-
“Lenzer reads her investigation with passion, making it a call for reform of the health-care system. She voices contempt for revolving-door regulatory agencies with close ties to industry and praise for independent researchers. Lenzer’s compassion for Fagan and others affected is clear in her voice. She stresses that medical devices, such as those intended for hip or eye lens replacement, can be necessary but shows the need to weigh the dangers and benefits carefully.”
— AudioFile
-
One
of the best books in medicine I have read. A splendid, savage story about the
failings of modern device regulation that reads like a mystery, not a work of
medical non-fiction: It turns out to be both.
— Vinay Prasad, Assistant Professor ofMedicine, Oregon Health and Science University, and author of Ending MedicalReversal
-
Jeanne
Lenzer has pulled off a brilliant literary hat trick; a page-turning tale of
one patient's odyssey, combined with hard-hitting investigative reporting and a
compelling call to arms to fix America's broken health care system. Before you
get anything implanted in your body, read this book.
— Shannon Brownlee, author of Overtreated
-
Lenzer's
gripping and carefully researched book addresses why America needs a New Deal
in health care. This book enlightens, enrages, and will surely help
advance that cause.
— Bernard Lown, cardiologist, Emeritus Professor,Harvard School of Public Health and Nobel Peace Prize recipient
-
In
this disturbing and riveting book, the indefatigable investigative reporter
Jeanne Lenzer tells the story of how millions of Americans are implanted with
medical devices with almost no proof that they are safe. Lenzer exposes the web
of commercial incentives governing their use, and the refusal of the
manufacturers and the FDA to take responsibility when things go wrong.
— Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief, the NewEngland Journal of Medicine, and author of The TruthAbout the Drug Companies
-
Jeanne
Lenzer's incisive investigation of one man's quest for medical justice - and
the regulatory failures behind it - is a must-read for anyone wanting to
understand the risks faced by all of us during routine procedures. And it
should be, for all of us, a call to action.
— DeborahBlum, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Poisoner'sHandbook
-
Lenzer, a medical
investigative journalist, powerfully details some alarming reasons hospital
CEOs, insurance executives, and doctors become millionaires... Readers will be impressed with Lenzer's
profiles of doctors who decry unnecessary treatments and tests, decline to take
money for drug company sponsored talks, advocate disentangling money and
medicine, and promote 'doing as little as possible to patients and as much as
possible for patients.'
— Booklist (Starred Review)
-
Lenzer makes an excellent, often disturbing case for 'a new
national attitude toward healthcare.'
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
-
Engrossing
and terrifying...Lenzer takes readers deep into the processes by which medical
devices are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Thorough
research is skillfully interwoven with the story of Dennis Fegan, whose
struggle to expose the dangers of an implanted device that nearly killed him is
both gripping and emotionally affecting... Highly recommended.
— Library Journal (Starred Review)
-
Blazing a new trail
in medical research, Lenzer examines these medical devices and the industry
surrounding them...These well-researched findings show how medical devices and
implants may do more harm than good.
— Shelf Awareness