Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize in American History, this is a landmark history of how the entire American health care system of doctors, hospitals, health plans, and government programs has evolved over the last two centuries. "The definitive social history of the medical profession in America....A monumental achievement."—H. Jack Geiger, M.D., New York Times Book Review

In his acclaimed memoir Intern, Sandeep Jauhar chronicled the formative years of his residency at a prestigious New York City hospital. Doctored, his harrowing follow-up, observes the crisis of American medicine through the eyes of an attending cardiologist. Hoping for the stability he needs to start a family, Jauhar accepts a position at a massive teaching hospital on the outskirts of Queens. With a decade's worth of elite medical training behind him, he is eager to settle down and reap the rewards of countless sleepless nights. Instead, he is confronted with sobering truths. Doctors' morale is low and getting lower. Blatant cronyism determines patient referrals, corporate ties distort medical decisions, and unnecessary tests are routinely performed in order to generate income. Meanwhile, a single patient in Jauhar's hospital might see fifteen specialists in one stay and still fail to receive a full picture of his actual condition. Provoked by his unsettling experiences, Jauhar has written an introspective memoir that is also an impassioned plea for reform. With American medicine at a crossroads, Doctored is the important work of a writer unafraid to challenge the establishment and incite controversy.

“Wise and witty.”―Publishers Weekly “A charming story well told.”―Kirkus Reviews “Smart, funny, charming . . . full of astute insights into the way Italy works.”―Alexander Stille “A wonderfully fun read.”―Dr. Robert Sapolsky "As funny as it is poignant. A must read for anyone who thinks they understand medicine, Italy, or humanity.”―Barbie Latza Nadeau After completing her medical training in New York, Susan Levenstein set off for a one year adventure in Rome. Forty years later, she is still practicing medicine in the Eternal City. In Dottoressa: An American Doctor in Rome Levenstein writes, with love and exasperation, about navigating her career through the renowned Italian tangle of brilliance and ineptitude, sexism and tolerance, rigidity and chaos. Part memoir―starting with her epic quest for an Italian medical license―and part portrait of Italy from a unique point of view, Dottoressa is packed with vignettes that illuminate the national differences in character, lifestyle, health, and health care between her two countries. Levenstein, who has been called “the wittiest internist on earth,” covers everything from hookup culture to neighborhood madmen, Italian hands-off medical training, bidets, the ironies of expatriation, and why Italians always pay their doctor’s bills.

A doctor tells his own behind-the-scenes story of the making of a medical man and the disintegration of an American myth

Few have heard of Oterkpolu, Ghana, but for John Acquaye-Awah, MD, CCD, it was home. He was born in the tiny village and grew up immersed in its traditions and superstitions. There were very few health care choices available, and Acquaye-Awah recounts how frequently death shook the small community. Then tragedy touched his own family. Acquaye-Awah's brother was stricken with polio, and many believed he would never walk again. His family consulted a spiritualist, but nothing happened. Only when Acquaye-Awah's brother was finally admitted to a hospital did he get the help he needed. Acquaye-Awah witnessed the unforgettable joy on his brother's face when he took his first step-and he knew he wanted to help others feel that same joy. This was one of many instances that sparked Acquaye-Awah's fascination with science. In this spellbinding memoir, he tells the amazing story of how he left Oterkpolu and pursued a rigorous medical education. But even as he was traveling and studying, Acquaye-Awah never forgot the important lessons he learned in Oterkpolu-nor the debt he owed his community. The American Doctor chronicles his triumphant homecoming and his new mission to bring health care to the most remote of locations.