Mistreated

Why We Think We're Getting Good Health Care -- and Why We're Usually Wrong

By: Robert Pearl MD MD

Narrated by: Jamie Renell

The biggest problem in American health care is us

Do you know how to tell good health care from bad health care? Guess again. As patients, we wrongly assume the "best" care is dependent mainly on the newest medications, the most complex treatments, and the smartest doctors. But Americans look for health-care solutions in the wrong places. For example, hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved each year if doctors reduced common errors and maximized preventive medicine.

For Dr. Robert Pearl, these kinds of mistakes are a matter of professional importance, but also personal significance: he lost his own father due in part to poor communication and treatment planning by doctors. And consumers make costly mistakes too: we demand modern information technology from our banks, airlines, and retailers, but we passively accept last century's technology in our health care.

Solving the challenges of health care starts with understanding these problems. Mistreated explains why subconscious misperceptions are so common in medicine, and shows how modifying the structure, technology, financing, and leadership of American health care could radically improve quality outcomes. This important book proves we can overcome our fears and faulty assumptions, and provides a roadmap for a better, healthier future.

Critic reviews

"Mistreated is a powerful read, an incredible insight into American health care, a mix of poignant personal memoir by a son, the clinical perspective of an experienced surgeon, and the vision and understanding that comes from being the CEO of one of the largest and best health care organizations in the country. Robert Pearl is all those things, and with Mistreated he proves he is also a wonderful writer."—Abraham Verghese, MD, professor of medicine,Stanford University, and author of Cutting for Stone

"Robert Pearl argues that the troubles of the American health care system begin with a problem of perception: conceptual misunderstandings that warp priorities and distort choices. Mistreated is a brilliant and original analysis from one of medicine's most insightful leaders. The doctor is in."—MalcolmGladwell, bestselling author of David and Goliath

"Mistreated is a timely and necessary book on how to fix our broken health system from one of our most important voices in health care. Dr. Robert Pearl's diagnosis isn't pretty. Morale in health care is low, costs are unmanageable, and health and survival are often worse than in other high-income countries. But Pearl is a leader who transformed his own health system to have very different results for patients and clinicians alike. And he offers that experience to show everyone the way."—AtulGawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal

"Pundits like to speculate about the future of health care, but Dr. Robert Pearl has been busy creating it . . . at scale. As CEO of the nation's largest medical group, he and his colleagues at Kaiser Permanente have created a system serving 10 million members that is low cost, but with nation-leading quality outcomes and high patient satisfaction. They haven't just bent the cost curve, they've wrestled it into submission. If you want to understand how to fix health care, listen to him: he knows."—Chip Heath, coauthor of Switch and Decisive

"Relying on his long history as one of the country's most innovative and powerful physician-leaders, Dr. Robert Pearl lays bare the shortsightedness of the broken US health care system: why we resist better science, newer technology, and reform. He offers a vision of how to improve our medical care, informed and tested in his own real world practice."—-Elisabeth Rosenthal, editor in chief of Kaiser HealthNews

"Drawing on psychological research and his diverse roles as physician, business professor, and chief executive, Dr. Pearl diagnoses the problems of the American health care system and offers simple yet important solutions. In a health care system undergoing rapid changes, Mistreated is an essential and trusted guide to the future."—EzekielJ. Emanuel, author of Reinventing American Health Care

Wow…the book summarized my entire MPH curriculum

As an engineer, this book helped me understand the culture of public health. This is a must read for anyone new to public health, especially if you’re transitioning into the industry from another.

Thought-provoking

The audio performance was well done. I need to figure out bookmarks though. (Hard when I'm driving though).

I did not agree with all the author's conclusions. However, he did make me consider the factors we use to decide if our healthcare is good or poor. Most helpful was looking for grades / performance on offices and teams rather just an individual doctor. Knowing how well a facility mitigates infection risk is vital and I will do that research going forward.

Mistreated

Mistreated is a comprehensive, objective discussion of healthcare problems and possibilities for improvement. It should be considered for review by those involved with shaping reform for understanding the history of reform and barriers to implementation.
Dr. Pearl addresses politics, finances, ethics, emotions, and offers solid sequential solutions that are worthy of consideration in all arenas.
The book is an easy listen, a great overview of a complicated subject.

eye-opening; a guide to holistic healthcare

Although it took me a while to finish, Dr. Perl delivered a great read! will look for more of his work

A must read for anyone concerned about Healthcare

A fantastic and perceptive look at the state of American healthcare provision. Well researched and informed from someone with experience as provider and recipient.