The AADMD Bookshelf

The Trouble with Medical Journals

Author:
Richard Smith

ISBN 1-85315-673-6

Richard Smith was the formed editor of the British Medical Journal and writes from the perspective of an “insider.” “Medical journals have many problems and need reform. They are over influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, too fond of the mass media, and yet neglectful of patients. The research they contain is hard to interpret and prone to bias, and peer review, the process at the heart of journals and all of science, is deeply flawed. Editors themselves misbehave. The authors of the studies in journals have often had little to do with the work they are reporting and many have conflicts of interest that are not declared. And the whole business of medical journals is corrupt because owners are making money from restricting access to important research, most of it funded by public money. This matters to everybody because medical journals have as strong influence on their health care and lives.” (From the publisher)

The author provides a critical analysis of the pitfalls of the current trends in medical journal publishing. Worth reading. Many of the insights from this book will be appreciated by the AADMD in light of the problems we have had in having our studies selected by many medical journals. The Royal Society of Medicine Press Ltd., 2006.

The Oxygen Revolution

Author:
Paul G. Harch & Virginia McCullough

ISBN 978-1-57826-237-3

Dr. Harch has emerged as one of the country’s leading experts in the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for brain injury including stroke, autism, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and other degenerative neurological diseases. While the use of HBOT for out of indication conditions has raised the eyebrows of mainstream medicine Dr. Harch provides the hard science behind the potential employment of this treatment for these conditions. Members of the AADMD are confronted by parents who demand to know “what else” can you do for my child. Before dismissing HBOT as unproven snake oil it behooves you to expose yourself to Harch’s data and clinical insights…and then address the issues. (To address any conflict of interest concerns I want to acknowledge that I provided commentary support for this book which appears on the jacket – Rick Rader). 2007, The Hatherleigh Press, New York.

Dark Medicine: Rationalizing Unethical Medical Research

Editor:
William R. Lafleur and Others

ISBN 978-0-253-34872

Part of the reason for the so called back lash of the “medical model” in the field of developmental disabilities has its roots in the medical exploitation of patients with intellectual disabilities. It is worthwhile for members of the AADMD to be aware of medicine’s dark past (starting with the Eugenics Movement). From the book jacket: “This collection of essays looks at the history of the dark medical research that occurred during and after the Second World War. Contributors explore this research, how it was brought to light, and the rationalizations of those who perpetuated and benefited from it. They look at the response to the revelations of this horrific research and its implications for present-day medicine and ethics. 2007, Indiana University Press.

Altruism and Health: Perspectives from Empirical Research

Editor:
Stephen G. Post

ISBN 978-0-19-518291-0

This is right up our alley. AADMD members often hear “what a wonderful thing it must be to treat these patients.” Certainly the field of developmental medicine and dentistry has great opportunities for clinicians to “feel good” about what they do. This book “brings together leading researchers and interpreters to form the foundation volume for the field of altruism and health studies. The focus is on how altruistic behaviors and emotions impact the health of the agent of generosity, rather than the recipient…..The evidence generally provides a new basis of support for the notion, as old as Plato, that virtue is its own reward. Of course it is good to do unto others for purely moral reasons, but it seems also that doing so is a key to wellbeing.” This might be added ammunition in our efforts to influence and mentor the next generation of AADMD clinicians. 2007, Oxford University Press.

The Future of Disability in America

Committee on Disability in America
Institute of Medicine

ISBN-13:978-0-309-10472-2

This volume is a complete compendium of the impact of “disabilities” in America and programs aimed at addressing key issues. It covers the entire spectrum of disabilities including developmental disabilities. The material is highly relevant to our field and is a valuable tool for reports, studies and providing background material for teaching. The books focusing on several topics, including: methodological and policy issues related to the definition, measurement, and monitoring of disability; trends in the amount, types, and causes of disability; secondary health conditions and aging with disability; transitions for young people with disabilities from pediatric to adult health care services; assistive technologies and supportive physical environments; coverage of assistive technologies and risk adjustment of payments to health plans; and directions for research. 2007, The National Academies Press.

Orbiting the Giant Hairball

Author:
Gordon MacKenzie

ISBN 0-670-87983-5

Judging from the title AADMD members might question the relevance, application and wisdom of including it in a book review series alongside the more obvious clinical material. MacKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years and worked hard at not being sucked into the vortex of the corporate rubber-stamp confines of the administrative mind-set. Healthcare is not unlike a major stifling corporation where individuality, innovation and creativity is not (truly) encouraged, valued or supported. Many AADMD members work in corporate like settings (academic settings, clinics, private practices, community agencies, state developmental centers) and complain that they often feel more like they are “processing” patients as opposed to “caring for” them. Our field of interest, perhaps more so than any other discipline, should be ripe for creativity and imaginative approaches. MacKenzie defines the “giant impenetrable mass of rules, and systems, based on what worked in the past and which can lead to mediocrity in the present.” He provides inspirational re-thinking of how to avoid the hairball and thus it should be a must-read for members, fellows, teachers, administrators and policy-makers engaged in developmental disabilities. One of his “pearls” is especially applicable to the future of the AADMD; “If an organization wishes to benefit from its own creative potential, it must be prepared to value the vagaries of the unmeasurable as well as the certainties of the measurable.” So far the Academy has done a remarkable job of orbiting the giant hairball; but we have to remain diligent in that pursuit. Reading this book should be mandatory for the future leadership of our group.