A Return to Healing: Flexner, Osler, and How American Medicine Went Astray

Drawing from their extensive experience in primary care and backed by decades of academic research, primary care physicians Andy Lazris, MD, and Alan Roth, DO, unravel the complexities of the modern health care system in A Return to Healing. Through a wealth of patient stories and meticulous research, they dig into the roots of American health care challenges and seek its cure.

Utilizing poignant patient narratives and rigorous analysis, Lazris and Roth expose the flaws in our modern approach to health care. The book dissects the current philosophy of medical care, addressing foundational issues in health care infrastructure, the pitfalls of screening, the dishonesty of the pharmaceutical industry, and a lack of common sense among health care providers. By exploring common diseases and medical scenarios, demonstrating how doctors arrive at their conclusions, and focusing on the perverse incentives and outdated training that drive doctors to rely on protocols and numerical-based care, Lazris and Roth demonstrate what is wrong with the system and reveal how to fix it.

Advocating for patient empowerment, the book offers a road map for reform that is accessible to patients and policymakers alike. This solution-oriented approach aims to dismantle barriers to patient-centred care and foster informed decision-making. In this compelling critique and call to action, A Return to Healing provides a clear path towards a more equitable and effective health care system.

Andy Lazris, MD, is a physician practising primary care and geriatric medicine in Maryland. As a Certified Medical Director, he orchestrates medical care and provides education for several long-term care facilities, frequently giving talks about health issues throughout the community. He is a Baltimore Top-Doc multiple years running and regularly writes op-eds and scholarly articles about our health care system, working to make it more sensible for patients and physicians. He has written multiple books, including Curing Medicare and, with Erik Rifkin, Utilizing Effective Risk Communication in COVID-19.
Alan Roth, DO, is a physician practising family medicine and palliative care in New York. He is chairman of the MediSys Health Network Department of Family Medicine and Ambulatory Care. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including ＂NY Magazine Best Doctor,＂ and was featured in TIME magazine as a Guardian of Healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a professor of family medicine at NYIT’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and an assistant professor of social and family medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.