Hippocrasy: How doctors are betraying their oath

Two world-leading doctors reveal the true state of modern medicine and how doctors are letting their patients down.

In Hippocrasy, rheumatologist and epidemiologist Rachelle Buchbinder and orthopaedic surgeon Ian Harris argue that the benefits of medical treatments are often wildly overstated and the harms understated. That overtreatment and overdiagnosis are rife. And the medical system is not fit for purpose: designed to deliver health care not health.

This powerful exposé reveals the tests, drugs and treatments that provide little or no benefit for patients and the inherent problem of a medical system based on treating rather than preventing illness. The book also provides tips to empower patients - do I really need this treatment? What are the risks? Are there simpler, safer options? What happens if I do nothing? Plus solutions to help restructure how medicine is delivered to help doctors live up to their Hippocratic Oath.

’One of the hardest things for a doctor to do ... is nothing. This superb book explains how in medicine and surgery less is often not just more, it’s closer to the oath we’re all supposed to practise by.’ - Norman Swan, award-winning producer and broadcaster of the Health Report and Coronacast

’This eye-opening and enthralling book on the medical and moral hazards which beset the health profession is a must-read for patients and practitioners alike. From ’tooth-fairy science’ to medical disasters to the inflated business world of medicine, Hippocrasy is a profoundly thought-provoking and compelling work that challenges our perception of the practice of modern medicine.’ - Kate McClymont AM, award-winning investigative journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age

’Doctors are educated to do good. Yet, as the commercial imperatives of the medical industrial complex tighten their grip, doctors are becoming more and more worried that they are inflicting harm rather than creating benefit. This book is for them and, perhaps even more importantly, for their patients. The road to hell is paved with good intentions: read Hippocrasy and turn back.’ - Iona Heath CBE, former President, The Royal College of General Practitioners

’About half of us in advantaged countries are now patients or ’providers’, or both, and a third of clinical interventions are futile at best. Seeking health is daunting and we could benefit from a guide. Rachelle Buchbinder and Ian Harris have provided such with this volume.’ - Nortin M Hadler, author of The Last Well Person, The Citizen Patient and Worried Sick, Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology, University of North Carolina

’A timely book from two leading doctors. Increasingly, the healthy are re-defined as having ’predisease’ and drawn into questionable investigations and monitoring programmes. The book’s core message is that medicine’s hubris and a creeping scientism has come to overshadow the doctor’s commitment to care for and comfort their patients and, above all, do no harm. It is time to step back from the brink and revisit the founding principles and core values of our profession.’ - Trish Greenhalgh OBE, Professor of Primary Care Research, University of Oxford

Professor Rachelle Buchbinder AO is a physician specialising in rheumatology and a clinical epidemiologist. She is known internationally as a vocal proponent of evidence-based medicine and her landmark studies that have evaluated treatments that have been accepted into practice prior to their proper evaluation. She was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to epidemiology and rheumatology in 2020. Professor Ian Harris AM is an orthopaedic surgeon and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is known internationally for his research and his support of evidence-based practice. He is the author of Surgery, the Ultimate Placebo, has higher degrees in evidence-based medicine and surgical outcomes and was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to orthopaedic surgery.