Fragmented

A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care

By: Ilana Yurkiewicz MD

Narrated by: Ilana Yurkiewicz MD

There's an unspoken assumption when we go to see a doctor: the doctor knows our medical story and is making decisions based on that story. But reality often falls short. Medical records vanish when we switch doctors. Critical details of life-saving treatment plans get lost in muddled electronic charts. The doctors we see change according to specialty, hospital shifts, or an insurer's whims.

In this gripping narrative from medicine's front lines, Ilana Yurkiewicz reveals how a system that doesn't talk to itself puts insupportable burdens on physicians, patients, and caregivers. The stories she tells are at once harrowing and commonplace. A patient narrowly averts an unnecessary, invasive heart procedure by producing a worn rhythm strip he has carried in his pocket for a decade. A man diagnosed with leukemia while visiting from abroad has thirty-one physicians, but no one he can call "his" doctor, with tragic consequences. When Yurkiewicz's own father falls ill, a culture that incentivizes health care providers to react with quick fixes leads to weeks of additional suffering.

The system is hanging by a thread, and we need better solutions. Yurkiewicz issues a clear-eyed call for change, naming concrete reforms doctors and policymakers can make, and empowering patients and their loved ones to advocate for themselves in the meantime.

©2023 Ilana Yurkiewicz (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Outstanding

Well written, well read. I'm not sure how all the issues the author raises will be solved, but hopefully this book will be part of a cultural shift that leads to changes in important areas like realistic work hours and information access. Inspired ne to slow down, think more broadly, and hopefully be a better doctor.

A sad reflection of the struggles physicians face in America

Love the cases and the way they were portrayed. It is truly something that’s been in my mind my entire career. I love how Dr Yurkiewicz presented her case in an understandable language and using her personal patient experiences. Lovely book!