A New York Times bestselling author of medical thriller novels such as The Fifth Vial and Flashback, he published nineteen works in total, many of which were translated into dozens of languages. His last work, Resistant, was published posthumously.
After graduating from Wesleyan University in the mid-1960s, he attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University. He published his first novel, the euthanasia-themed The Sisterhood, while he was medically treating drug addicts.
His 1991 novel, Extreme Measures, is his best-known work.
He was raised in Massachusetts. He died in New York City in 2013 and was survived by two sisters and three sons.
His novel, Extreme Measures, was adapted into a film starring Hugh Grant.
