Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis

I never watch t.v. Except for House, MD. I love the detective work undertaken by House and gang while their patient is hemorrhaging, coding and developing various gross pustules. Unlike Dr. House and his cumurdgeonly character, however, this book gives medicine a soul. It highlights the importance of the patient's story. Not just as a way of recognizing the "patient" as a human being, but also as a critical tool in the diagnostic process. The book has a number of sections that read as well as any good mystery, and the author uses these to highlight the richness and complexity of the people seen by the doctors as well as the medical problems that they present to the physicians in the book. She is forthright about many of the problems facing doctors at this moment in time, especially the tendency to downplay thorough physical examination skills in preference to the high tech wonders of today's modern medicine. But I came away from the book with a profound respect for the people who - day in and day out - care for those of us who move from the world of normal daily life into the world of illness. I also came away with a healthy respect for not being afraid to seek a second (and third, if necessary) opinion on those occasions where that may be warranted. This is an fascinating book that kept me on the edge of my seat while I learned things about medicine that I never would have thought would have been that interesting. All in all, a really good read!

ng a diagnosis. Making a diagnosis seems to be an easy undertaking from a patient's perspective, at least for me. However, as Dr. Lisa Sanders explained, the process of making a diagnosis from a physician's perspective can be challenging and complex. There is no magic formula in making a diagnosis. If there was a magic formula, patients can simply be diagnosed by humanoids and/or the internet. Although therapeutic agents have advanced in the past few decades and medical research has provided reliable answers to fundamental questions like who should use them, which therapies to use, how to use them, and etc., effective therapy hinges on accurate diagnosis. By sharing some of the most peculiar patient cases, Dr. Lisa Sanders explained some of the key ingredients in making accurate diagnosis - i.e. listening to the patient's story, testing, thinking, and performing a careful physical exam. I don't know how much of the said ingredients are taught in med-school or residency, nevertheless, it seems like some of these ingredients were not taught or taught incorrectly based on some people Dr. Lisa Sanders interviewed. The patient cases were mysterious as the title suggested. For instance, a healthy patient suddenly losing his memory, a patient who was diagnosed with Lyme disease but the symptoms kept returning, and a young woman kept bleeding in the ICU - and the doctors don't know the root cause of the bleeding. I enjoyed reading the medical cases in this book, albeit they are sad to ingest because they reminded me that life is short and these ailments can happen to anyone. All in all, there's much to learn from this book especially for someone like me who pays very little attention to diagnosis during a doctor visit. As a note, although this book was published in 2009 and as I mentioned medicine has advanced much since, there is much to appreciate about this book, especially for current and future physicians, because patients' stories do not go stale; there are always lessons learned from each patient story. Thank you Dr. Lisa Sanders for documenting these medical stories.

I have always enjoyed Dr. Lisa Sanders medical mysteries in the Sunday NY Times magazine. My nursing career began in 1968 when I went to. work for an extraordinary internist in Texas. He was extremely thorough and provided me with an abundance of training and opportunities that I did not receive in nursing school. He was an amazing mentor and a “doctor ‘s doctor “. There was no such thing as a physical that was halfway done. He had great empathy for his patients and was a brilliant diagnostician. Throughout my years in other positions, I would fondly remember this physician. Sadly, medicine has changed. As Dr. Sanders writes and advises that we must, as patients, take responsibility for our health care and partner with our physician to ensure good outcomes when possible. I get very aggravated when I hear about providers who examine patients totally clothed—it’s not a physical examination! So much can be missed. I urge you to read Dr. Sanders’ book. It is an eye opener written with grace and compassion. Thank you Dr. Sanders for making a difference.

We all love a good mystery, but this book is much more than a compelling mystery yarn. Through deftly told true stories, Lisa Sanders shows how correct medical diagnosis requires a combination of skills and right attitudes. As the book's title implies, careful listening to the patient comes first. A good physical exam is critical, and the worrisome part of the book is how this old-fashioned art is increasingly neglected in medical schools. Luck has a role too -- or maybe it's humility -- as the author gives several cases where happenstance seems to have helped find the correct diagnosis from a medical bystander, but that requires the ability to admit you don't have all the answers and to reach out for help. But perhaps most important: the empathy to persist toward the answer and the quiet time to contemplate the entire patient. As a patient advocate and author ( The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care?and Avoiding the Worst , I have seen too many tragedies occur when doctors have not taken the time or interest to apply these varied skills. This book will help young physicians do better and will help patients find the right doctors who will care about them.

Pretty cool book great condition. BUT after having this book for more than a year or so and not being able to finish it due to some unexplained unpredicted medical problems I am considering giving it away. Every time I have tried reading this book me or someone in my family gets sick not just a simple cold I mean really SICK. Makes me think this book is damned or something. First time when I first got it I started reading it and I really enjoyed it since I am in the medical field and all of the sudden after the first few pages boom! I get extremely sick bad stomach pain that wouldn’t go away I was sick for a whole year (2021) bloody stools I honestly thought I was going to die turns out I developed ulcerative colitis for no absolute reason (always been very healthy). Anyways a year passed and I go back to reading this book suddenly one of my uncles suffers a heart attack as well as my husband’s grandfather suffers a stroke during the same period of time my uncle didn’t make it but my husband’s grandfather did thanks to a surgery he was able to get right away. Like 6 months go by and I read the book again just a few pages and my mother gets sick she gets admitted to the hospital for 5 days because of some pericardial effusion even though she’s always been healthy thankfully she is ok. So at this time I was really starting to worry and wonder how come every time I read this book something happens?? Too much Coincidence? Once again a cpl months go by and my husband and I take this long trip the flight was 8 hours long so I took a cpl books to read with one of them being this particular book I was a little hesitant but wanted to prove to myself that it’s not the book so I read a lot more of it and a week later my father gets sick unexpectedly again he developed a high fever muscle aches no appetite and a bunch of symptoms that come and go had to take him to the ER turns out it was an infection just like that out of nowhere. So yeah I’m done with reading this book. It’s super weird to even write about it but just had to share my experience.

I have worked with many physicians and allied health care providers ranging from nurses, respiratory therapists, EMT-Paramedics and below, and have long marveled at how formulaic and thinking-free patient assessment has become, with the quality of patient care being equally generic. While for the majority of conditions this works--hence the algorithms and pseudo-assessments, when anything out of the ordinary presents itself, the weaknesses of our healthcare education model comes through like a red-headed monster of shame. This book does a credible job of at least trying to justify the cookie-cutter approach of medicine today, but emphasizes the benefits, in case-study style, of intelligent practitioners on both the practitioners and the patients. I can only hope the concepts and ideals espoused by this book make their way into 3rd & 4th year medicine where they stand a chance, because right now, so many healthcare types are oblivious to what is in front of them. The author makes her point(s) using a number of interesting cases, and if you enjoy playing medical detective, you may like that as well. I hope to present some of the points in the book to our graduating paramedic class.

This is one of those books that everyone, medical professional and general public alike, should have to read. So often do we look to medicine as a magic 8 ball that spits out diagnoses like in Star Trek. But, as Dr. Sanders points out, we know the most about diseases that kill us quickly. For everything else, we can only hope to continue to gather more information in order to make the diagnosis easier. Sanders approaches these issues from a very personal standpoint, relating in individual case studies the thoughts and emotions of both the doctors and the patients, even stories from her own personal arsenal. But most importantly, she does a stellar job at pointing out how modern medicine is a game of statistics, and some people are bound to fall on the wrong side of the coin flip. Even with a slough of biochemical and imaging tests and studies, we simply do not know everything. The value of this book lies in the questions it asks of both the medical profession and future patients. To the profession, it asks what might be done to not only improve diagnostic tests and techniques but also how to communicate medicine's limitations to the public. And to the patient, it asks for patience in a profession that is still young and going through growing pains, but to also trust physicians in their abilities. My one negative comment concerns the last section of the book that discusses Lyme Disease. Dr. Sanders obviously has a significant agenda and treats this section greatly different than the former. She begins with a personal story but spends several chapters on the history and development of Lyme Disease and the controversial "chronic Lyme" diagnosis. While entirely interesting from a historical perspective, it lies beyond the intended scope of the book and carries the character of a major soapbox rather than an exposition on diagnosis. It would have been better (in my opinion) to have devoted these pages to multiple controversial diagnoses, comparing ones that have been refuted (like hysteria) to ones that have been confirmed (like the carcinogenic effects of tobacco). Nevertheless, this book should be read by anyone who might be a patient or medical professional one day--which would be everyone. Nobody is perfect, and Dr. Sanders points out that medicine is no different. However, the implication is that we all want to be--and can be--better. It just takes a little work.

I have cared for thousands of critically ill patients over my career as a critical care nurse and I personally know that every patient tells a story in so many ways, but this book tells how the doctor sees the patient. It reads like a mystery as doctors are in search of a diagnosis and must sift through the facts and must be sure they get as many facts as possible. Sometimes the advanced tests available today do not tell the full story. Once again, the importance of doing a complete physical and history and pairing that with the scientific data leads to the diagnosis... and sometimes it can still leave doctors stumped for an answer. This book might just tear down that pedestal that you may put your doctor on, as errors are made, arrogance may get in the way and it definitely takes a team effort to solve the ongoing puzzle of "what is wrong with me and why am I not getting better?". I told the new nurses that I precepted that technology will play a huge part in their careers. And so it is in making a diagnosis. Sometimes doctors would become angry that patients relied on the internet for information but in today's world, the knowledge base is huge and it will behoove doctors to use this wisely in helping to find a difficult diagnosis. The honesty in this book is uplifting! You do not have to be in the medical field to understand or appreciate what Dr. Lisa Sanders is saying... and if nothing else, it will make you a better informed patient if you should become sick. You will learn to question, understand and possibly get second or even third opinions when a diagnosis cannot be found. And the importance of a doctor listening... really listening to you, is essential.

I bought this book for my nephew and his girl friend who are both training to be doctors. I read a bit and liked it--easy to read for none medical people. My nephew said "thanks for the book it`s brilliant,I can`t put it down!!"

ちょっとした患者の一言、些細な理学所見によりいかに名探偵が診断を下すのか。見たものを見ることができないとき如何に患者が悲惨な目に遭うか、ハイテク時代の全ての医師に大きな問題を提起している。軽い読み物としてもお勧め。

Lo recomiendo ampliamente, para los médicos es una gran lectura y especialmente para nosotros los clínicos, 5 estrellas yo le doy

Nice travel along medical diagnosis as experienced by doctors; it shows how much a good doctor needs to have good studies, deep experience, a good dose of empathy and humility.

I was primarily looking for the mystery aspect of the TV show Dr House as the author is an advisor to the show. Interesting stories are interlaced with somewhat dry and a little redundant critique of the progressive loss of diagnostic skills among physician primarily due to the reliance on instrumentation and a gradual neglect of the information coming directly from the patient. Very informative, but less of the thriller I was looking for. More interesting in a similar genre was "The brain that heals itself", "the man that mistook his wife for a hat", etc.