The Wolves' Playground

Book excerpt: HEALTHCARE IN BRAZIL BREATHES THROUGH VENTILATORS. BY HENRIQUE PRATA, president of the biggest oncology hospital network in Latin America Who are the people in control of healthcare in Brazil? To Henrique Prata, many of these people are truly wolves in sheep's clothing. Sparing no facts and names, the president of the Hospital of Love in Barretos denounces the subverted values he has seen in his many years working with cancer care, and shows the reality of a system that seems to close itself off when dealing with vulnerable people, exploiting them when they need it most, and getting more money in the process. With a hopeful spirit and a lot of faith in the future, the author also shows the other side of the coin, reporting inspirational tales of heroes who save lives daily. He calls all readers to form a chain of good, whose goal is to face the struggles that make public healthcare of excellence so much harder in Brazil. As you read, you will understand: How money dominates public and private medicine, becoming patients' key to life or death; How public medicine is used to defend and strengthen private medicine in Brazil; The positive and negative sides of medicine and politics in the country, based on the real and transparent reports written by Henrique Prata; The challenges Henrique Prata has faced and continues to face as the president of the Hospital of Love; How society can unite to make public health better, creating healthcare that's corruption and discrimination-free.