Book Description — Surviving Our Healthcare

By Dr. Peki

Healthcare is more advanced than ever before—yet patients have never felt more overwhelmed, rushed, confused, and unheard. Surviving Our Healthcare pulls back the curtain on a system that promises care but often delivers complexity, cost, and chaos.

Drawing from real clinical experiences and years inside one of the country’s fastest-growing care models, Dr. Peki reveals how everyday people get lost in the maze of insurance rules, specialist referrals, chronic disease management, and rushed encounters that leave little room for clarity or trust. But this is not a book about what’s broken—it’s a guide for how to navigate it with confidence.

Through personal stories, practical insights, and clear explanations, Dr. Peki helps readers:

• Understand how the healthcare system actually works

• Avoid common pitfalls that create confusion and financial strain

• Take ownership of their health data, decisions, and long-term wellbeing

• Engage with clinicians as empowered partners—not passive recipients

Surviving Our Healthcare gives patients what the system rarely does: perspective, transparency, and a path to reclaim control. Whether you are navigating chronic illness, aging parents, insurance barriers, or simply trying to stay healthy in a world built around volume instead of healing, this book offers a voice of clarity in the noise.

Because surviving healthcare shouldn’t be the goal—thriving within it should.

About Dr. Peki

Kostiya Peki, MD, MPH, Physician. Educator. Advocate

Dr. Kostiya Peki, MD, MPH, has spent more than two decades immersed in nearly every dimension of healthcare — public and private, outpatient and inpatient, in the U.S. and abroad. His career has spanned roles as a primary care provider, hospitalist, clinic owner, health system leader, and medical educator. This breadth of experience has given him a rare, inside-out understanding of the American healthcare system — how it works, where it fails, and how patients and providers can navigate it more safely. 
 
After earning his medical degree at RPFU Patrice Lumumba University, Dr. Peki went on to build healthcare systems from the ground up. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he designed and launched primary care clinics, created an emergency response system with ambulance services, and established ER, ICU, maternity, rehabilitation, and home health services — expanding care access to both local communities and international populations. In the U.S., he ran his own clinic, served as a hospitalist, and held leadership positions guiding primary care delivery at scale. 
 
Dr. Peki’s academic training matches his practical experience. He holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia University and a Master’s in Clinical Service Operations from Harvard Medical School. As an assistant professor, he trained medical students and residents in hospital medicine, passing on his vision for equitable, patient-centered care. 
 
His advocacy is deeply personal. Having watched family members suffer delays, discrimination, and dehumanization in hospitals, Dr. Peki has made it his mission to fight inequities, empower patients, and strengthen primary care. He believes that patients deserve clarity and confidence, and providers deserve systems that prevent burnout and allow them to deliver their best.