Drew Remignanti, MD, MPH, grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1975. He received an M.D. from Rutgers Medical School in 1980. After Rutgers, Drew, an emergency medicine physician, completed his medical training in Hartford, CT, and Jacksonville, FL. He spent the rest of his long career working in hospitals in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and retired in April 2020.

With his extensive medical career, Drew has also lived with chronic illness since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at age 19. This disease led to seven abdominal operations and ultimately to a major stroke he experienced in 1992 when he was just 38.

After his stroke, he stepped back from the practice of emergency medicine for the next five years. During this time, Drew earned an MPH degree (Master of Public Health) from the Medical College of Wisconsin and participated in several international public health projects focused on polio eradication and rural health center development. This work took him to the Federated States of Micronesia, Honduras, Kenya, Pakistan, Ghana, and for earthquake relief in Haiti. 

By 1997, he had gone through extensive rehabilitation and recovered to the point where he could return to full-time emergency medicine practice. He shares that at the time of his stroke, his neurologist told him that he might not be able to return to the demands of this work, given the severity of his stroke. However, she recognized that he would not be content unless he worked in a challenging position. So she did not discourage him from attempting to complete his full rehabilitation back to emergency medicine.

This remarkable journey inspired Drew’s passion for writing, leading to the creation of his debut book, where he examines how the dollar-driven decisions by administrators at hospitals, health insurance providers, and pharmaceutical companies are wielding too much influence over our medical decisions as patients and, sadly, as physicians as well.

Drew pointed out that, alarmingly, one hospital CEO of a $1.5 billion healthcare system said, “People need primary care but not necessarily a physician relationship.” Drew also commented, “As patients, we are prone to place excessive importance on convenience and satisfaction and the number of healthcare interventions we can obtain at the lowest personal expenditure in dollars and effort. A 2012 study showed that patients who were most satisfied with their healthcare had more hospital admissions, higher total healthcare and prescription drug expenditures, and even greater death rates than less satisfied patients. The connection is that we express satisfaction when we get more medications, more healthcare services, and more hospitalizations, and those factors lead to an increased risk of death.”

SOOP (Something or Other Publishing) sat down with Drew to engage in a Q&A session about his writing journey:

What inspired you to write “The Healing Connection”?

DR: My dissatisfaction with the trajectory of our U.S. Healthcare System that is effectively going to hell in a handbasket!

What was the most challenging part of writing the story?

DR: Trying to strike a balanced tone of alarm about the U.S. Healthcare System while remaining optimistic about our ability to ameliorate the problem. 

What genres do you personally like to read?

DR: Health and science-related non-fiction of all types, and for entertainment/escapism, I prefer fiction from Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series and Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series. 

Do you have any other writing projects in the works?

DR: I’m currently focusing on driving The Healing Connection closer to publication!

Who is your target audience?

DR: I’m trying to reach anyone frustrated with their current healthcare (which admittedly leaves a precious few out) and healthcare workers in general, especially those in training. 

What do you hope readers take away from your story?

DR: I’m looking to awaken a willingness to become more informed about and engaged in their healthcare to the degree of being a partner with their primary care physician. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

DR: Patience and persistence don’t guarantee success but are necessary ingredients. Listen to advice from all sources, but be selective about which to follow.

You can order “The Healing Connection: A Partnership for Your Health“  here. 

Learn more about Dr. Drew Remignanti through the links below:

Facebook: Drew Remignanti

LinkedIn: Drew Remignanti

Twitter: @DRemignanti