By John Leifer

The Myths of Modern Medicine

The ALARMING Truth About American Health Care

Nonfiction

The American healthcare system is terminally ill. It is astonishingly expensive, remarkably variable in quality, and incapable of stemming the rising tide of chronic illness in our population. Yet, the majority of Americans believe it is the best system in the world and cling to the belief that, far from ailing, it delivers care superior to those of countries across the globe.

The system has obliged us by providing an elaborate set of myths and misconceptions about American health care that significantly shape our beliefs. These myths keep us blissfully ignorant about the true quality, safety, and value of the care we receive. This ignorance has a price: it leads us to draw erroneous conclusions about our conditions, fail to properly evaluate potential treatment options, and rarely question our providers’ competency.

The Myths of Modern Medicine looks at the real issues contributing to the dysfunction of our healthcare system and how these issues affect the care we receive. The book, based upon John Leifer’s 30 years of immersion in the healthcare industry, challenges some of our most commonly held misperceptions about this vitally important industry. Leifer strips away the elaborately constructed myths that conceal the ugly underbelly of healthcare and lays bare the truth about an industry that serves special interest groups far better than it serves its patients.
A survival guide for anyone entering the healthcare system, this timely work helps consumers better research provider competency; ask the right questions to evaluate potential treatment options; and communicate the information that will help yield the right treatment decisions. Several studies have shown patients today have only about a 50 percent chance of getting the generally accepted best treatment for their conditions. This book helps consumers increase these odds with step-by-step directions on how to interact more productively with their doctors and become true partners in making what may be the most crucial decisions of their lives.

Buy This Book

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White House officials argue that healthcare in the United States is very sick. They have created a bloated bureaucracy tasked with addressing its problems. Just in the nick of time, John Leifer’s new book, The Myths of Modern Medicine, comes along and identifies not only the foundational myths obscuring the true nature of our health system’s illness but a more pragmatic and less expensive solution…dealing with the real issues. Precisely the book we have long needed. Easy to read, hard to take, but just the treatment we needed and just in time!

– Richard Hastings, president and CEO emeritus, Saint Luke’s Health System

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In this profoundly important book, John Leifer exposes the underbelly of American medicine—the greed, arrogance, and failures that permeate our health care system at all levels. A must-read for those of us receiving care, as well as those giving it, The Myths of Modern Medicine will open every consumer’s eyes and alert providers that we are on to their less-than-stellar practices. But Leifer does not just expose the problems; he offers viable and realistic solutions including steps consumers can take to protect themselves from shoddy medicine. This is a must-own book for anyone interested in their health care and those who provide it.

– Charles B. Inlander, consumer health advocate, best-selling author, commentator and founding president of the People’s Medical Society

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Perhaps the greatest merit of . . . [this] book is the hope that it will create meaningful discussions among those less intimately familiar with the health care system, flaws and all.

– Health Affairs Magazine

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Policy makers and industry leaders should read the book [The Myths of Modern Medicine] for Leifer’s big-picture view of the issues

– The Kansas City Star

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John Leifer’s book identifies and then destroys comfortable, commonly held beliefs about the effectiveness of the US healthcare system. [It is] a provocative must read for anyone interested in improved system outcomes and their own well-being. This passionate contribution should reignite an overdue post Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) conversation. While addressing the ‘truths’ of the system, the author offers a handy, comprehensive guide to assist consumers in taking affirmative steps to improve their own health and healthcare outcomes.

– Roderick L. Bremby, former secretary, Kansas Department of Health and Environment)

Best Selling Author

John Leifer

John Leifer is a senior health care executive, consultant, academic, and writer. He is the author of The Myths of Modern Medicine: The Alarming Truth About American Health Care and After You Hear It’s Cancer: A Guide to the Difficult Journey Ahead.

John is also an accomplished fiction author – writing thrillers that draw upon his experiences with key governmental agencies and scientists, including serving on a presidential panel led by former national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft.

More About JOhn

John's Books

The Dark Ark

Fiction

A devastating chain of events is unfolding aboard Navy vessel Prometheus. Known as the Dark Ark, the ship's official mission was to catalogue the DNA of every known life-form, but its research extended far beyond its genetic library. The Prometheus possesses secrets that could change the world - secrets about to be stolen..

Thou Shall Not Kill

Fiction

Thou Shall Not Kill reads like breaking news from the Jerusalem Post. Based upon exhaustive research into Israeli military history, Israeli doctrine regarding the use of non-traditional weapons, and the current state of threat posed by Israel’s foes, it is not only captivating, but credible.

8 Seconds to Midnight

Fiction

8 Seconds to Midnight takes the reader on a non-stop thrill-ride that begins with the clandestine transfer of nuclear material from a secure Pakistani military installation thirty miles north of Islamabad to a group of radical Islamists.

Terminal

Fiction

In this chilling prequel to 8 Seconds to Midnight, the most devastating terrorist attack ever recorded on American soil begins and ends without spilling a single drop of blood.

After You Hear It's Cancer

Nonfiction

When your doctor utters the word “cancer”, life changes in an instant. It is a moment when time stands still, a moment laden with anxiety and uncertainty. A new journey is beginning, and it is one for which you are likely ill prepared.