Dr. Steven Z. Kussin addresses not a particular group of patients but the world at large. A bad car accident 10 years ago prompted him to reflect at length on the “process and philosophy” of medical care, and his book is an encyclopedic treatise on the sad state of medicine today and the best ways for an Internet-savvy consumer to cope....He also offers the occasional nugget of unusual advice. Should you really send your doctor a birthday card and gift to get better care, as he suggests? As bad as things are out there, one does like to think this particular precaution has not yet become necessary. The sardonic commentary loops on — Kurt Vonnegut meeting Miss Manners — as Dr. Kussin settles himself down at the edge of your bed for a nice long lecture....Dr. Kussin does offer comprehensive advice on using medical Web sites to advantage....For future sociologists, this book will serve as an invaluable guide to the echoing chambers of the 2011 doctor’s mind.

The New York Times

After a traumatic automobile accident put an end to his career, Dr. Kussin, once a successful gastroenterologist, took on the role of patient, undergoing several surgeries, was confined to a wheelchair and faced prolonged rehabilitation. Although he was regarded as a medical professional by the doctors and nurses who treated him, his long stay in the hospital gave him a new perspective on the problems faced by ordinary patients and their families who are frequently out of the loop on important decisions. He became a close observer of medical errors in his own treatment but more so in that of others patients. According to Kussin's findings, hundreds of thousands die, or are injured each year from preventable error and infection. High on the list is the failure of medical professionals simply to wash their hands and maintain a sanitary environment. As a solution, Kussin recommends a number of low-cost sites where useful medical information can be found. He also discusses criteria for choosing a doctor and a hospital and he reviews the problem of pharmaceutical over-kill. Aimed at those who are well covered by insurance, Kussin offers invaluable advice to help patients and their families be proactive and become their own medical advocates.

Publishers Weekly

A Booklist Top 10 Health and Wellness Book!

Primers on how to get the best possible medical care can be boring. This one is not. It opens dramatically, with a teenage driver crashing into the author’s car, which ended his 30 years in clinical practice as a doctor and turned him into a patient. This experience, not just his status as a physician, gives Kussin automatic credibility before he launches into how to choose a doctor and a hospital (the best physician is more important than a big-name medical center) and how to prevent disasters (constant vigilance). Kussin can be scary: 'From the moment you arrive until the second you leave, your hospital, any hospital, is the most unsafe environment most of you will ever enter.' Kussin’s list of possible errors is a long one: accidental punctures during surgery, infections, identity mistakes, and medication errors (six percent of in hospital deaths are, in part, drug-related). He offers advice about how to prevent each horror and reminds us that doctors and insurance companies make mistakes. Kussin’s advice: 'Be nice, be courteous, but be persistent.' This book can save lives.

Booklist, Starred Review

So many "smart patient" books are penned by physicians, intending to teach patients what doctors prefer patients do in order to make their doctor jobs easier. But this book is different. Instead it reveals behind-the-scenes, and sometimes unsettling inside information allowing us patients a glimpse at why the system operates the way it does so we can learn to overcome obstacles to the care we truly deserve.

About.Com

Dr. Kussin writes a riveting story of the stark reality when a doctor becomes a patient. He offers advice from both sides of the bedrails on how to navigate a complex system and get the care you need.

Rosemary Gibson

The American medical system is a vast, sprawling, complicated thing. It is barely understandable to the physicians who work in it, and totally bewildering to the majority of patients who must use it. Dr. Kussin's book is a hard-headed, practical user's guide for people who want to know how our complicated and messy system works day-to-day in doctors' offices and hospitals. It shows readers how to be savvy, how to be their own best advocate in getting good care and avoiding bad care-in short, how to become proficient in the art of what Dr. Kussin aptly calls "patienthood."

Christopher M. Johnson M.D., author of How Your Child Heals: An Inside Look at Common Childhood Ailments