Accad masterfully immerses the reader in an imaginary but academically rigorous dialogue between the philosopher Socrates and Dr. Geoffrey Rose, one of the major architects of population medicine.
A must read for clinicians, medical students, public health officials, and anyone concerned about health care today.
The book explains...
- How the main ideas behind population medicine were constructed on the basis of paradoxical observations regarding high blood pressure.
- How epidemiological considerations have led proponents of population medicine to distort our fundamental conceptions of health and disease.
- How an undue preoccupation with the "social determinants of health" is turning medical care into a political activity.
- How population medicine fits within the secular trend of bureaucratization of medicine, and how a population-centric approach to care is undermining traditional medical ethics.
Great insights. Lively dialogue!
About the Author
Michel Accad, MD, practices internal medicine and cardiology in San Francisco. He regularly publishes articles in peer-reviewed journals on philosophical aspects of healthcare and medicine. He has given lectures nationally and internationally, and his perspective is frequently solicited in media interviews and podcasts.
Dr. Accad obtained his bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin, and his medical degree from the McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas. He completed his training in cardiology at the University of California San Francisco.
Lately, Dr. Accad has concentrated his scholarly focus on the philosophical underpinnings of medical science and medical ethics, exploring how faulty conceptions of health, disease and the nature of the patient-doctor relationship are at the root of the healthcare crisis. His commentaries on these issues and on healthcare economics also appear on his blog AlertAndOriented.com.