The Hospital Explained – published in 1970 – his first book – Interesting read

EXCELLENT

An interesting historical perspective on healthcare circa 1970. It's amazing how little has changed 45 years later---add a few zeros to the costs, factor in defensive medicine and the lack of tort reform, watered-down universal healthcare. A lot of the innovations that Crichton foresaw have been killed by the omnipresent threat of lawsuits and unabated governmental intrusion. Computers could have revolutionized medical care but are primarily used for billing purposes and data collection for payers. The history-taking program Crichton described in 1970 is better from a purely medical perspective than all the current million dollar EMR's sanctioned by our overreaching government. If I were to write the 2015 version of this book, I'd title it FIVE BULLETS TO THE HEAD.

Did not enjoy at all

In my opninion, I really don't get the point with this book.
I've even not finished it.

Wow, this was written 50years ago. I'm ready to read a updated version. Reminds me of a lawyer school book written in74 .

3.5

This was a fairly interesting read about the inner workings of Massachusetts General Hospital, Which also happens to be a teaching hospital. The information is somewhat dated, considering it was written in 1970, but there were also some interesting parts related to early Tele-Health visits and fairly accurate predictions about the future of medicine and hospital care. I do have one significant complaint though. The book , at least my copy, is marketed as the story of five patients experience at MGH. However, the patient's stories are simply a backdrop for explaining the methodology of diagnosis and treatment. Thankfully, I found those explanations intriguing, even though, that was not the original reason I was interested in this book.

Non riesco a capire a che pubblico dovrebbe rivolgersi.
Crichton utilizza casi clinici come pretesto per parlare della sanità americana, ma è un libro che nel 2019 non è invecchiato bene.
Pubblicato in America nel 1970 e basato su casi clinici che l'autore aveva osservato durante i suoi studi era già obsoleto quando è stato rivisitato nel 1994, ma oggi è semplicemente un incrocio tra uno spaccato di storia della medicina (che però si ferma ad analizzare solo la storia del territorio, nemmeno americano, ma proprio del Massachussets - anche se ci sono vaghi accenni ad Esculapio e Ippocrate) e un reportage.
Forse sono io che ho poco interesse nell'argomento, ma non riesco ad interessarmi ai problemi della sanità americana degli anni '60 né al suo futuro, dal momento che il suo "futuro" qui analizzato è già passato e non si è realizzato (nessuno fa diagnosi al televisore, per lo meno non che io sapppia)
In generale mi sembra un libro americano scritto per gli americani.

Inoltre sarà che faccio parte della generazione abituata alla spettacolarizzazione, cresciuta con la serie tv House M.D. per cui la malattia deve sempre essere rara e astrusa e alla fine svelata, ma i casi clinici non sono nemmeno particolarmente interessanti - capisco la difficoltà di inquadrare il paziente durante un periodo storico in cui gli esami che vengono eseguiti oggi non erano nemmeno pensabili, ma quelli presi in esame sono di una semplicità disarmante, studiati come basici in un qualsiasi corso di medicina - una sepsi, una polmonite, un LES, uno schiacciamento, una rianimazione cardiaca. (Capisco sia cinico banalizzarli, dal momento che sono casi clinici di persone reali e che hanno sofferto davvero, ma onestamente è l'autore in primis a trattare i pazienti come malattie e non come persone, tranne forse per il primo caso clinico).

I didn't really like the book maybe because I had different expectations. I expected the book to be a story of five patients, that's all but turns out there's some medical explanation after the story or something. The book is not really for me. This is the first Crichton book I read, however, this will not discourage me from reading other Crichton books. If you're on the medical field, I think this book will definitely suit you.

It was fascinating to see how the medical system has improved since the late 1960s, as well as what problems are still the same.

enjoyed the personal stories about the patients and how they were treated. Book is somewhat dated, compared to what probably is happening now. I enjoyed "A Case of Need" by him more.

Although this book was originally written in the 70s, it seems like alot of what he was speaking about is still going on now. The five patients play more of a cameo role in this book in my opinion.

There was more talk of medical history and policy than there was about the patients. This book sounded more interesting than I found it.

I found the chapter with Peter (severed arm) probably the best.