The Good Doctor: What Patients Want

by Ron Paterson

Drawing upon real accounts of negligence, incompetence, and distrust, this book seeks to identify the key competencies of a good doctor, the ways in which medical care fails, and the roadblocks to ensuring that every licensed doctor is capable. Arguing that it is possible to improve patient care—by lifting the veils of secrecy and better informing patients, by establishing more effective ways of checking doctors’ competence, and by ensuring that medical watchdogs protect the public—this discussion offers an expert’s perspective on health care.

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sunflower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ron Paterson was NZ's Health and Disability Commissioner for a decade, which means that every complaint against a doctor in NZ passed through his hands for adjudication. He has drawn on that experience, and a long list of (what sound like extremely dull) references, plus visits to see how other countries do this, to come up with his book.
In it he is promoting "The Good Doctor" by which he means the "good enough" doctor; one whom you would be happy to be treated by, or take your loved ones to, in the knowledge that the treatment given would be caring, up-to-date, and not make them worse. He moves on to problem doctors and how they slip through existing systems and continue to practice, road-blocks to change in the systems, and then moves on to his "prescription for change": a seeking of the optimal balance between professionalism and external regulation. He's big on rigorous recertification, and keeping an extremely close eye on those who have been subject to several complaints.
So this book gets three stars because it is isn't really something you can like- more like something you read and go -hmm, yes, that might work.

[Massimo · Rating 3 out of 5]

For insiders.
I approached this reading thinking I was reading stories of doctors and patients, of cures, of resolved and unsolved cases, and also of what a good doctor should be like. I have not found any of this.
The title is not inspired by Damon Galgut's novel set in South Africa after the end of Apartheid, nor is it related to the hit TV series of the same name.
In a world far more boring than fiction, but terribly real, Ron Paterson, who teaches law at the University of Aukland, has served on New Zealand medical malpractice investigation boards. Taking the cue from these cases that have become public domain scandals, so much so as to push local governments to take reform decisions for continuing medical education and the authorisation to practice doctors, the author expresses his point of view for push in the direction of a continuous medical review as is already done for airline pilots and in some Anglo-Saxon countries: the United States and Canada first. With difficulty it is now also arriving in Great Britain and perhaps in other parts of Europe (in Italy it is difficult to take off the obligation and in France it is still hardly mentioned).
But the book should be read anyway even if it becomes a bit boring and reverberating in its length: the same things could be said in fewer pages and with fewer turns of words.

Per addetti ai lavori.
Mi sono avvicinato a questa lettura pensando di leggere storie di medici e pazienti, di cure, di casi risolti e irrisolti, e anche di come dovrebbe essere un buon medico. Non ho trovato niente di tutto questo.
Il titolo non si inspira al romanzo di Damon Galgut ambientato in Sud-Africa dopo la fine de l’Apartheid, e non ha neanche relazioni con la serie TV di successo che porta lo stesso nome.
In un mondo molto più noioso della fiction, ma terribilmente reale, Ron Paterson, che insegna legge all’Università di Aukland, ha fatto parte di commissioni di inchiesta di casi di malpractice medica in Nuova Zelanda. Prendendo lo spunto da questi casi che sono diventati scandali di dominio pubblico, tanto da spingere i governi locali a prendere delle decisioni di riforma per la formazione medica continua e l’autorizzazione a esercitare dei medici, l’autore esprime il proprio punto di vista per spingere nella direzione di una revisione medica continua come si fa già per i piloti delle compagnie aeree e in alcuni paesi anglosassoni: Stati Uniti e Canada per primi. A fatica ci si sta arrivando adesso anche in Gran Bretagna e forse in altre parti d’Europa (in Italia fa fatica a decollare l’obbligo e in Francia ancora quasi non se ne parla).
Ma il libro va letto ugualmente anche se diventa un po’ noioso e riverberante nella sua lunghezza: le stesse cose potevano essere dette in meno pagine e con meno giri di parole.

[Isabel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good ideas buried beneath near-unintelligible sentence structures. Would benefit from thorough editing

[Harry Watt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medical policy and regulation can only be so interesting it seems. The book covered what it set out to but my god it was a tough read. I kind of understand how things work now…

[Gillian Torckler · Rating 3 out of 5]

here is my published review on the NZ Booksellers blog:

http://booksellersnz.wordpress.com/20...