Doctored : the disillusionment of an American physician
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-265).

The patient is ill indeed. A perverse system forces doctors to prescribe unnecessary tests and participate in an elaborate system of cronyism just to cover costs and protect themselves from malpractice suits. Jauhar reports cases where a single patient might see fifteen specialists in one hospital stay, fail to receive a full picture of his actual condition, and leave with a bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Jauhar himself wrestles with his conscience as, struggling to make ends meet, he moonlights for a practitioner who charges exorbitant fees for tests of questionable value. Doctored is a cry for reform; a look at what really goes on in examining rooms, ORs, and your own doctor's mind; and, most of all, a personal and unsparing act of introspection by a physician who wants to return meaning and moral grounding to a noble profession that has lost its way.