Offering basic medical information and advice, this guide to health offers chapters on how doctors make diagnosis and how to evaluate medical services. It then turns its attention to discussions of common medical problems to watch out for during the various stages of and explores some basic disease prevention practices. Explanations of some of the most common medical tests are presented. Finally, health related information on the Internet is reviewed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Americans are accustomed to anecdotal evidence of the health care crisis. Yet, personal or local stories do not provide a comprehensive nationwide picture of our access to health care. Now, this book offers the long-awaited health equivalent of national economic indicators. This useful volume defines a set of national objectives and identifies indicatorsâ€"measures of utilization and outcomeâ€"that can "sense" when and where problems occur in accessing specific health care services. Using the indicators, the committee presents significant conclusions about the situation today, examining the relationships between access to care and factors such as income, race, ethnic origin, and location. The committee offers recommendations to federal, state, and local agencies for improving data collection and monitoring. This highly readable and well-organized volume will be essential for policymakers, public health officials, insurance companies, hospitals, physicians and nurses, and interested individuals.

Understanding risk -- Putting risk in perspective -- Risk charts : a way to get perspective -- Judging the benefit of a health intervention -- Not all benefits are equal : understand the outcome -- Consider the downsides -- Do the benefits outweight the downsides? -- Beware of exaggerated importance -- Beware of exaggerated certainty -- Who's behind the numbers?

From babys well visits through the first 18 years, record your childs immunizations, measurements & percentiles, illnesses, instructions from the doctor (& questions to remember to ask), and more in this simple, attractive, and sturdy health journal. With tips and reminders, this little tracker provides the perfect place to record clear and concise medical history necessary for school, camp, college, insurance, a change of doctors, and personal reference. Small and thin enough to fit in a purse and a file, with archival paper to last a lifetime. Measures 5-1/2" wide x 8" high. 56 pages. Hardcover with elastic band closure. Inside back cover pocket.

Surviving Your Doctors, with its in-depth explanations, guidance, and direction will be the basic training manual patients need to work their way through the health care maze. It serves as a map of the medical minefield, told from the perspective of a doctor yet designed to reveal the faults in the system and the things that can and do go wrong during the course of both routine and special procedures and office visits. Filled with real stories of medical mishaps, anecdotes, and checklists, this book will walk readers through major areas of the medical world - from the doctor's office to the pharmacy, from the laboratory to the ER - giving them a clearer picture of how things really work, what health care workers really think, and how to take back control of their health and the care they receive.