Less Medicine, More Health: 7 Assumptions That Drive Too Much Medical Care

If I were president, the very first thing I would do is appoint Dr. Welch as US Surgeon General so he could slay the test pushing, pill popping, money grubbing healthcare monster. Today we are ordered to take tests we don't need for diseases we don't have and subjected to treatments that won't benefit us while we watch our wallets bled dry.Unfortunately, I can't appoint Dr. Welch as Surgeon General, but I can recommend Less Medicine, More Health, a book that will teach you how to take control of your own healthcare so you can achieve the best health with a minimum of medical intrusion. Reading this book is like sitting down with a well respected, caring and wise physician, which is exactly what Dr. Welch is -- a professor of medicine and public health at Dartmouth Medical School, a doctor who was actually trained by the previous Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop.I read Dr. Welch's previous book Overdiagnosis, and I have to say that while I loved the first book (and gave it a glowing review on amazon), the second book is even better because it doesn't just tell which medical tests to avoid, it tells you how to approach each interaction with doctors and the healthcare system, regardless of whether you are perfectly healthy, acutely ill, chronically ill, or dying. Moreover, it does it in an easy to read and enjoyable, conversational style.I'm in my mid 60s and have given a lot of thought to how I want to live out the rest of my days. I'm happy to say it's exactly how Dr. Welch wants to live out the rest of his days. Like Dr. Welch, I want to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible, but without medicalizing my life. That means I eat right, exercise, get vaccinations and treat only those conditions I actually have. I don't subject myself to anxiety provoking screenings to find new problems unless I have actual symptoms. I value my present happiness and ability to lead a pleasant, unmedicalized life far more than I do the small probability of extending my life by extraordinary means just so I can live long enough to develop another horrible illness. I want to enjoy a healthy, happy life today, but I absolutely refuse to making avoiding death my primary goal.Thank you, Dr. Welch, for writing this important book and for spreading the message that we can safeguard our health by living right and seeking medical care only when necessary. We can take control and avoid being victims of the wasteful, harmful, greedy healthcare monster.

I really enjoyed the personal account of Dr. Welch and his philosophy on health and well-being. It’s refreshing and insightful. As a doctor, I feel I should have read it a lot earlier.

Loved the dialogue and the tone set by the doctor. This is a necessary read for anyone and everyone who thinks that they have to be on hyper alert and screened for any and every medical concern. My worry/hypervigilence meter is now turned way down - to a level of normal awareness. For example: the meter just brings my attention to things, like choose a banana over a snickers bar; driving a little too fast, take my foot off the gas and sit back and relax while driving. My attention is now focused where it should be - on my life outside my body. Oh, and my workout intensity - up several notches and it feels great! Even my sleep is better. My average resting heart rate? at age 55 - it is 53!!!

There is an Ancient Jewish Expression that says “A little bit of light has the power to push away much of the darkness”. Let’s just say that the attitudes expressed in this book (I’ve also read “Overdiagnosed”), is worth its weight as 100 Medical Textbooks. I’ve been telling friends for years that “you can become more knowledgeable about your specific condition than your doctor”, and this book backs this up with many facts and properly designed randomized trials.Your doctor is doing his job when he recommends a diagnostic test or procedure, and after that it is time for us to step up to the plate and do Our job, of researching, contemplating, and making Personal Value Assessments, and sometimes saying “no, thank you”. This is how we all behave in all of our other consumer interactions, and Medical Care cannot be treated differently.Make no mistake about it, this book is a threat to a Multi Trillion Dollar industry, and the contents should be read, and reread until the contents become part of our Subconscious thought process. I especially liked the part where a thorough analysis of “Duration of Life” as opposed to Quality of Life comes into distinct question.I now consider myself a true student of Dr. Welch, and will carry this information into all of my interactions with the Medical System.

Muito bom! Gilbert Welch mantém o mesmo padrão de Overdiagnosed.

Every patient and every doctor should read this book. The author comes across as someone I'd like to have a beer with. Someone who'd give medical advice based on patients' best interests and not increasing profits for him, his colleagues or pharma. If you don't want to be a product on the medical conveyor belt where your best interests might not be a priority, this is well worth reading. The assumption that screening is automatically good or that routine visits to doctors are wise are two ideas I no longer believe.

Full disclosure: I'm a doctor. An old one, still in practice though. I teach mindfulness in a medical setting. This is mindful medicine at its best.This is THE book everyone should read and apply, patients and doctors alike since we are all mortal beings. I love the way Welch articulates and explains complex concepts in a simple (and understandable by everyone) but not simplistic manner.Have realistic expectations about what medicine can do for you and be AWARE of the dangers : too much medicine might make you sicker sooner than you need !Read it and bring it to your doctor... He needs it too, probably more than you. You'll have made a BIG difference in everyone's life.THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH DR WELCH for this great book. Don't walk, RUN to get it, and share it. Wise and compulsory reading.

O livro é excelente, claro e objetivo. Mostra o quanto a medicina invadiu nosso cotidiano. Todo médico e, todo paciente potencial, deveria le-lo!

Excellent overview and a book that should be read by every health care consumer. I am an older physician and have recommended Welch's books (all of them) to many patients. This provides a more objective approach to the risks and benefits of modern medicine.