List Books » Patient's Guide to Medical Tests: Everything You Need to Know about the Tests Your Doctor Prescribes
Authors: Joseph C. Segen, Thelma Josephine Wade Owens
ISBN-13: 9780816046515, ISBN-10: 0816046514
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Facts on File, Incorporated
Date Published: May 2002
Edition: Subsequent
The Patient's Guide to Medical Tests, Second Edition provides a basic understanding of the diagnostic procedures and tools used by physicians, hospitals, and commercial laboratories. Organized alphabetically, this comprehensive guide presents information on more than 1,000 commonly prescribed tests and procedures. Each entry includes a description of the test, patient preparation required, a description of the procedure itself, the reference range, what abnormal values may signify, and the approximate cost of each test. An extensive glossary of medical terms translates professional terminology into accessible language, as does an appendix of medical abbreviations and symbols. New and updated coverage includes information on which tests have been "retired" as well as new testing methods that have been introduced, new tests in clinical cardiology, preferred imaging techniques, the impact of the Internet on diagnostic testing, and the growing direct-to-consumer movement in medical testing.
In today's managed-care environment, where patient-education issues are emphasized by accrediting agencies, the fourth edition of The Patient's Guide to Medical Tests is very welcome. It explains over 1000 of the most common medical tests in alphabetical order, giving a description of the test, patient preparation, reference ranges, abnormal values, costs, and comments, which include special instructions or precautions. Though this consumer guide is not so exhaustive and complete as the excellent Yale University School of Medicine Patient's Guide to Medical Tests (LJ 8/97), each contains some tests not included in the other. Considering the modest costs, most health collections will want to purchase both volumes. Going one step further, Haessler, formerly a clinical professor at Harvard Medical School, has provided a basic reference for those who want to apply tests at home to verify their wellness status and the potential need for a physician's intervention in the event of symptoms or abnormal body functionings.The result is a solid addition to consumer health-care libraries.James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Lib., New York
Introduction | vii | |
Alphabetical Listings | 1 | |
Glossary | 339 | |
Medical Abbreviations and Symbols | 394 | |
Index | 397 |