Author Interview: Michael Rushnak - "Terminal Neglect"

This is my interview with Michael Rushnak, the author from my previous article, "Book Review: Terminal Neglect by Michael Rushnak", about corruption and power struggles in a pharmaceutical company and it's influences on the government. Michael graciously took time from his hectic schedule of book promotions and writing, to answer a few of my questions. I hope you enjoy the interview and find it a close enough reflection on the current health care crisis and reform going on in our country, to peak your interest to purchase it. Although the book is fictional, it bears a close resemblance to so much going on in the current news.

My interview with Michael Rushnak:

DL: I was keenly interested in your book, as I worked for a major pharmaceutical corporation, on the consumer health care side for over twenty years. I was in the I.T. area but often struggled with the reality of determining how much of the pumping up of the employees was for real humanitarian purposes. There is no doubt that such companies give a great deal of help to under-developed nations, but one still questions this as propaganda when you fully know that growth and bottom line for the stockholders is the primary goal.

Dr. Rushnak, as your book is fictional, how far do you see the possibilities of corruption occurring in reality, within today's health insurance, pharmaceutical companies and politics?

Author: It depends on the ethics of those in positions of authority. Like the rest of society, there are "good apples" and "bad apples" When the "bad apples" reach a critical mass of power in any institution, evil occurs. Recently a major pharmaceutical company plead guilty to criminal behavior. So does corruption exist---It absolutely does in specific cases

DL: Do you think we will finally have real health care reform now?

Author: My concern is that we're going about HC care reform as if it was mainly about insurance reform. It's not enough. It will not reduce costs so insurance will continue to remain unaffordable. To answer your question, I do think we'll have insurance reform but unless we change the other parameters, we're just putting more people in a sick and broken system. We need wellness models...not just sickness care. We need to incite people to practice healthy behaviors and not penalize them through fines by micromanaging their lives. We need tort reform so physicians can stop practicing defensive medicine and ordering more services & tests than we actually need. We need research so we know what treatment works best. And we need to accept that MORE care is NOT always better care.

DL: Why do you think health care reform is proceeding farther than it ever has before? What is different now from previous efforts?

Author: More people are losing heath care coverage since it's becoming even more unaffordable, so that many of the haves are becoming the have-nots. This is convincing other haves, with insurance, that tomorrow they might lose their coverage unless reforms are enacted. Fear is one driver and the positive leadership of the President is helping to mobilize public opinion in favor of accomplishing much needed reforms. Also, compared to prior attempts, this reform campaign is trying to learn from the mistakes of the past and trying not to antagonize a lot of influential folks. In may ways, this attempt is more pragmatic, more inclusive of more people, and more likely to succeed.

DL: Do you have any new ideas for more novels, and will you continue with the fictional thriller/adventure genre?

Author: I intend to continue in this genre under THE HEALTH CLUB MYSTERIES SERIES My second novel, "RUN FROM EVIL", is complete and is about international terrorism and whether a vaccine developed to combat the atrocities of the terrorists will be "the savior of America?" I'm writing my third novel called "DENIED", about a teenage pyromaniac whose psychiatric illness compels him to set deadly fires. People die, but a managed care company denies further treatment. Where is he to go but down, setting more fires. Will the killing stop?

DL: Do you see yourself in the the main character of your novel in any way?

Author: Dr. Jonathan Rogers is an idealistic physician committed to "march into hell" for a heavenly cause", to do what is right for patients. In many ways, I have led a life where you would not be able to differentiate Dr. Rogers from me. "TERMINAL NEGLECT" is very much autobiographical.

DL: In your "Acknowledgments" section of the book, you speak of how your being diagnosed with cancer started you on a path of writing a non-fictional story. Were any of your original concepts influential, or kept in the fictional novel you finally produced?

Author: I kept the non-fictional aspects of my bout with cancer as a back-story in "TERMINAL NEGLECT". I applaud the courage of cancer survivors everywhere. I decided to move to a fictional mode to reach a larger audience. Yet readers of my novel have labeled "TERMINAL NEGLECT" as "faction" since it seems so real!

"TERMINAL NEGLECT" is available and published by Publishing Works, Inc.

You can find more information about the author at: www.michaelrushnakbooks.com