Snowball in a Blizzard: The Tricky Problem of Uncertainty in Medicine

Steven Hatch

ISBN 10: 178649017X / ISBN 13: 9781786490179

Editore: Atlantic Books, 2016

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320 pages. Cover wornThere's a running joke among radiologists: finding a tumor in a mammogram is akin to finding a snowball in a blizzard. A bit of medical gallows humor, this s imile illustrates the difficulties of finding signals (the snowball) against a b ackground of noise (the blizzard). Doctors are faced with similar difficulties e very day when sifting through piles of data from blood tests to X-rays to endles s lists of patient symptoms. Diagnoses are often just educated guesses, and prog noses less certain still. There is a significant amount of uncertainty in the da ily practice of medicine, resulting in confusion and potentially deadly complica tions. Dr. Steven Hatch argues that instead of ignoring this uncertainty, we sh ould embrace it. By digging deeply into a number of rancorous controversies, fro m breast cancer screening to blood pressure management, Hatch shows us how medic ine can fail--sometimes spectacularly--when patients and doctors alike place too much faith in modern medical technology. The key to good health might lie in th e ability to recognize the hype created by so many medical reports, sense when t o push a physician for more testing, or resist a physician's enthusiasm when unn ecessary tests or treatments are being offered. Both humbling and empowering, S nowball in a Blizzard lays bare the inescapable murkiness that permeates the the ory and practice of modern medicine. Essential reading for physicians and patien ts alike, this book shows how, by recognizing rather than denying that uncertain ty, we can all make better health decisions.

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Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Snowball in a Blizzard: The Tricky Problem of Uncertainty in Medicine
• Editore: Atlantic Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2016
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 178649017X
• ISBN 13: 9781786490179
• Rilegatura: Paperback
• Condizione: Good
• Cataloghi dei venditori:
  • Medicine

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

There's a running joke among radiologists: finding a possible tumour in a mammogram, they say, is akin to finding a snowball in a blizzard. The result? Up to 30% of breast cancer surgeries are done on those who have no cancer at all.In this landmark book, medical professor Steven Hatch reveals that although modern medicine has reached new levels of scientific prowess, we know far less than we think we do. Indeed, CAT scans, MRIs, Mammograms, and blood tests provide a wall of data where false positives are rife. Thus, to be a good doctor, surgeon, or psychiatrist, it is just as important to know what one doesn't know, as what one does.Covering everything from the efficacy of Prozac to the regular barrage of health advice by the media (e.g. bacon causing cancer), Hatch shows why it's essential that doctors and their patients know how to interpret data. A drug that might be very effective to a certain cohort of patients suddenly becomes little more than a placebo when given to large bodies of the population (think Statins). A prognosis of 10 years to live might be accurate on average but mean nothing for the individual cancer patient. Filled with the kind of revelations about flawed human reasoning that made Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow a bestseller, this is the must-read medical book for 2016.

Informazioni sull'autore

Steven Hatch is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also a practicing physician, clinical consultant, and medical student educator. Prior to his medical training, Hatch worked as a science writer for the Boston University School of Medicine.