Disease, Diagnoses, and Dollars

Robert M. Kaplan is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Services at the UCLA School of Public Health. He is also a Professor of Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. He has been elected president of four different academic societies and has served as editor-in-chief for two major journals. Kaplan is the author or editor of 16 books and more than 400 articles or chapters. In 2005, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science.

From the reviews: "This book discusses points of tension in the U.S. healthcare system and places the burden on readers to critically think about the paradoxes consumers face. ... The intended audience includes health providers and consumers." (Carole A. Kenner, Doody's Review Service, February, 2009) "Disease, Diagnoses, and Dollars is an exceptionally practical, carefully argued study of what can be done to control health care costs by improving the approach to medical decision making. Kaplan persuasively demonstrates the practical wisdom he has learned from wide-ranging research and insightful clinical observations. His book challenges the assumptions of patients and physicians. I believe that many of his concrete recommendations can save not only dollars but the health of patients and the satisfaction of physicians in their professional practice." (James F. Bresnahan, JAMA, Vol 302, No. 3)

• Disease, Outcomes, and Money.- The Disease-Reservoir Hypothesis.- Mental Models of Health and Healthcare.- What Is Disease and When Does It Begin?.- Screening for Cancer.- Deciding When Blood Pressure Is Too High.- The Cholesterol Cutoff.- Diabetes, Obesity, and the Metabolic Syndrome.- Cost-Effectiveness and Opportunity Costs.- Shared Medical Decision-Making.- Putting the Pieces Together.