WELCH, H. GILBERT, MD
LESS MEDICINE, MORE HEALTH: 7 ASSUMPTIONS THAT DRIVE TOO MUCH MEDICAL CARE (2015)
The author is a professor at the Dartmouth Medical School and has obviously given considerable thought to the question of how medical care is used in the United States. He sees a system with serious flaws--some of which are attributable to Americans' overuse of medical care.
Doctors are encouraged by the current system to order up tests and more tests and to perform procedures and surgeries that can do so much harm that they're unjustified, and patients are often scared by media hype into going along with whatever the doctors recommend. Or, partly because modern medicine is so very complex, they simply don't understand what the issues are.
The author sees particular problems in the way breast cancer and prostate cancer are often overdiagnosed. He sees no need for an annual physical exam to consist of many tests and very little face-to-face time between doctor and patient--as all too often happens.
These are just some of the eminently sensible recommendations in this excellent book, which makes its points succinctly and clearly.
The author is strongly in favor of leaving well enough alone when it comes to the human body. He says: "The passage of time can have both diagnostic and therapeutic value."
This is a book that many people should read before they report for their next medical procedure.