Snowball in a Blizzard: The Tricky Problem of Uncertainty in Medicine - Hardcover

Steven C. Hatch

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1782399879 ISBN 13: 9781782399872

Publisher: Atlantic Books, 2016

Synopsis

There's a running joke among radiologists: finding a tumor in a mammogram is akin to finding a snowball in a blizzard. A bit of medical gallows humor, this simile illustrates the difficulties of finding signals (the snowball) against a background of noise (the blizzard). Doctors are faced with similar difficulties every day when sifting through piles of data from blood tests to X-rays to endless lists of patient symptoms. Diagnoses are often just educated guesses, and prognoses less certain still. There is a significant amount of uncertainty in the daily practice of medicine, resulting in confusion and potentially deadly complications.
Dr. Steven Hatch argues that instead of ignoring this uncertainty, we should embrace it. By digging deeply into a number of rancorous controversies, from breast cancer screening to blood pressure management, Hatch shows us how medicine can fail--sometimes spectacularly--when patients and doctors alike place too much faith in modern medical technology. The key to good health might lie in the ability to recognize the hype created by so many medical reports, sense when to push a physician for more testing, or resist a physician's enthusiasm when unnecessary tests or treatments are being offered.
Both humbling and empowering, Snowball in a Blizzard lays bare the inescapable murkiness that permeates the theory and practice of modern medicine. Essential reading for physicians and patients alike, this book shows how, by recognizing rather than denying that uncertainty, we can all make better health decisions.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Hatch is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also a practicing physician, clinical consultant, and medical student educator. Prior to his medical training, Hatch worked as a science writer for the Boston University School of Medicine.

Review

Masterfully-argued * Larry Tye, Director of the Boston-based Health Coverage Fellowship and author of New York Times bestseller Satchel * Like a "baloney detection kit" for medical scientific research. How can we figure out which "discoveries" to trust or to take with a grain of salt? First step: Read this book. * Katrina Firlik, Neurosurgeon and author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside * A masterful unmasking of medicine's unspoken secrets. Empowering and enlightening. -- James Davies, bestselling author of Cracked: Why Psychiatry is Doing More Harm than Good Wonderfully user-friendly. Like a conversation with a doctor that you'd trust with your life. This should be mandatory reading for anyone giving medical advice. -- Ray Tallis - author and former Professor of Medicine at the University of Manchester

Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Books
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1782399879
• ISBN 13: 9781782399872
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320