Years ago, I decided to stop writing book reviews. It was mostly self-defense. The primary reason was that I could no longer keep up with requests. The second reason was that books written by patients tended to be angry. As sad as I am for their horrible experiences, I decided I could no longer spend so much time wallowing in other people’s anger.

The third reason is that too often, books written by doctors to instruct patients how to behave when they access healthcare, are akin to the fox-doctor telling the chicken-patient how to behave in the medical care henhouse. I got fed up with some of the holier-than-thou tomes put together by physicians just so they could preach to patients on the printed page just as they do in their practices. Rather than give them all lousy reviews, I just stopped reading them.

But – I found an exception. And I’m going to share it with you here because I think you’ll find it useful. This book was worth extricating myself from my self-imposed book review exile.

Steven Kussin, MD, a gastroenterologist and internist for a 30+ year career, found himself on the receiving end of healthcare after a horrendous car accident. He spent years in hospitals, rehab, and home care as he recovered from his injuries. Along the way he realized that the healthcare system has become practically unnavigable, frightening and terribly challenging. And if you are a patient with no medical training, then it’s a minor miracle if you can come through it successfully.

So Dr. Kussin wrote his book, Doctor, Your Patient Will See You Now, Gaining the Upper Hand in Your Medical Care for us patients. He offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what’s really going on that can have negative consequences. Then he offers great ideas, workarounds and tactics for improving the care we would get if didn’t have that inside information.

Here’s the review. Take a look. Buy the book, and then, once you’ve read it, I invite you to write your own review. I promise you, you’ll learn all kinds of details and strategies even I didn’t know. (But I do now!)

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Book cover Steven Z. Kussin, MD