The Patient's Guide to Medical Tests : Everything You Need to Know about the Tests Your Doctor Prescribes

by Joseph C. Segen and J.C. Segen

Book Overview

With the rapid advances in diagnostic medicine, it is more important than ever for consumers to have access to up-to-date, objective information about the tools commonly used by physicians, hospitals and commercial labs. This second edition provides a basic understanding of these diagnostic procedures.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816046514
• ISBN13: 9780816046515
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Facts On File, Incorporated
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very Helpful Guide

This book has provided me with important information as a consumer of medical services, and has provided my mother peace of mind as someone who has been undergoing a number of medical tests. The book clearly defines various procedures, patient preparation, and often includes comments about tests that patients are seldom told but ought to know. This book has been so helpful. I am a layperson with no medical knowledge. But to be able to describe a test to my mother in advance of the procedure, to let her know when it is non-invasive versus invasive, to know what kinds of physical symptoms or complications may follow a test...this has been invaluable information. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who has to undergo, or has someone close to them who will undergo, medical tests. The price is [reasonable] given how much useful and potentially lifesaving information it contains.

I use this book everyday.

I work as a Triage Nurse in a very busy Family Practice Clinic. We all use this book every day to answer patient questions--it is concise and can easily be explained to all levels of medical sophistication. In fact today I am ordering a second one.

Excellent handbook.

From Abdominal Tap to the Zung Depression Scale, this book covers over 1,000 of the most commonly prescribed medical tests, explaining each in understandable narrative, with further information on patient preparation, type of specimen needed, procedure (what is done to the specimen), reference range and abnormal values (with explanations), estimated cost (which varies widely), and other useful details including precautions and risks. The informative Introduction is a brief essay on medical testing in general and this book in particular, and an extensive Glossary, symbols and abbreviations section, and good index are provided as well. The authors are to be congratulated on this fine handbook, which will be of use not only to patients and families, but also to clinics, nursing stations, medical records offices, and emergency rooms as well. (The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)