James East reviewed a book.
Reckoning with Risk
“To abstain from doing harm, or more colloquial as in - `First, do not harm' which is believed to have been written by the famous Greek physician Hippocrates is the basis of `Reckoning With Risk'. When dealing with medical risk, doctors, nurses, counselors all run with the crowd of the illusion of...”
“To abstain from doing harm, or more colloquial as in - `First, do not harm' which is believed to have been written by the famous Greek physician Hippocrates is the basis of `Reckoning With Risk'. When dealing with medical risk, doctors, nurses, counselors all run with the crowd of the illusion of certainty with recommendations of pre-screening tests.
For example, though a mammogram is believed to be prudent in women over 40, rarely does the advising medical practitioner take into account the costs of screening. This is not just monetary costs, but costs associated with mental and physical costs due to a potential false positive due to the screening. It is very infrequent that a medical practitioner will advise the patient of the potential of a false positive due to their own incentives for testing, and innumeracy of the practitioner.
We all tend to live in a world, or want a world, with a degree of certainty. However, it is surely prudent on the patient's part to truly seek 'informed consent' of the risks prior to proceeding with a particular treatment. Reckoning With Risk goes into detail of how one can inform oneself of the natural frequency of pre-screening tests (vs. relative frequency) and the potential benefits of a screening or taking of a therapeutic drug. Unfortunately, we do not live in a world of certainty, so this book will educate you to live a little better with the uncertainty.”
(read full review)