A tale of two dying patients
Culture plays a huge role in how we manage our last living days.
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
Medicine is plagued by miscommunication
While miscommunication is never good, in medicine it can lead to poorer medical outcomes and overall dissatisfaction.
The unsung heroes of the American health care system
40 million American provide some level of care to members of their family, and for most it isn’t easy.
The necessity of taking supplements to improve health
Those supplements you’re taking and paying lots for – do they really provide any benefits?
Is it safe to increase consumption of red meat?
The science behind a recent report is not credible due to financial conflicts of interests by the funder. Why were these conflicts not detected by the medical journal?
Success at preventing HIV but putting profit ahead of public health
Why can a society that is clever enough to create a drug to prevent the spread of HIV not find a why to make it affordable?
The Unionization of Medicine - part 2
It's hard to tell if the unionization of the medical profession is good or bad for patient care. But it seems to be a growing movement.
The Unionization of Medicine – part 1
While politicians talk about change in health care, those on the front lines have not seen much change and it is effecting their lives.
Women’s poor health not only a result of poverty
While poverty is a potent driver of poor health care there are other factors such as access, the health care system, patients, culture, and health care providers.
The impact of poverty on health care in Africa
In Tanzania poverty can have a devastating effect on health – particularly for women and children. But, its not just Africa that has this problem….
Missed opportunities at the end of life
It is time to improve communication to assure that patient’s end of life wishes are respected.
Medicine is plagued by conflicts of interest
Conflicts of interests impact most medical specialties, most hospitals, and many product manufactures – the conflicts all impact our health.
The impact of work-related stress on DNA
Preliminary studies suggest that for at least some people high stress jobs can cause harm to DNA.
Why does the federal government provide comprehensive care to those with end stage renal disease but not to those with other life threatening illnesses?
What we seem to have lost in our discussions on health care is bipartisan moral compass to tackle some wicked problems.
What our approach to kidney disease says about us as a nation
Why can’t we be as committed to providing all evidence-based health care to Americans as we are to caring for those with end stage renal disease?
Does it matter how your doctor or nurse is dressed?
Do we want health professionals to dress similarly, just as flight attendants, or should attire be an individual choice?
An ambulance is not a medical taxi
When people feel sick from minor illnesses, an ambulance and a trip to the ED is not in their best interest nor is it in the best interest of the public.
Hospital Price Transparency
Know how much a medical service costs could be important in making medical decisions. But, new regulations that require this information be provided to the public have created databases that are simply unusable.
Shared Decision Making
When sick and needing surgery do patients want to make decisions themselves or have an expert make the decision?
Workplace Wellness Programs
Improved work-life balance is an important goal, but do workplace wellness programs help us live healthier more balanced lives?
A new batch of interns and residents, but some things haven’t changed
Long grueling work hours and pharmaceutical gifts are still part of medical training.
When making medical decisions we often act irrationally
Medical decisions are complex and we often rely on our values and preferences rather than exclusively on the science.
Is something wrong with the VA?
By messing with the largest and one of the highest functioning health care systems in the nation we are putting our vet’s health at risk.
Politicians have long held woman’s health hostage
Woman’s bodies have long been proxy for politician’s power and control – often under the guise of “morality”. Today access to pregnancy termination is in the news, but before that it was contraceptives.
Mental health: An unrecognized problem
T he data on serious mental illness is surprising and we do not have an adequate response to address the problem.
Standing up for women
This week has been a bad one for woman's reproductive rights and the health care providers who care for them.
Direct to Consumer Genetic testing isn’t ready for prime time
While ordering genetic tests directly from a company seeks to empower patients and puts them in control of their own health data, the test results that are returned are often confusing and leads the person to make incorrect assumptions about their health risks.
The need for a just culture in health care
When it error occurs it’s easy to blame an individual but its often important to looks at systems causes.
Diversity of our doctors benefits our nation
Some experts claim America needs more doctors -- what is far clearer is that we need different doctors practicing in different locations working with different communities
Changing prescribers' behaviors to stop prescribing drugs that don’t work.
Social psychologists and economists are working from all sides to figure out how to change doctors' prescribing behaviors, but it is not always about what’s best for patients.