Medicine is an ancient profession that advances as each generation of practitioners passes it down. It remains a distinguished, flawed and rewarding vocation--but it may be coming to an end as we know it.

Computer algorithms promise patients better access, safer therapies and more predictable outcomes. Technology reduces costs, helps design more effective and personalized treatments and diminishes fraud and waste. Balanced against these developments is the risk that medical professionals will forget that their primary responsibility is to their patients, not to a template of care.

Written for anyone who has considered a career in health care--and for any patient who has had an office visit where a provider spent more time with data-entry than with them--this book weighs the benefits of emerging technologies against the limitations of traditional systems to envision a future where both doctors and patients are better-informed consumers of health care tools.

“The author, a physician, draws on his long and varied experiences... His selection of cases and detailed descriptions of the environments in which they unfold clearly convey his values and a humanistic approach to patient care. ...provides an excellent critique of thoughtless adoption of technology in clinical medicine, and offers suggestions on how to incorporate humanism into the technology development and implementation process...recommended”—Choice

D.C. Lozar, M.D., worked for the National Institute for Health (N.I.H.) in neurobiology research, at Columbus Hospital in downtown Chicago as a surgical resident, and at Cook County in trauma surgery before pursuing family practice and spending the last twenty years honing his skills as a physician in primary care. Visit his website at www.dclozar.com. www.dclozar.com. He lives in Carlsbad, California. Elaine A. Moore has worked in hospital laboratories for more than 30 years, primarily in immunohematology and toxicology. She is a freelance medical writer and laboratory consultant. For more information, visit her website at www.elaine-moore.com. She lives in Sedalia, Colorado.