| Synopsis: |
Vernon Coleman's Laws of Medicine have been carefully formulated over nearly 40 years of practising and writing about medicine. "However good your doctor is - and however much you may trust him or her - you must share the responsibility for your own health, and you must know when to tell your doctor if you think that the treatment with which he or she is providing you could be causing problems. After all, your nice friendly doctor is far more likely to kill you than is a burlar, a deranged relative or a drunken motorist. Sadley, things aren't going to get any better. Indeed, my view is that everyting will continue to get worse. Medicine is complex, and becoming ever more complex by the day, and medical students and young nurses are being taught within a system which is geared towards defending administrators and drug companies. In many hospitals patients are regarded (if they are regarded at all) as a nuisance. Things will only change for the better when patients and the honest professionals who do care are prepared to stand up and make their voices heard. Tell your friends, neighbours and collegues what you have read. Share what you have learnt.Things don't have to be as bad as they are. But only we can make a difference. I have built this book around 12 basic laws of medicine which I have, over the years, formulated for my own benefit, as a doctor, an observer and a patient. I have illustrated the twelve laws with clinical anecdotes and scientific data." |