These three books follow the money, showing how pharma, tech, and incentives shape care, prices, and trust.
The U.S. healthcare system’s costs and complexity don’t happen by accident. In A Return to Healing, we argue that reform must start with honesty, prevention, and patient-first relationships. The books below illuminate the market forces behind “business as usual,” and how we can do better together.
Video: Top 10 American Healthcare Reform Books - Part 2
Essential Books on the Business of American Healthcare
Want a quick overview before diving in—or as you read?
Watch our companion video below for the key ideas from each book and where they intersect with the A Return to Healing approach to transparency, patient-first care, and real-world solutions.
Subscribe to the A Return to Healing YouTube channel for honest discussions, expert insights, and updates on healthcare reform.
How We Chose These Books
We focused on titles that:
- Expose incentives driving prices, overuse, and confusion
- Balance critique with practical paths forward
- Align with ARTH’s emphasis on relationships, transparency, and evidence
4. Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care—and How We Can Repair It — John Abramson, MD
Pharma’s power reaches from trial design to guidelines and marketing—often nudging “evidence” toward sales and away from what’s best for patients.
Key Takeaways
- Sponsored trials and selective reporting can distort clinical guidance
- Brand-first promotion fuels marginal-benefit prescribing and polypharmacy
- Patients “pay twice”: higher premiums + preventable side effects
Why it matters for A Return to Healing
A Return to Healing warns that when profit outruns judgment, overtreatment follows. We broaden Abramson’s critique beyond pharma to include insurers, hospital chains, and the referral cascade that fragments care.
5. The Great Healthcare Disruption: Big Tech, Bold Policy, and the Future of American Medicine — Marschall Runge, MD
AI, Big Tech, and breakthrough treatments are transforming healthcare—and why equity, access, and patient-first safeguards must guide change.
Key Takeaways
AI & Big Tech – From Amazon to Google, tech giants are redefining care delivery.
Breakthrough Treatments – Gene therapies, next-gen obesity drugs, and new diagnostics are reshaping disease management.
Trade-Offs of Innovation – Gains in outcomes can strain the systems meant to support them.
Why it matters for A Return to Healing
Tech is a tool; trust is the operating system. A Return to Healing calls for transparent algorithms, clinician oversight, opt-out rights, and metrics tied to patient goals, not just utilization.
6. Priced Out: The Economic and Ethical Costs of American Health Care — Uwe Reinhardt, PhD
“It’s the prices.” Opaque contracts and markups—not just utilization—drive U.S. spending. Ethics and transparency are policy choices, not inevitabilities.
Key Takeaways
- Price opacity prevents markets from behaving ethically
- List prices hide negotiated rates and facility markups
- Clarity is step one—but culture and incentives must change too
Why it matters for A Return to Healing
We support price transparency and relationship medicine. Even perfect prices won’t fix overuse or polypharmacy without continuity primary care and time to think.
Where These Books and A Return to Healing Align
- Transparency is non-negotiable: Hidden costs and selective data harm patients.
- More isn’t better: Routine testing and “just-in-case” medicine must be questioned.
- Relationships reduce waste: Time and trust lower overtreatment and improve outcomes.
- Tech and policy are tools: Healing requires a human operating system—continuity, listening, and judgment.
These three essential books shine a light on the complex realities of American healthcare—and the urgent need for change. Their shared call for transparency, patient empowerment, and evidence-based solutions echoes the mission of the authors of A Return to Healing. Whether you’re a patient, clinician, or policymaker, these perspectives offer tools and inspiration to help reshape our system for the better.
Next in our series, we’ll explore more groundbreaking works that challenge the status quo and push us toward a healthier, more equitable future. Until then, check out the first part of our Top 10 Healthcare Books series subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay connected with the latest ideas and resources in healthcare reform.
TL;DR – Three More Must-Reads on the Business of Care (A Return to Healing Edition)
Sickening: Explores how the pharmaceutical industry shapes what counts as “evidence” in medicine—and offers key questions patients should ask before starting any new drug.
The Great Healthcare Disruption: Explores how AI, Big Tech, and breakthrough treatments are reshaping care, and why access, equity, and patient outcomes must stay at the center of innovation.
Priced Out: Reveals how high prices, not just overuse, drive U.S. healthcare costs, and why transparency is the critical first step toward fixing the problem.
All three echo A Return to Healing’s message: reform works when patients—not spreadsheets—come first.
📚 FAQ – A Return to Healing Healthcare Book Guide, Part 2
Q1: Who should read this healthcare book guide—patients or healthcare professionals?
A: Both. Patients get plain-English explanations of Big Pharma’s influence, health technology trends, and drug pricing—helping them make informed choices. Clinicians, policymakers, and students receive expertly curated health policy books with practical takeaways for delivering patient-centered care.
Q2: Which healthcare book is the best starting point for me?
A:
Want Big Pharma explained? Start with Sickening.
Curious about AI in healthcare and telehealth? Read The Great Healthcare Disruption.
Focused on healthcare costs and price transparency? Go with Priced Out.
Q3: How is Part 2 of this guide different from Part 1?
A: Part 1 explored global health systems and big-picture reforms. Part 2 follows the money—examining pharmaceutical influence, healthcare technology, and why U.S. prices remain high.
Q4: What is the A Return to Healing (ARTH) core takeaway across these books?
A: Technology and policy are tools, but relationships drive healing. ARTH advocates for transparency, independent evidence, and shared decision-making so care serves patients—not spreadsheets or profit margins.
Q5: Do these books offer actionable solutions or just critique the system?
A: Each proposes solutions:
Sickening → Tighter evidence standards and less marketing influence.
The Great Healthcare Disruption → Outlines how to guide AI, digital health, and cutting-edge therapies with patient-first guardrails and equity-focused policy changes.
Priced Out → Price transparency and ethical policy reforms.
Q6: How can I use these insights during a medical visit?
A: Ask your clinician:
“What’s my absolute risk reduction with this drug or test?”
“Are there non-drug or lower-risk alternatives?”
“How will this technology improve my outcomes—not just track my metrics?”
“What’s the cash price and total episode cost?”
Q7: Are these books up to date on AI, telehealth, and modern healthcare trends?
A: Yes. The Great Healthcare Disruption covers AI in healthcare, remote patient monitoring, and telemedicine—and ARTH contextualizes each book with today’s patient-centered safeguards.
Q8: How do these books handle bias, sponsorship, and industry influence?
A: Sickening documents guideline shaping and research sponsorship. Priced Out reveals how opaque pricing hides incentives. ARTH recommends relying on independent trials, head-to-head comparisons, and transparent research methods.
Q9: Will you release more healthcare book recommendations?
A: Yes. Part 3 will address inequality, public health strategies, and social transformation—plus two more titles from ARTH’s Top 10 healthcare books list.
Q10: Where can I find more ARTH resources on healthcare reform?
A: Explore Part 1 of the guide, listen to the A Return to Healing podcast, and watch our companion videos for book summaries, real-world patient stories, and tools you can use to advocate for patient-first care.
