Rx for Patients

THE SURGEON (245 pp.)--W. C. Heinz --Doubleday ($3.95).

Though the action covers less than a day in the life of Dr. Matthew Carter, this new novel is practically a shooting script for a new TV series. All the elements of Casey and Kildare are abundantly present: 1) gruff-seeming doctors beset by demanding patients, 2) flippant nurses, 3) crisp dialogue given a spurious weight by repetition ("Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?" "Yes, we're sure"), and 4) big, dramatic scenes in the operating room with the surgeon rapping out such commands as "Toothed forceps and a knife with a number eleven blade!"

Author W. C. Heinz, 48, is a former Manhattan sportswriter whose two previous books were about boxing. A Literary Guild selection for March, The Surgeon presumably reflects a doctor's-eye view of the profession, since the author's foreword expresses his debt to a dozen men who cannot be named "because of the anonymity which the medical profession prefers to impose upon its members."

Author Heinz's obvious intention is to present a picture of selfless and dedicated surgeons. What unfortunately emerges is a group of professionals neurotically obsessed by real and imagined enemies. The patients are bad enough, since they alternate between expecting miracles and expressing astonishment at the size of their bills. It is even worse when a patient has a lawyer in the family. "The shysters have us on the defensive," grumbles Dr. Carter, "and the shame of it all is that you have to order a lot of unnecessary tests." Author Heinz's prescription for the ideal patient is one who pays his bills promptly, has no truck with insurance companies or lawyers, and does not make a fuss on being told he has cancer.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.