The impact of hearing loss
Past reasons that people suffered in silence, including stigma and price, are changing meaning more options to assist those with hearing loss.
Episodes
Second Opinion
An examination of medical ethics and the practitioners who define them. Sign up to receive the Second Opinion topics in newsletter form at kcrw.com/newsletters .
Episodes
Rating an Uber Driver
No longer is being average acceptable.
Anti Depressants: new and old
There’s lots we still don’t know about older antidepressants and now were starting the process all over with an entire new class of drugs.
Root Cause Analysis in disasters
It behooves us to approach problems with a systems based orientation.
Given the same type of bone fracture, are people likely to get the same treatment for pain?
Medical Professionals unconsciously hold biases and stereotypes that impact the care they provide to different type of people.
Racial and Ethnic Difference in medication for pain and anxiety (Part 1)
For a variety of different controlled drugs, such as opioids and stimulants, prescriptions are more common in majority white areas. What is the impact of this disparity?
There can be hidden meaning in a medical term
S exually transmitted diseases and mesentaric adenitis.
Aging Surgeons pose some complicated problems
Do we want a mandatory retirement age, and if we do it could impact our ability to get timely surgery?
Hospital Readmission Rates are too high
Re-admission rates not only lower quality of life but they are expensive.
Supervised Injection Facilities for those who use IV drug
The nations is divided – are supervised injection facilities illegal and only serve to promote illicit drug use, or are they a step toward harm reduction as they save lives?
Shkreli awards for the worst actors in health care
Unbridled greed and disrespect for human suffering seems to be the driver of all award winners.
Transgender youth are suffering greatly
At local, state, and national levels we are failing to protect and care for transgender people
STI: Sexually Transmitted Infections: Treatment for two
There is something lost when treatment is only provided to one half of a couple.
How do physicians assistants and nurse practitioner compare with physicians on meaningful outcomes?
It is high time to throw out the current model of medical training and look to designing a health care system that really works and is affordable.
Medical illness and mental illness are not treated equally
Despite federal laws to assure equal access to mental and physical health care, mental health care is still far from accessible.
The Eradication of Polio
We are so very close but we keep making mistakes that set us backward.
The new third person in the exam room
Medical Scribes offer some advantages to doctors and to patients –but not everyone approves.
Why are people afraid to sign up for government programs meant to protect them?
With legislation pending to penalize people who sign up for food and health care, the issue becomes what is the role of government?
Limits of Confidentiality
How is a doctor to judge whether there is sufficient danger to others to break the rules around confidentiality?
The decrease in life expectancy is far more complicated than just an opioid epidemic
Until we address the antecedents of drug use, the problem is unlikely to go away.
Why do people leave the hospital against the advice of their doctor?
There are several common reasons but the most common is their don’t agree with their doctor.
It is time to expand and defend our lane for the public’s good.
Its been way too long that we have lacked research and data to help end gun violence. The medical profession feels strongly that it’s time to move this to the center stage.
With a new divided federal government is there any chance that Americans can expect effective health care legislation?
While obtain access to affordable health care remains a top priority for a majority of Americans there seems no agreement that basic health care should be a human right and not a privilege.
The Semmelweis Effect
Why do humans, and Doctors in particular, reject new knowledge simply because it contradicts what we have always believed to be true?
Acute Flaccid Myelitis – what appears to be a new disease that is still surrounded by a great deal of uncertainty.
Unfortunately, it has become increasingly common that we need to confront brand new diseases that pose new challenges and can lead to confusion and even fear.
Trauma Related Care
Kavanaugh confirmation has resulted in new and difficult conversations in the Doctor’s office.
Conversations around pain
A delicate dance -- with no leading partner.
The Mother of All Epidemics
Oct 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Spanish Flu Epidemic. There is still lots we don’t know about how to prevent a similar occurrence today.
Male circumcision isn’t as barbaric as it seems and for some it has important health benefits.
Circumcision rates in Africa are closely tied to declining HIV rates.
Measuring Patient Satisfaction
Using patient satisfaction as a measure of quality can sometimes lead to bad outcomes.