Health-Wise House Calls

Book excerpt: The American Medical Association reports that 90 million Americans have trouble understanding medical information. It is NOT the patients'fault, in my opinion. The current system of healthcare in the United States no longer permits our country's physicians to spend quality educational time with their patients. Help is here Health-Wise House Callsis designed for the entire family and includes chapters on topics such as ear infections, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, migraine headaches, cancer prevention, depression, and losing weight. My goal is for you, the reader, to gain a much greater understanding of 10 of the most common medical topics that are most likely to affect each and every member of your family. Each chapter is written with as little "doctor-speak" as possible. Medical language and terminology are easily explained in a way that you WILL understand, no matter what your occupational or educational background. The things you will learn in this book will improve your health, improve the health of your family members, and make all of your future visits to the doctor less intimidating, more enjoyable, and vastly more productive SCOTT C. WISE, MD, is an award-winning author, speaker, and researcher in the fields of patient education and preventive health, as well as a full-time board-certified practicing physician. He graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, academic home to four separate winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He did his residency training while serving as an officer in the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, N.C., home of the 82nd Airborne Division. In 1995 he served as Chief Resident in Family Medicine and during his residency training was elected North Carolina Family Practice Resident of the Year. Since residency, Dr. Wise has practiced medicine in a variety of clinical settings to include a major urban indigent hospital, community hospitals, and private practice.