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Book Jacket

How Doctors Think
by Jerome Groopman

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Publication date: 03/12/2008.
Advice, 336 pp.

Number of reader reviews: 17
Readers' Consensus: 4.5
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First Impressions: Page 2 of 3
Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Carole (Frisco TX)

How Doctors Think
This book was very informative, but highly readable. It does a good job explaining why doctors make mistakes. I enjoyed the case studies Groopman uses to illustrate his message.

His book teaches you you how to be a proactive patient. He tells you what to look for in a doctor, how to talk to your doctor and when to look for another doctor. As a new mom, I'm glad I have tools I can use to be my child's advocate. Worth reading!

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Penny (Concord OH)

Doctor and Patient Communication
If you have ever wondered how a doctor (your doctor) thinks, this book will help you figure it out. The book contains a variety of case studies from people of all ages that help explain the thinking process doctors' use to make a diagnosis. It is a book that can be continually referenced. It is a must read for patients, and should be recommended for doctors. Everyone who reads How Doctors Think will have a better understanding of how the right communication between a patient and doctor can impact the correct diagnosis and the right course of treatment. This is a book you will want to pass on or recommend to friends and family. Thank you Jerome Groopman for a much needed book.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Dayna (Brandon FL)

Interesting Glimpse into the Mind of Doctors
This book shows how doctors diagnose patients. Some use snap judgments and others use various diagnostic tools...but usually it's a combination of the two. I feel that I've learned something about how doctors come to their decisions.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Melanie (Piedmont SC)

How Doctors Think
This is a very enlightening read and gives a lot of insight into how physicians work through a patient's problems. It also illustrates how doctors are also human and therefore not immune to making mistakes or errors in judgment. The book gives useful suggestions on how to communicate more effectively with doctors and highlighted some issues I'd never even considered.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Kenneth (McLean VA)

How Doctors Think (or don't think)
This 270 page book is about how doctors diagnose and decide on a course of treatment; it deals mostly with major medical problems. Chapters deal with cancer, heart problems, radiologists' accuracy in reading X-rays etc., a case involving a Vietnamese adoption and spirituality, hormone replacement, pharmaceutical/ethical issues i.e., lots of interesting stuff. The cases are real and some of the percent accuracies are disturbing to say the least. Groopman advocates for aggressive, involved patients, those who question and challenge - for their own protection. I'd recommend buying this book, particularly those of you who, like me, are on the dark side of 50. Even if you do not read it, keep it handy as a reference book. If you or a loved one are diagnosed with a serious illness I would strongly recommend reading the appropriate chapter from this book as a starting point.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Rosemary (San Antonio TX)

How Doctors Think
This is a must read for anyone who is dealing with a health problem or knows of someone who doesn't feel that they have been properly diagnosed. The author describes the forces and thought processes behind the decisions doctors make, often driven by the fear of failure, pressure from insurance and pharmaceutical companies, patient overload, and money.

The book cites examples describing why some doctors succeed and others err, but also shows how we can help doctors avoid snap judgments, acknowledge uncertainty, communicate effectively and deploy other skills that can impact our health. Most informative was the ways in which we, the patient, can help the physician look "outside the box" when a diagnosis doesn't seem to fit us or a loved one.

I found the book very informative and feel that it has given me an insight in how to communicate better with my doctor and also ask the right questions should the need arise.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Elizabeth (Des Moines IA)

Interesting and informative
How Doctors Think is an interesting examination of the ways in which doctors arrive at medical diagnosis. By explaining the methods students are taught to use when dealing with patients, Groopman illustrates how misdiagnoses can occur, and steps doctors and patients can take to avoid them.

Groopman uses real case studies to demonstrate the many ways doctors good intentions can go wrong. In the initial chapters, he also offers suggestions to lay people about how to ask questions that can direct doctors to different ways of thinking. Towards the end of the book, however, he seems to be focusing more specifically on doctors themselves, and the advice for the patient is omitted. I found the book to be interesting and informative, with some good suggestions to take to my next doctor's appointment.

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