2 out of 4 stars
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Surviving in an Ever-Changing Healthcare Industry by Donna Gault is a short non-fiction book about the many recent changes in healthcare told from the perspective of a longtime healthcare professional. At just under fifty pages, this book is a relatively short and easy read. This book focuses on how recent changes in the industry effect both patients and healthcare professionals, like doctors and nurses.
The author is a registered nurse with a wealth of experience in the industry. Her perspective and insight is appreciable, and she references credible sources throughout the book, like medical journals and articles, that add credibility to her narrative. The author focuses on her concerns about the industry, the influence of politics and federal regulations on the industry, technological advancements and changes, and the relationship between patients and physicians. Most importantly, the author stresses taking charge of one’s own medical care by taking an active role in understanding one’s treatment as well as how the industry works.
The biggest issue I had with this book is that the author offers a lot of fact and opinion but very little regarding actual ‘survival’ in this ‘ever-changing’ industry. The few important tips described to the reader felt rather mundane. For example, keeping a list of important medical diagnoses, medicines, procedures, allergies, etc. seemed rather commonplace to me. Otherwise, the majority of the book focused on opinion and further seemed to focus on the negative aspects of change and failed to incorporate some of the positive.
A significant portion of the short narrative is given to one family physician’s opinion of the change in the industry. Although somewhat interesting, I couldn’t help but feel that this one account was rather biased and not necessarily reflective of the industry as a whole. The narrative would have been easier to digest if the author stuck to hard facts or included the opinions of multiple sources to ensure the opinions conveyed were all encompassing.
The title of this book suggests it provides important tips and sage advice for ensuring one can understand the changing healthcare industry and, ultimately, receive the best care available. Unfortunately, after reading this book, I don’t feel as though I have significantly more knowledge about the subject or am aware of changes to implement and steps to take to really take charge of my medical care. Additionally, at times the book is more opinion based than factual. For those reasons, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. If more concrete tips and advice were provided, I would have considered a higher rating. There is some interesting information about how seasoned health professionals view some recent changes to the industry, so readers interested in healthcare may find this book insightful.
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Surviving in an ever-changing Healthcare Industry
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