Go Ad-Free
logoThe People's Perspective on Medicine

655 Overtreated (Archive)

We usually assume that the primary problem with health care in the U.S. is that so many people don’t have good access to it. But while many Americans suffer because of lack of medical care, others undergo unnecessary procedures or take potentially dangerous drugs they don’t really need. How does the health care system lead to overtreatment and what are the consequences?
Guest: Shannon Brownlee, essayist and writer, has written for The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times, The New Republic, Slate, Time, Washington Monthly, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications.
Ms. Brownlee is a Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer, is her first book.
She is the winner of several prestigious journalism awards, including the 2004 Association of Health Care Journalists Award for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting, the National Association of Science Writers Science-in-Society Award, and the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Rate this article
star-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-empty
0- 0 ratings
About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
Tired of the ads on our website?

Now you can browse our website completely ad-free for just $5 / month. Stay up to date on breaking health news and support our work without the distraction of advertisements.

Browse our website ad-free
Join over 150,000 Subscribers at The People's Pharmacy

We're empowering you to make wise decisions about your own health, by providing you with essential health information about both medical and alternative treatment options.