One Doctor: Close Calls, Cold Cases, and the Mysteries of Medicine Paperback – November 25, 2014

I read this book eagerly as Dr. Brendan Reilly is one of the most admired and respected physicians in the United States. He has been a teacher and role model to thousands of young physicians in New Hampshire, Chicago, and New York. Reading this book is like being on rounds with Dr. Reilly, but wearing HIS white coat, not your own, as the book is a first-hand account of about two weeks in his life. You get to hear his thoughts about the patients, do the physical exam with him, and struggle to explain to patients what is happening in their bodies, when often times no one has explained it before.For me, one of the most remarkable aspects of this book was that it is not a textbook. It is a true story that really happened to Dr. Reilly. The story is gripping and exciting; it is not a "dry" book of medicine by any means.He also has interesting asides, or tangents and one reviewer called them. These asides try to explain some of the science or evidence behind what is happening in the book. He talks about diagnostic testing and how doctors need to understand the nature of the tests they are ordering and how they apply to their specific patient. He talks about resident work hours and how residency has changed as a result.The overarching theme of the book, and an obvious theme for anybody working in medical practice today, is that the overwhelming DISCONTINUITY OF CARE is harmful to patients and their families. Dr. Reilly believes that what everyone really needs is ONE DOCTOR, not dozens of specialists, who really knows you and listens to you. He demonstrates that by discussing his hospitalized patients, his clinic patients from long-ago, and his own parents. (The part of the book about his parents is extremely moving.)As a practicing hospitalist and a perpetual student of medicine, I will reexamine my practice and incorporate what I learned (again) from Dr. Reilly. I will also emphasize with my patients the need for them to go back to their primary care docs and I commit to communicating well with those docs.

This is one of best books I've read in a long time. As a RN, I've had strong feelings against hospitalists. After being in the hospital in Florida, it just intensified. I had a different doctor every day, and most of them barely spoke English, making continuity of care even worse. This past December, at my home, I became gravely ill. I didn't know that my doctor and hospital used the hospitalists. Being near death is not a good time to find that out. I was heartbroken. Thank goodness my surgeon was there and knew me. After surgery, being on a ventilator in ICU was very frightening. My surgeon and nurses were tremendous, and the hospitalist was at least the same doctor every day, so did get to know me, but this is a horrible direction for hospitals to take. The time when you need and want your doctor the most, they aren't there. It will leave lifelong scars.At the same time, my mother-in-law was in another hospital in ICU (she has dementia), under the care of another hospitalist. Had I not been able to relay info directly to this ignorant doctor, they would have grossly mismanaged her care.A few weeks ago, my mom was hospitalized. Again, her doctor doesn't make rounds anymore, so the doctor knew nothing about her. We finally became familiarized with the hospitalist, but the specialist was different everyday, and a doctor covering for their group on the weekend was horrible and just made rounds to say he did. Had I not been there, I shudder to think of the care she would have received.The advancement of computerized medical records has done nothing to improve the quality of care with this type of care.We need OUR doctors taking care of us in the hospital. Money should not be the main driver in hospitals push to this system.The one thing I do disagree with with Dr Reilly, is the amenities that hospitals should provide. Not that it needs to be a 5 star hotel, but try being a patient for more than a few days. A private room, a comfortable bed, a good flatscreen tv with a lot of channel choices, good food, good wifi service, and decent provisions for visitors are essential to a comfortable stay which does promote quick healing. My husband and I provide our own private insurance which is almost as much as our house payment. I don't think that those amenities are too much to ask for, especially since I ended up paying for the under and uninsured.But I loved the book, and would read more by Dr Reilly.

Very personal history of the changes in American medical practice from the 1980s until 2015. Well written a little too personal on end of life for parents but great on patient care in his practice

This is so true, so actual and yet so insightful to the lay reader. It touches on issues we all, as American patients, wonder about…why is it so hard to find a GP, What in the world is a Hospitalist. Does anyone really care about patients really, and if so many doctors are SO busy why do they become doctors if they cant give consideration to their patients.

Excelente visión de su sistema sanitario extrapolable a muchos otros. Sorprende que un médico tan veterano y de prestigio se meta en estos berenjenales, lo cual es muy de agradecer.Se lee muy bien, tanto para profesionales como profanos.

One of the best and most moving books on what it means to be a doctor.

読むだけで大変に疲れる内容である。終末期の高齢の両親の主治医を兼ねて面倒をみながら、土曜日、日曜日も休みなく、早朝から夜遅くまで、診療業務と若い医師達の指導に明け暮れる日常の様子ガ描写されている。アメリカにおける医療の問題、特に健康保険制度と高額な医療費問題、格差問題、病気の診断や治療方法決定に至るまでの臨床医の悩み、尊厳死についての患者家族との意見のやり取り、またその実施における具体的対処の難しさ等々、数名の具体例をあげて記載されている。アメリカ医療の現状を知るには極めて優れた内容である。ただ惜しむらくは、文章構成が複雑で内容が錯綜しており、すっきりした読後感が得られない。これは筆者の日常臨床現場をそのまま文章に表したためかと思われる。全体を通して、医師以外の読者にはやや難解な書物かと思われる。

A must read for all healthcare professionals