Hope or hype [electronic resource] : the obsession with medical advances and the high cost of false promises / Richard A. Deyo, Donald L. Patrick.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [291]-326) and index.

Can there be too much of a good thing? the hazards of uncritically embracing medical advances -- What's the problem? don't we need lifesaving new treatments? -- Medical innovations and American culture: the call of the sirens -- Why more isn't always better: red herrings, side effects, and superbugs -- Why newer isn't always better: unpleasant surprises, recalls, and learning curves -- Social hazards: what we lose by uncritical use of new treatments -- How things really work: opinion makers and regulators of medical advances -- What will you swallow? how drug companies get you to buy more expensive drugs than you may need -- Making friends, playing monopoly, and dirty tricks: other industry strategies -- Stacking the deck? how to get the "right" answer in clinical research -- "Cancer cured--film at 11:00": the media's role in disseminating medical advances -- Doctors and hospitals: fueling the drive for new and more -- Advocacy groups: Mother Teresa's waiting room -- Holes in the safety net: the FDA and the FTC -- Ineffective. inferior or needlessly costly new drugs -- Medical devices that disappoint -- Ineffective or needlessly extensive surgery -- Weight loss technology: shedding pounds from your waistline or your wallet? -- For doctors: evidence-based medicine -- For insurers and researchers: pay now or pay more later -- For all decision makers: getting value for money -- For government: regulatory approaches to improve the dissemination of medical innovations -- For consumers: shared decision making.

Can there be too much of a good thing? the hazards of uncritically embracing medical advances -- What's the problem? don't we need lifesaving new treatments? -- Medical innovations and American culture: the call of the sirens -- Why more isn't always better: red herrings, side effects, and superbugs -- Why newer isn't always better: unpleasant surprises, recalls, and learning curves -- Social hazards: what we lose by uncritical use of new treatments -- How things really work: opinion makers and regulators of medical advances -- What will you swallow? how drug companies get you to buy more expensive drugs than you may need -- Making friends, playing monopoly, and dirty tricks: other industry strategies -- Stacking the deck? how to get the "right" answer in clinical research -- "Cancer cured--film at 11:00": the media's role in disseminating medical advances -- Doctors and hospitals: fueling the drive for new and more -- Advocacy groups: Mother Teresa's waiting room -- Holes in the safety net: the FDA and the FTC -- Useless, harmful, or marginal: popular treatments that caused unnecessary disability, dollar costs, or death -- Ineffective or inferior new drugs -- Medical devices that disappoint -- Ineffective or needlessly extensive surgery -- Weight loss technology: shedding pounds from your waistline or your wallet? -- Crossing the threshold: improving the transition from "experimental" to "standard care" -- For doctors: evidence-based medicine -- For insurers and researchers: pay now or pay more later -- For all decision makers: getting value for money -- For government: regulatory approaches to improve the dissemination of medical innovations -- For consumers: shared decision making.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2015. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries.