Lynn Payer, 56; Writer Focused on Cultural Aspects of Health Care

Lynn Payer, 56, a medical and science writer who wrote books about the impact of culture on medical care, died Saturday of breast cancer in Calvary Hospice in New York City.

While reporting on health care in Europe, Payer concluded that various countries with similar mortality rates had significant differences in medical practices rooted in their own centuries-old culture. Variations included what and how many drugs are administered, surgeries and acceptable limits for such indicators as blood pressure.

Her theory resulted in her well-received 1988 book, “Medicine and Culture: Varieties of Treatment in the United States, England, West Germany and France.”

A native of El Dorado, Kan., Payer studied comparative biochemistry and physiology at the University of Kansas and earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She later worked for Medical Tribune in New York and Medical Encounter newsletter.

Among her other books are “How to Avoid a Hysterectomy” and “Disease Mongers: How Doctors, Drug Companies and Insurers Are Making You Feel Sick.”