A Return to Healing
Published by Univeristy of Toronto Press
A Return to Healing: Flexner, Osler, and How American Health Care Went Astray
In 1911 American health rejected the message of thoughtful and compassionate care prescribed by William Osler and leaped on the corporate-run road of number-chasing, protocols, and quick fixes as embraced by Abraham Flexner.
This book shows us why what you think is “necessary and lifesaving” often is not, and how you can save yourself from a system that’s gone off the tracks. The authors are both primary care physicians who are immersed in the health care system and who have collected copious data to share with the reader about what works, what doesn't, and what we can do to help move our system to a better place. They discuss how what you are told is the best path to health is often the best path to fill another person's wallet, while explaining in a pragmatic and well-documented way how to best care for yourself in the face of misleading information.
“A must read for health care leaders seeking to make this change happen.”
“This book dives deep into the history of how health care in the United States has evolved both scientifically and culturally to where it is today. Drs. Lazris and Roth take the reader fromthe roots of modern medical training based on understanding illness to our current market-driven profit driven health care delivery that has failed to meet its mandate of providing the care our communities need.”
Michael Tuggy, MD, Family Physician, Converging Health
“A must read for health care leaders seeking to make this change happen.”
“This book dives deep into the history of how health care in the United States has evolved both scientifically and culturally to where it is today. Drs. Lazris and Roth take the reader fromthe roots of modern medical training based on understanding illness to our current market-driven profit driven health care delivery that has failed to meet its mandate of providing the care our communities need.”
Michael Tuggy, MD, Family Physician, Converging Health
Early Reviews for A Return to Healing
“A must read for health care leaders seeking to make this change happen.”
“This book dives deep into the history of how health care in the United States has evolved both scientifically and culturally to where it is today. Drs. Lazris and Roth take the reader fromthe roots of modern medical training based on understanding illness to our current market-driven profit driven health care delivery that has failed to meet its mandate of providing the care our communities need.”
Michael Tuggy, MD, Family Physician, Converging Health
"A Must Read for All."
"This book describes how medicine had a choice 100 years ago--care for the whole person or care for the laboratory test. It chose the test and now the person has been lost. Here is that story and how to get back to person centered care and healing."
-Wayne Jonas, MD, Author of How Healing Works.
"Real People. Real Problems."
"A Return to Healing is a detailed, poignant screed about the mess that is US health care today, and it points us to clear solutions."
Michael Fine, MD
Author of On Medicine as Colonialism
“I strongly recommend this timely and transformative book for those interested in healing health care.”
“Andy Lazris and Alan Roth’s book offers profound insights into modern health care, blending clinical expertise with practical wisdom. From the outset, American medicine veered onto the wrong path, following the Flexner Report’s emphasis on scientific rigor while neglecting William Osler’s relationship-centered and expert clinician-focused approach. The authors challenge these historical missteps, advocating for patient-centered care, transparency, and a focus on lifestyle and emotional well-being.”
Scott Conard, MD, Co-Founder and Partner, Converging Health and Professor Emeritus, UT Southwestern Dallas