H. Gilbert Welch's Books

Overdiagnosed

Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health

By: H. Gilbert Welch,Lisa Schwartz,Steve Woloshin

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Overdiagnosed

Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health

By: H. Gilbert Welch,Lisa Schwartz,Steve Woloshin

An exposé on Big Pharma and the American healthcare system’s zeal for excessive medical testing, from a nationally recognized expert More screening doesn’t lead to better health—but can turn healthy people into patients. Going against the conventional wisdom reinforced by the medical establishment and Big Pharma that more screening is the best preventative medicine, Dr. Gilbert Welch builds a compelling counterargument that what we need are fewer, not more, diagnoses. Documenting the excesses of American medical practice that labels far too many of us as sick, Welch examines the social, ethical, and economic ramifications of a health-care system that unnecessarily diagnoses and treats patients, most of whom will not benefit from treatment, might be harmed by it, and would arguably be better off without screening. Drawing on 25 years of medical practice and research on the effects of medical testing, Welch explains in a straightforward, jargon-free style how the cutoffs for treating a person with “abnormal” test results have been drastically lowered just when technological advances have allowed us to see more and more “abnormalities,” many of which will pose fewer health complications than the procedures that ostensibly cure them. Citing studies that show that 10% of 2,000 healthy people were found to have had silent strokes, and that well over half of men over age sixty have traces of prostate cancer but no impairment, Welch reveals overdiagnosis to be rampant for numerous conditions and diseases, including diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, gallstones, abdominal aortic aneuryisms, blood clots, as well as skin, prostate, breast, and lung cancers. With genetic and prenatal screening now common, patients are being diagnosed not with disease but with “pre-disease” or for being at “high risk” of developing disease. Revealing the economic and medical forces that contribute to overdiagnosis, Welch makes a reasoned call for change that would save us from countless unneeded surgeries, excessive worry, and exorbitant costs, all while maintaining a balanced view of both the potential benefits and harms of diagnosis. Drawing on data, clinical studies, and anecdotes from his own practice, Welch builds a solid, accessible case against the belief that more screening always improves health care.

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Page Count

247

Publisher

Beacon Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807022012

ISBN 13

9780807022016

Less Medicine, More Health

7 Assumptions That Drive Too Much Medical Care

By: Dr. H. Gilbert Welch

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Less Medicine, More Health

7 Assumptions That Drive Too Much Medical Care

By: Dr. H. Gilbert Welch

A nationally recognized expert describes seven widespread assumptions that encourage excessive, ineffective, and sometimes harmful medical care—for readers of Overdiagnosed and Malcolm Gladwell You might think the biggest problem in medical care is that it costs too much. Or that health insurance is too expensive, too uneven, too complicated—and gives you too many forms to fill out. But the central problem is that too much medical care has too little value. Dr. H. Gilbert Welch is worried about too much medical care. He doesn’t deny that some people get too little medical care—rather that the conventional concern about “too little” needs to be balanced with a concern about “too much”: too many people being made to worry about diseases they don’t have and are at only average risk to get; too many people being tested and exposed to the harmful effects of the testing process; too many people being subjected to treatments they don’t need or can’t benefit from. The American public has been sold the idea that seeking medical care is one of the most important steps to maintain wellness. Surprisingly, medical care is not, in fact, well correlated with good health. More medicine does not equal more health; in reality the opposite may be true. In Less Medicine, More Health, Dr. Welch pushes against established wisdom and suggests that medical care can be too aggressive. Drawing on his twenty-five years of medical practice and research, he notes that while economics and lawyers contribute to the excesses of American medicine, the problem is essentially created when the general public clings to these powerful assumptions about the value of tests and treatments—a number of which are just plain wrong. By telling fascinating (and occasionally amusing) stories backed by reliable data, Dr. Welch challenges patients and the health-care establishment to rethink some very fundamental practices. His provocative prescriptions hold the potential to save money and, more important, improve health outcomes for us all.

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Page Count

242

Publisher

Beacon Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807077585

ISBN 13

9780807077580

Should I Be Tested for Cancer?

Maybe Not and Here’s Why

By: H. Gilbert Welch

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Should I Be Tested for Cancer?

Maybe Not and Here’s Why

By: H. Gilbert Welch

In this thought-provoking volume, a physician and public health expert challenges the notion that detecting cancer early always saves lives.

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Page Count

240

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520248368

ISBN 13

9780520248366

Book's by H. Gilbert Welch

Overdiagnosed

Overdiagnosed

Less Medicine, More Health

Less Medicine, More Health

Should I Be Tested for Cancer?

Should I Be Tested for Cancer?

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