Scan barcode
crzdpeeling's review
informative
medium-paced
3.5
The main downfall is that it is now outdated. But can you blame it for that? The "current" research is that of the 1960s. I do, however, enjoy the detail and explanation of the rise of healthcare as a whole. Patient cases were briefly explained and served as the groundwork to explain the current medical trends and advancements.
weubanks's review against another edition
4.0
I'd heard several people complain that this book was outdated. Yes... that is the entire point of reading it in 2021. If you'd like a take on current medicine, read a current book (or read the foreword). Part of the charm of reading Five Patients is looking back 50 years, especially for us young folk. Not all of Crichton's predictions are accurate (who could expect them to be?), but give a solid idea of the state of medicine and its practitioners at the time.
The dividing of the book into five sections for five patients, and more importantly five different topics in medicine (general hospital history, cost of healthcare, history of surgery, technology in the medical field, and medical education, respectively), works fairly well, but Crichton fails to consistently tie each patient's story to the topic to which he devotes each chapter. I wonder how well Five Patients would read split into two different books: one telling the stories of each patient, and another a collection of essays about the state of medicine in 1969.
The dividing of the book into five sections for five patients, and more importantly five different topics in medicine (general hospital history, cost of healthcare, history of surgery, technology in the medical field, and medical education, respectively), works fairly well, but Crichton fails to consistently tie each patient's story to the topic to which he devotes each chapter. I wonder how well Five Patients would read split into two different books: one telling the stories of each patient, and another a collection of essays about the state of medicine in 1969.
theinkwyrm's review
While I was expecting this to be a book primarily about the diagnosis and treatment of 5 different patients (which, to some extent, it is) this actually feels more like a brief history of the medical field in general and an exposé of the current state of medicine that just so happens to be connected to five medical cases. If that had been what I was expecting, this would be fine but it isn’t. And for the kind of text it is, it’s outdated and you could probably find a better source in a newer text.
wickedthalia's review
4.0
Expected a dramatic retelling of patients' stories as described by the blurb, I was pleasantly surprised that this was more expository on themes surrounding Medicine such as history, financial costs/ insurance, technology and the hierarchy of residents. It was fascinating that a book written in the 70s had similar issues as today. Overall, a great read for me.
bites_of_books's review against another edition
4.0
It's widely known that Michael Crichton started off as a medical doctor and then transitioned into writing. In Five Patients we get his perspective on the medical field, specifically patient care and the way hospitals are run.
This book was first written in 1970 when Crichton was 28, which is important since we take a look at how medicine was done at that time, what the worries of the future were in regards to the evolution of patient care and how hospitals would run decades later. His insights really show how far ahead he can see with the way that medicine actually evolved, and those things he missed and which exist now.
We get the stories of five patients, each detailing the medicine behind their cases and also explaining the ways that the physician, surgeon, or administrator is viewing this patient. Take for example the first patient, we get to see what happens when a man is admitted into the emergency ward, how the nurses and doctors accommodate for his care, how all the other patients are displaced or accommodated, and all the social and philosophical roots and consequences of these decisions.
At this time there's not much use of computers in the care of patients or the training of doctors. Crichton at one point imagines when virtual reality will aid doctors in the practice of surgeries, at another one where patients will not be touched by a human hand but will be cared for by machines, computers, and robots. It's interesting to see how some things have evolved and others have stayed the same.
He wonders about surgeries, how sometimes surgeons would do surgeries simply to practice and not for the patient (appendectomies for example), and how he sees that at that point in time the physician's job is to make surgeries the last resort. He sees "personalized medicine" as something of the future that is highly attainable (it is!).
It amazes me how he's able to see exactly where some things will get in the future, while how others will likely stay the same.
Also, there's a fun paragraph where he's describing a computer monitor where a patient can simply "touch the screen at the appropriate place" to mark their symptoms; he's describing a touch screen, which would be developed a few years later.
Fans of Michael Crichton's fiction novels might find this book not very exciting, but to me, it was incredibly interesting since I got to see the way hospitals evolved and how patient care has changed since then. As someone who works in the field of precision medicine (the new name for personalized medicine) I find it inspiring and motivating.
This book was first written in 1970 when Crichton was 28, which is important since we take a look at how medicine was done at that time, what the worries of the future were in regards to the evolution of patient care and how hospitals would run decades later. His insights really show how far ahead he can see with the way that medicine actually evolved, and those things he missed and which exist now.
We get the stories of five patients, each detailing the medicine behind their cases and also explaining the ways that the physician, surgeon, or administrator is viewing this patient. Take for example the first patient, we get to see what happens when a man is admitted into the emergency ward, how the nurses and doctors accommodate for his care, how all the other patients are displaced or accommodated, and all the social and philosophical roots and consequences of these decisions.
At this time there's not much use of computers in the care of patients or the training of doctors. Crichton at one point imagines when virtual reality will aid doctors in the practice of surgeries, at another one where patients will not be touched by a human hand but will be cared for by machines, computers, and robots. It's interesting to see how some things have evolved and others have stayed the same.
He wonders about surgeries, how sometimes surgeons would do surgeries simply to practice and not for the patient (appendectomies for example), and how he sees that at that point in time the physician's job is to make surgeries the last resort. He sees "personalized medicine" as something of the future that is highly attainable (it is!).
It amazes me how he's able to see exactly where some things will get in the future, while how others will likely stay the same.
Also, there's a fun paragraph where he's describing a computer monitor where a patient can simply "touch the screen at the appropriate place" to mark their symptoms; he's describing a touch screen, which would be developed a few years later.
Fans of Michael Crichton's fiction novels might find this book not very exciting, but to me, it was incredibly interesting since I got to see the way hospitals evolved and how patient care has changed since then. As someone who works in the field of precision medicine (the new name for personalized medicine) I find it inspiring and motivating.
risky_oak's review
Διαβάστε και την ελληνική κριτική στις βιβλιοαλχημείες.
Five Patients was Crichton's first non-fiction book I read this year. He wrote four in total. I read his other two last July ([b:Electronic Life: How to Think About Computers|341780|Electronic Life How to Think About Computers|Michael Crichton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577569186l/341780._SX50_.jpg|332143] & [b:Travels|7665|Travels|Michael Crichton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439923874l/7665._SY75_.jpg|856508]) and I'm still hunting down his most rare one [b:Jasper Johns|147656|Jasper Johns|Michael Crichton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387705828l/147656._SX50_.jpg|941846].
This book, as the title indicates tells the true stories of five patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, all admitted while Crichton was a medical student there.
This book tells Crichton's experiences as a doctor, the history of Massachusetts General Hospital, the general history of American medicine and hospitals,and of course, as I mentioned earlier, the personal stories of five patients their life and medical problems.
From the back cover's blurb:
«A construction worker is seriously injured in a scaffold collapse; a middle-aged dispatcher is brought in suffering from a fever that has reduced him to a delirious wreck; a young man nearly severs his hand in an accident; an airline traveller suffers chest pains; a mother of three is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.»
These stories, and Crichton's experiences as a medical student and doctor in general, served as the main inspiration for his drama E.R. George Clooney was a protagonist in the 1st out of 15 seasons.
Even though I'm not a fan of medical dramas and medical non-fiction, I'm a fan of Crichton, so I ended up reading this book.
It also includes a 7-pages glossary and ten pages of bibliography, showing once more Crichton's dedication on each of his works.
I can't say I loved it, but it was certainly a great experience and of course I'm glad I have one more Crichton in my possession.
nonfictionfeminist's review
3.0
Interesting. I expected it to focus more on the patients, but I enjoyed how the patients were used to explain various aspects of hospitalization.
ofbooksandechos's review
They forget perhaps that medicine is for the people, not for the doctors
Well this was interesting despite being quite outdated, and quite boring at times.
More...