Rheum for Improvement

Abstract

Rheum for Improvement is a physician’s account of how corporate medicine has transformed health care from a human interaction between a patient and their physician into a business transaction between a consumer and a provider. It is also a personal story of how frivolous legal action triggered that physician to become an outspoken advocate for health-care reform. It will be of interest to anyone who interacts with our health-care system, but especially physicians, who must navigate bureaucratic obstacles on a daily basis.

As a patient, have you ever:
--Had your health insurance deny a test or procedure that your doctor recommended by saying that it was not medically necessary?

--Been told that you had to try one medicine before you could take the medicine that your doctor actually prescribed?

--Had a procedure done that was covered by your insurer, only to receive a separate bill afterwards that you were not expecting?

--Felt that your doctor has their nose buried in a computer instead of paying attention to you?

If so, you are not alone. Rheum for Improvement addresses these and many other health-care issues that compromise the care that physicians can provide. It is a must read for anyone who has ever been or ever will be a patient.

REVIEWS and WORDS OF PRAISE

See book review, The Experiences of a Physician Advocate in the Politcal World in Chester County Medicine by Larry Light, page 22 (2022 Spring)

See coverage of author in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Health care should be a human interaction, not a business transaction 2022 Jan 17.

About the Author

Mark Lopatin is a rheumatologist who recently retired after 28 years in independent practice. He is active in organized medicine, having served as president and chairman of the Montgomery County Medical Society. He also has served as chair of the Montgomery County Medical Legal Committee and the Montgomery County Task Force on Mediation. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for both the Pennsylvania Medical Society and their Political Action Committee. He is also an active member of multiple grassroots advocacy groups. He has lectured and written extensively on a multitude of health care issues to educate patients and physicians how health care policies affect the care that patients receive. He lives with his wife, Suzan and his two poodles, Harry Potter and Gryffindor.