The People's Hospital

Hope and Peril in American Medicine

De: Ricardo Nuila MD

Narrado por: Ricardo Nuila MD

“Nuila’s storytelling gifts place him alongside colleagues like Atul Gawande.”—Los Angeles Times

This “compelling mixture of health care policy and gripping stories from the frontlines of medicine” (The Guardian) explores the question: where does an uninsured person go when turned away by hospitals, clinics, and doctors?

Here, we follow the lives of five uninsured Houstonians as their struggle for survival leads them to a hospital that prioritizes people over profit. First, we meet Stephen, the restaurant franchise manager who signed up for his company’s lowest priced plan, only to find himself facing insurmountable costs after a cancer diagnosis. Then Christian—a young college student and retail worker who can’t seem to get an accurate diagnosis, let alone treatment, for his debilitating knee pain. Geronimo, thirty-six years old, has liver failure, but his meager disability check disqualifies him for Medicaid—and puts a life-saving transplant just out of reach. Roxana, who’s lived in the community without a visa for more than two decades, suffers from complications related to her cancer treatment. And finally, there’s Ebonie, a young mother whose high-risk pregnancy endangers her life. Whether due to immigration status, income, or the vagaries of state Medicaid law, all five are denied access to care. For all five, this exclusion could prove life-threatening.

Each patient eventually lands at Ben Taub, the county hospital where Dr. Nuila has worked for over a decade. Nuila delves with empathy into the experiences of his patients, braiding their dramas into a singular narrative that contradicts the established idea that the only way to receive good health care is with good insurance. As listeners follow the moving twists and turns in each patient’s story, it’s impossible to deny that our system is broken—and that Ben Taub’s innovative model, where patient care is more important than insurance payments, could help light the path forward.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Ricardo Nuila. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Physician Ricardo Nuila brings the full extent of his passion for people to his narration of his experiences with American healthcare. A doctor on staff at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Nuila saw firsthand the destructive aspects of for-profit healthcare and how often those who were truly suffering would end up in his public hospital when it was almost too late. Examining the history and current issues of the American healthcare system, this audiobook is a tough listen. Nuila embraces his emotions as he tells personal stories of real-life cases. What results is a powerful audiobook that leaves the listener both fascinated and horrified by what is happening to those who cannot access healthcare in our first-world nation." (AudioFile Magazine)

Healthcare review

This book was an engaging review of the unique story of Ben Taub hospital. The author gives a fairly unbiased case for the benefit of social safety net hospitals. As a former Texan … it brought back memories of Houston and of my medical training in Galveston, Tx

Important book

Every one in America who uses healthcare should read this book. It should be required reading for every politician. I thank the author for writing it

Thought Provoking

This book challenged the listener to step back and reconsider assumptions around healthcare in America.

A Must Read

This is a must read for anyone needing health care in the US. With immense heart Nuila looks at what’s wrong and how it can be fixed.

A humane perspective

A realistic portrayal of the current US healthcare system. Excellent narration and good illustrative examples.

Ben Taub Nurse

Thank you to the author. While working there for 25 yrs I often told our PR reps they should market the hospital by telling what we do. We turn no one away. This is a perfect documentation of that.

Interesting Portrayal of Healthcare in the USA

The author does a great job of outlining the greatest issues plaguing the American healthcare system. He does a nice of job of intertwining stories of individual patients over time to keep the reader engaged. The book clearly demonstrates how our government systems can motivate those who are lower wage earners to not work due to benefit qualifications. As the author very clearly describes outright and through example, this can literally be a matter of life or death. It is also very interesting how Ben Taub has managed to function in such a different way. There are some inherent issues that are glossed over, like the extended wait time in the ED. Ben Taub is actually ranked 4th in the country for the longest ED wait time, which is currently > 6 hrs. Nonetheless, their foundation is one that warrants consideration as an example of what healthcare in this country could be.

yes!

i love this book, finished it in a weekend. everything about is real, and puts a bit of hope to everyone story.

Excellent book.

I learned more about the US health (and insurance) system from this book than from any other source. The inhumanity of the US system as described in thus book is unbelievable. It’s inefficiency and high cost defy logic. Surely we can come up with a better system at lower cost

Outstanding Book

Everyone needs to read this to get a better understanding of how health care in America works and how it should work. Required reading!