Michael Crichton started his career as a medical student but veered towards writing as he became more and more dissatisfied with his chosen profession (see: Travels for more info). Five Patients, one of his earliest works and one of his handful of non-fiction books, is not only a look at a modern (in 1970) hospital but also serves as Crichton's denunciation of some troubling problems in the practice of medicine. Crichton's research is thorough as always and some of the sections pertaining to medical history are captivating. Forty-seven years have passed so some of the stories lack relevance although some are still quite entertaining. If any of the material seems familiar, keep in mind that Crichton drew upon these experiences when he co-created the TV show ER.

Though dated, it provides a good glimpse into how a hospital is run. One can definitely notice all the changes that have occurred since this book was written as well as similarities in the hospital then compared to now. A good read for someone in or someone interested in health care.

Expected a dramatic retelling of patients' stories as described by the blurb, I was pleasantly surprised that this was more expository on themes surrounding Medicine such as history, financial costs/ insurance, technology and the hierarchy of residents. It was fascinating that a book written in the 70s had similar issues as today. Overall, a great read for me.

(+) An interesting way of discussing problems relating to the American healthcare system and the way in which hospitals are run by using five different patients as examples – though this takes away much of the focus from the patients themselves. Although this book was written quite awhile ago now, even the updated foreword is now over 20 years old, some of the issues (particularly with insurance) are still applicable today whilst for others (like concerns over whether or not patients are able to accept tele-diagnosis as an alternative to a face-to-face consultation) it was quite interesting to read about the concerns about something that is quite widely accepted today.

(-) From the blurb (and title!), I expected more of a patient-centred book – I was interested in what happened to the construction worker injured in the scaffold collapse, perhaps more from the viewpoint of the patient instead of what effectively was a case presentation followed by a discussion about something to do with the way hospitals or medical schools are run.

Overall: Short, informative read about the state of the American healthcare system and medical schools in the 1960s. Not as patient-centred as it could have been for the title, certainly none of the "vivid real life stories" that I'd expected, and I was disappointed that it didn't really live up to its summary. This is definitely Crichton the medical school student, not the thriller-writing genius of Jurassic Park. It was OK: 2.5 stars.

I read this book a very long time ago and it has stuck with me far longer than any of Crichton's novels have. It is a fascinating nonfiction book about Mass General and the stories within.

If you like medical true stories and want a first hand look at a hospital. Read this book. You will not regret it.

Five Patients is about 50 years old, so it is "dated." But, that actually makes it more interesting. It is surprising what has changed and what has not changed in 50 years. The author (a medical student at the time) made predictions about what would change. Sometimes he was right on, other times not at all. Each chapter is an actual medical case (with names changed) at Massachusetts General Hospital, along with observations about hospitals and medicine related to that case. One chapter discusses costs in considerable detail. It is very revealing in several ways. I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but I found it fascinating. His observations about insurance are interesting, and he did not foresee what would happen in the future in regard to insurance and costs and our current situation.

Some parts are better written than others, and the language regarding gender is irritating. Of course, at the time, it really was standard to refer to all general persons as "he" or "him" and the later attempts to be neutral with "he/she" and the like haven't been all that successful. But I find it amazing that the language seems to allow no possibility that a doctor might ever be a woman. In 1969 there were female physicians and medical students. General references to doctors as "men" is irritating when the word "doctors" would work just fine, as in "a senior man" for a senior doctor or "a private man" for a doctor in private practice.

Overall, Five Patients is fascinating, especially in the context of comparing hospital medicine then and now and stimulating thoughts on what has changed and what needs to change. I recommend it highly, more for the information and perspective than for the writing itself.

3.5. The main downfall is that it is now outdated. But can you blame it for that? The "current" research is that of the 1960s. I do, however, enjoy the detail and explanation of the rise of healthcare as a whole. Patient cases were briefly explained and served as the groundwork to explain the current medical trends and advancements.

Michael Crichton wrote this book in 1970, when a month-long stay in a hospital, fully inclusive, cost around $6,000. This was also the average patient's yearly salary, but most patients had insurance, welfare programs, or went to a teaching hospital (at that time used by the poor as private patients didn't want to be treated by a team of doctors and students). The author decried escalating costs and how much things were going to have to change...to make medicine affordable and a right for all. He declared a type of socialized medicine would be necessary but, as Americans, we were stubborn to adopt customs, even if they were working well, from other countries. Obamacare is the first draft, in a positive change, to address all these issues that were already recognizable in 1970. Extremely interesting...particularly in the recognition that the AMA was helping neither patients getting excellent care nor physicians seeing an incentive to be indebted to school well into their careers. Well-done!

You might not think this book would be interesting, but you'd be wrong. Crichton was a genius, being a doctor, a writer, a director, and who knows what else. This was written in 1970, and yet a lot of the problems he highlights in the medical community are issues now that still haven't been addressed. Would have liked a few more cases because those are like mini-episodes of the TV show "House", but all in all a fascinating book.

It’s an annual tradition of mine to read a michael Crichton novel at Christmas. I am making my way through his early work. #fivepatients (a non-fiction account from his medical days originally published in 1970) is a fascinating examination of the American healthcare system and a brief guide to the history of medicine as well as an introduction to how a hospital operates in practice. The more things change the more things stay the same. @michaelcrichton_official #michaelcrichton
was often ahead of his time. This particular edition features an authors note from 1994, which almost laments some of the technology that was breaking through in the late 1960s but hadn’t yet come to fruition in 1994. But another 30 years later and Crichton is proven right once again as those particular technologies (AI and computer assisted diagnosis and examination) are really getting more traction. Some of Crichton’s criticisms and concerns about the cost of medical treatment are even more relevant today.

To be honest, I expected a thrilling medical drama about the intertwined cases of five patients with a new and scary disease, or something like that. I never expected that this book would instead show the inner workings of a Massachusetts hospital. I was only a little disappointed, Michael Crichton managed to make the seemingly boring into something that managed to keep my attention. Weaving in stories of five different patients with facts and figures about the medical field, Crichton uses his skill to inform the reader in an entertaining way. I am not the biggest fan of non-fiction, but the way that Crichton makes this into a piece of creative non-fiction is inspiring.

I really enjoyed this book, although I did skim over the more technical parts. Definitely worth reading if you like Crichton.