Fawcett, Jun 2001, 6.99, 384 pp.
ISBN: 0449006220
The HMO informs the mother that eighteen-month-old Robert Delany had a cold and did not need ER treatment. When she called back they said use your judgment, but we will not pay for treatment unless a true emergency exists. Still worried, the mother rushes her son to the nearby Buffalo hospital, but it proves too late as the infant dies. The head of ER, Dr. Earl Garret blames the HMO Brama for the death of the child although the managed health provider worked within the law.
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Brama Health Care refuses to send patients to the hospital unless Earl is fired. As Earl receives the pariah treatment from peers who seen their wages drop ten percent, someone murders Dr. Sawold in the doctor parking lot. The medical community blames the homicide on Earl stirring up trouble with the unfortunate Delany case. Rather than sit idly by waiting for the police to solve the case, Earl begins making his own inquiries.
THE PROCEDURE is more than just a taut medical thriller. Peter Clement makes clear his position on the current state of health care in the United States, condemning it as an outrage. The hero is a caring person who is punished for wanting to provide the best medical treatment for his patients regardless of the HMO bottom line mentality. Though one-sided, Dr. Clement still provides an exciting amateur sleuth medical thriller that will keep reader attention until the final page.
Harriet Klausner
The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner
