Strong Medicine: How to Save Canada's Health Care System

Toronto: HarperCollinsPublishersLtd, 1994. First edition. Stated. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good in very good dust jacket. Signed by author. Inscription signed by Rachlis.. xi, 396 p. Illustrations. Notes. Index. Canadians are frightened. The media tell desperate stories of patients waiting for heart surgery; the government restricts the number of new doctors and closes down hospital wards; user fees and privately funded clinics seem to be creeping quietly into the system. Is the only cure for our critically ill health-care system a swift mercy killing--or yet another massive injection of life-saving funds? Dr. Michael Rachlis and Carol Kushner, who focused national media and public attention on the waste of our health-care dollars in their groundbreaking and highly influential Second Opinion, say reform, not dismantling, should be the new prescription for Medicare. What's more, the authors' cure for what ails our system--including a healthy dose of preventative medicine--will actually improve the quality of care with no additional burden on taxpayers. As convincing and provocative as Second Opinion, Strong Medicine should be prescribed reading for politicians, policy makers, health-care professionals and patients. --Reveals how poor-quality health care kills thousands of Canadians every year--Exposes the unholy alliance among the drug industry, government and scientist--Explains why there are so many lies about Canada's health-care system in the United States--Clarifies which so-called reforms spell disaster for Medicare and which are vital to its survival.