cover image A Return to Healing: Radical Health Care Reform and the Future of Medicine

A Return to Healing: Radical Health Care Reform and the Future of Medicine

Len Saputo, M.D.. Origin Press, $21.95 (267pp) ISBN 978-1-57983-052-6

After his wife was cured of a critical illness through natural therapies, M.D. Saputo retrained his career on the principles of integrative medicine. Here, he pitches his plan as a holistic four-stage approach to health: lifestyle management (including diet, exercise and spirituality); complementary and alternative medicine (acupuncture, herbal medicine, etc.); thorough testing; and, lastly, a sparing role for pharmaceuticals and other, more invasive methods. Pushing back against physicians who have ""essentially become employees of large business conglomerates,"" Saputo says that Americans' ""lavish use of pharmaceuticals"" isn't helping, just making them dependent. Saputo discusses competing models of healthcare before turning his attention to the business of it, finding the profit motive largely to blame for the industry's ""dire condition."" Based on experience in his own clinic, Saputo proposes a five-part plan to improve healthcare, including subsidies for sustainable agriculture, taxes on unhealthy foods, and requiring, as part of patients' medical right-to-know, full disclosure of all scientifically verified treatments, including ""alternative"" methods. Doctors and patients will appreciate Saputo's conviction, energy and clear-eyed approach to the complicated issue.