)
Written specifically for health care professionals, this concise book presents powerful tools to enhance communication with patients and guide them in making choices to improve their health, from weight loss, exercise, and smoking cessation, to medication adherence and safer sex practices. "This book provides a well-organized, thoughtful discussion about how to develop a set of interpersonal skills that can promote the betterment of patient care and health behaviors. If you are a health care professional or a mental health professional consulting in a medical setting, and have ever wondered what to do with a seemingly 'unmotivated' patient, this is the book for you." Practical examples and exercises make this book a powerful tool for use in educating medical students, nurses, and other health care professionals about encouraging patients to make healthy choices." "This practical guide moves motivational interviewing (MI) into the realm of everyday health care practice. "Packed with practical pearls of wisdom for guiding patients in the process of changing many types of unhealthy behaviors, this easy-to-read book is a gift to all health care providers. This book is a 'must read' for health care practitioners across disciplines, from novice clinicians searching for practical advice to expert providers seeking professional refueling. Faculty will find this book invaluable for teaching future health care providers, as the information on MI is evidence based and the case examples are drawn from real-world clinical experiences. The book is also a 'must' for undergraduates and graduate students who are interested in motivational interviewing within the world of health care practice." For those with special interest in human behavior, particularly those in the mental health field, this book is a concise, highly readable introduction to motivational interviewing and will likely pique interest for further study of this powerful tool for promoting change." ( Psychiatric Services 2007-11-09). "Provides practical guidance on how clinicians in health care settings can apply MI to promote change in a range of health-related behaviors, such as smoking, exercise, diet, use of new aids or medications, and uptake of services....The book reads like a practice guide, clearly aimed at the time-constrained clinician, with useful short summary statements stressing the main point of each section for the reader....Has the potential to make an important long-term impact on both the individual and population health outcomes." ( American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 2007-11-09). "This book represents the latest thinking from the principal architects and researchers of Motivational Interviewing (MI)....This book is an excellent introduction to MI and has been written to help clinicians integrate this guiding style into their practice. The chapters are well illustrated with examples of dialogue from different settings....A number of case studies are given that relate ways in which health services is resonant with the respectful and collaborative nature of MI....The book has value for family physicians, general practitioners, and registrars who are interested in improving their communication skills, particularly in the area of brief behaviour change counselling. ( South African Family Practice Journal 2007-11-09). "Motivational Interviewing (MI), a method of interacting with patients to enhance behavior change, is a well-tested and established method with over 160 randomized clinical trials demonstrating its efficacy across an array of medical conditions....This book is a helpful tool for all practitioners seeking a better commitment to behavior change in their patients. ( Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 2007-11-09). "Motivational Interviewing in Health Care offers a new approach in communicating for nurses―particularly providers treating patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity―and all health care professionals working to assist patients in making lifestyle changes for better health....As information technology relentlessly invades the realm of patient care, we find ourselves with less time to communicate with and teach our patients, so the time we do have must be optimized....In this book the reader is walked through and provided with positive steps to implement the MI guiding style of communication....Provides many examples of MI conversations, giving the reader insight into how MI communication works and is accomplished. I enjoyed the stories unfolding of how patients arrive at health change decisions, by themselves, if given the guided opportunity by an expert MI communicator.
Reviews
"This book is filled with wonderfully resonant examples of how healthcare professionals should treat their clients."
"Discusses what is motivational interviewing, breaking down its key components and outlining how to practice it."
"Excellent, very readable intro to motivational interviewing."
"Good price for this text."
"Needed this book for teaching a class."
"A very motivational book!"
"As a physician, I spend my day counseling people on diet, exercise, stress control et cetera and this book helps."
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Best Hospital Administration

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
Already, a simple surgical checklist from the World Health Organization designed by following the ideas described here has been adopted in more than twenty countries as a standard for care and has been heralded as “the biggest clinical invention in thirty years” ( The Independent ). “I read The Checklist Manifesto in one sitting yesterday, which is an amazing tribute to the book that Gawande has crafted. “Few medical writers working today can transmit the gore-drenched terror of an operation that suddenly goes wrong--a terror that has a special resonance when it is Dr. Gawande himself who makes the initial horrifying mistake. Thoughtfully written and soundly defended, this book calls for medical professionals to improve patient care by adopting a basic, common-sense approach.” ― The Washington Post. “ The Checklist Manifesto is beautifully written, engaging, and convincingly makes the case for adopting checklists in medicine, a project to which Gawande has devoted significant time over the last several years. It is in many ways the most personal of his books, a direct call to action to change the way health care is delivered through straightforward and simple, yet proven, means. Fascinating reading.” ― New York Times Book Review. Read this book and you might find yourself making checklists for the most mundane tasks--and be better off for it.” ― BusinessWeek. “Riveting and thought-provoking.” ― The Times (UK).
Reviews
"Very easy to read, very engaging, and it is useful information."
"I was surprised to learn of the dramatic improvement in outcomes that can be achieved through the disciplined use of simple checklists."
"Also would like to comment that the many bad reviews have been made by people who haven't completely read the book or understood it."
"Examples of checklists working in various fields."
"Dr. Gawande's book should be required reading for anyone not only in the professional world, but anyone just trying to make their life a little easier and their task management more efficient."
"Gawande does a masterful job of making easy to understand the incredible value of checklists."
"I've read all 4 of Gawande's books and would read another if he made it."
"I have been reading gawande's books since reading"Being Mortal,"."
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Best Public Health Administration

When Breath Becomes Air
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both. And part comes from the way he conveys what happened to him—passionately working and striving, deferring gratification, waiting to live, learning to die—so well.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times. The book brims with insightful reflections on mortality that are especially poignant coming from a trained physician familiar with what lies ahead.” — The Boston Globe. As he wrote to a friend: ‘It’s just tragic enough and just imaginable enough.’ And just important enough to be unmissable.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Paul Kalanithi’s memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, written as he faced a terminal cancer diagnosis, is inherently sad. It is, despite its grim undertone, accidentally inspiring.” — The Washington Post “Paul Kalanithi’s posthumous memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, possesses the gravity and wisdom of an ancient Greek tragedy. [Kalanithi] is so likeable, so relatable, and so humble, that you become immersed in his world and forget where it’s all heading.” — USA Today “It’s [Kalanithi’s] unsentimental approach that makes When Breath Becomes Air so original—and so devastating. “Rattling, heartbreaking, and ultimately beautiful, the too-young Dr. Kalanithi’s memoir is proof that the dying are the ones who have the most to teach us about life.” —Atul Gawande “Thanks to When Breath Becomes Air, those of us who never met Paul Kalanithi will both mourn his death and benefit from his life. Kalanithi strives to define his dual role as physician and patient, and he weighs in on such topics as what makes life meaningful and how one determines what is most important when little time is left. This deeply moving memoir reveals how much can be achieved through service and gratitude when a life is courageously and resiliently lived.” — Publishers Weekly “A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity . Kalanithi describes, clearly and simply, and entirely without self-pity, his journey from innocent medical student to professionally detached and all-powerful neurosurgeon to helpless patient, dying from cancer. Every doctor should read this book—written by a member of our own tribe, it helps us understand and overcome the barriers we all erect between ourselves and our patients as soon as we are out of medical school.” —Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery “A tremendous book, crackling with life, animated by wonder and by the question of how we should live. Paul Kalanithi lived and died in the pursuit of excellence, and by this testimonial, he achieved it.” —Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human Being.
Reviews
"Ultimately there's not much triumph in it in the traditional sense but there is a dogged, quiet resilience and a frank earthiness that endures long after the last word appears. Dr. Kalanithi talks about his upbringing as the child of hardworking Indian immigrant parents and his tenacious and passionate espousal of medicine and literature. He speaks lovingly of his relationship with his remarkable wife - also a doctor - who he met in medical school and who played an outsized role in supporting him through everything he went through. He had a stunning and multifaceted career, studying biology and literature at Stanford, then history and philosophy of medicine at Cambridge, and finally neurosurgery at Yale. The mark of a man of letters is evident everywhere in the book, and quotes from Eliot, Beckett, Pope and Shakespeare make frequent appearances. Metaphors abound and the prose often soars: When describing how important it is to develop good surgical technique, he tells us that "Technical excellence was a moral requirement"; meanwhile, the overwhelming stress of late night shifts, hundred hour weeks and patients with acute trauma made him occasionally feel like he was "trapped in an endless jungle summer, wet with sweat, the rain of tears of the dying pouring down". The painful uncertainty which he documents - in particular the tyranny of statistics which makes it impossible to predict how a specific individual will react to cancer therapy - must sadly be familiar to anyone who has had experience with the disease. There are heartbreaking descriptions of how at one point the cancer seemed to have almost disappeared and how, after Dr. Kalanithi had again cautiously made plans for a hopeful future with his wife, it returned with a vengeance and he had to finally stop working."
"He says this, “The secret is to know that the deck is stacked, that you will lose, that your hands or judgment will slip, and yet still struggle to win …You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which are ceaselessly striving. In the foreword by fellow doctor and writer Abraham Verghese, that doctor writes, “He (Paul) wasn’t writing about anything—he was writing about time and what it meant to him now, in the context of his illness.” And in the afterword by his wife Lucy, the meaning of that time becomes even clearer."
"The introspective reader is taken on some part of Dr. Kalanithi's journey from strength to vulnerability, and one cannot help but marvel at and be inspired by his determination to share his insights and experiences by writing a book despite the physical discomfort he was going through."
"Like when you go running and forget you are on a run, because you are one with the run; reading this I was so absorbed, it was like I was listening to Paul, hearing his words, versus reading them...."
"It is so beautifully written how he and his wife learn to make the best of a terrible disease and the way it impacted their relationship and life plans.i would recommend it to anyone in the health field especially doctors to gain understanding for their patients and to anyone who wants to help a friend or relative with a life threatening disease."
"This book tells the heart wrenching story of a family and physician who had to face death."
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Best Rural Health Administration

Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook, Revised Edition
Useful for health workers, clinicians, and others involved in primary health care delivery and health promotion programs, with millions of copies in print in more than 75 languages, the manual provides practical, easily understood information on how to diagnose, treat, and prevent common diseases. The Hesperian Foundation has been selling (this) Third World medical manual at a brisk pace for more than 25 years...(This) classic public-health text has meant survival for thousands in the Third World since the early 1970s, according to officials from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Peace Corps...it stands as arguably the most widely use public-health manual in the world, according to WHO...WHO officials noted that since 1978, it, too, has adopted the kind of community-based approach to health care exemplified by ( Where There Is No Doctor ). Home health care manuals are a dime a dozen, but this one is in a league by itself...This amazing manual...successfully brings together modern concepts of public health and personal health care into a usable and understandable format for the Third World villager.
Reviews
"A great resource for the book I'm writing."
"Good Information to know in an emergency."
"I had a version of it 30 years ago."
"Well written, I am medical, but I believe a lay person can understand most of the info.......Great book."
"There's little technical terms....it's not even PC : ). My favorite part of the book is the "general conditions of health" lessons. There are specific instructions on what types of questions to ask, how to examine eyes, pulse, ears, nose & throat, skin, abdomen and muscles/nerves and look for any signs of illness. In times of disruption of services or mass emergencies, such as a natural disaster, this information could prove to be invaluable. Having the ability to evaluate & treat cuts of all sizes, burns and other injuries also could be invaluable at times of restricted medical access, as well as avoiding unnecessary trips to emergency rooms. There is a lot included in this book that I will likely never need as I don't travel much, and don't ever plan to treat or evaluate other human beings outside my family, but I understand it is largely written for areas with little or no access to professional medical services. While obviously meant for 3rd world conditions, in a Katrina type situation, there may be some helpful tips or pointers. Most Americans already know the basics on sanitation, but might have a tougher time than we think with the practicality if ever faced with an emergency situation."
"Treating patients in the third world without a laboratory, X-ray, or other modern tools takes a different mindset that WHERE THERE IS NO DOCTOR puts into perspective."
"Happy to have it in my library."
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