Second Opinion: Recent Episodes
KCRW
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 .
At present, the role of genetics testing in the diagnosis or treatment of depression is not ready for prime time.
Dairy farmers play a vital role in ensuring the safety of our milk. But, they all need to make public health their top priority.
We are not helpless, and the situation is not hopeless. We can’t wipe out mental illness, but we can enact reasonable gun control to protect the public.
For those Americans with end-stage kidney disease, insurance coverage is never an issue. Why can’t we provide this universal coverage for others with expensive chronic conditions?
Research is required to be evaluated to protect research subjects. But, in many cases, this is not happening.
Hospitals strive for early discharge, but it may not be in the patient’s best interest.
For those with worrisome symptoms the test might be useful, but it has problems when used to screen people for disease who have no symptoms
We still have a lot to understand about bird flu (H5N1), but elephant seals have given us new reasons to worry.
We are regularly bombarded with advertisements promoting unproven and non-approved dietary supplements. Congress has chosen to look the other way.
For years, through different administrations at the State and Federal level, we have not been able to make nursing homes safe places with high quality care.
While paying those addicted to drugs to stop using has its skeptics, studies suggest it has real potential
Medicine has seen many changes over the past 30 years, but AI will be a disruptive game changer.
Medicine has seen many changes over the past 30 years, but AI will be a disruptive game changer.
There are many reasons to go abroad for healthcare, but attention is needed to carefully weigh the risks and benefits.
There are many reasons to go abroad for healthcare, but attention is needed to carefully weigh the risks and benefits.
The World Health Organization considers antimicrobial resistance one of the top 10 threats to global health alongside climate change and pandemics.
The World Health Organization considers antimicrobial resistance one of the top 10 threats to global health alongside climate change and pandemics.
The EPA has just passed some air pollution rules that could improve our American’s health.
America's dependency on foreign medical graduates, helps us but disadvantages countries around the world.
The medical needs of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often ignored, and their care suffers.
We may still have some lingering pandemic fatigue but the new bird flu has the potential for significant harm if we are not careful.
Measles, a highly contagious disease, is making a comeback in the US and we are not as prepared as we have been in the recent past.
On a national level, Uganda has made progress in health outcomes, but certain populations have been left behind.
Despite rules to promote the sharing of medical records, barriers still exist that reduce the quality and increase the cost of healthcare.
As medical schools move to pass/fail grades what impact will this have on tomorrow’s doctors?
It is hard to avoid superstitions, but they are usually harmless and can provide a boost of confidence
Industry tries to do what it can to keep the secret that these devices just don’t work very well.
If we can decrease the need for pelvic exams and improve the convenience of cervical cancer screening we can increase detection rates
Now that there is a highly effective treatment available, how can we assure access to this life saving drug?
These tools rely on software to monitor, treat, or prevent disease. They are still in their early stages but we need more data on their effectiveness.
Trauma experienced by refugees can have a powerful effect on the biology and behaviors of future generations.
We need to agree on outcomes for a “best hospital” and then figure out how to measure those qualities.
It turns out both adverse and positive childhood experiences impact our health as adults.
Certain rules assure that people can live with emotional support animals, but they are different rules than protect service animals.
The FDA has dropped the ball on requiring that studies are properly evaluated for ethical violations
Perhaps the white coat is no longer a fitting symbol for a patient-focused modern medical profession.
Data over many years suggests that surgeons who do more surgeries have better outcomes.
Being a father isn’t easy, and the expectations have changed remarkably over the years.
While consuming meat can negatively impact our health, it also affects meat processing workers and those living near these processing plants.
Artificial intelligence has suddenly burst onto the world stage, but now is the time to ensure that the use of AI is transparent, confidential, and enhances health care and not just institutional profits.
We spend lots of time figuring out at what age to start screening for cancer. But when do we stop screening?
While the death rate for prostate cancer has fallen over the past two decades, little of this is related to routine testing of older men.
Simply providing information such as clear warning labels on restaurant menus can reduce added sugar consumption.
Can artificial intelligence, based on machine learning, predict more accurately the care a loved one would want at the end of life compared to next of kin?
The thinking goes that testing before elective surgery can reduce risks and complications. But, it turns out it may do the opposite.
Touch during a visit to the doctor has many benefits, but it can also negatively impact the provider-patient relationship.
While video offers some advantages to patients and providers, it also has some significant downsides.
There are several reasons for the increasing use of medical imaging tests buy they may not always benefit the patient
For good reason, other than the US, only one other country in the world allows drugs to be advertised directly to the public.
While properly ordered blood tests can help enormously with diagnosis, too often, blood tests are ordered without good reason.
Is there value in getting a second opinion? What happens when the two opinions differ from each other?
Too often the use of expensive and risky technologies catch on before we have good data suggesting benefit.
When a person is a victim of systemic injustice does that constitute a medical diagnosis?
The state of California is about to take on pharmaceutical companies by producing safe, effective, FDA approved insulin.
For over 100 years we’ve had a similar approach to understanding Alzheimer’s disease which hasn’t produced many benefits. Perhaps it’s time to cast the net more broadly?
In medical care job specifications are often blurred and a focus on the person can get lost
Unnecessary medical testing often leads to a “care cascade” that results in real harm and sky-high costs.
Often medicine gets hooked on using simple tools of measurement only to discover, after they have become entrenched, that they don’t measure what they are supposed to measure.
Big polluters are not just cars and power plants - they include the American health care system.
When we screen for any disease, we need to make sure acceptable treatments are available.
When we screen for any disease, we need to make sure acceptable treatments are available.
Remote monitoring devices are now capable of tracking our health behaviors including the pills we consume, the food we eat, and the step we take. Is this an advance in health care?
Remote monitoring devices are now capable of tracking our health behaviors including the pills we consume, the food we eat, and the step we take. Is this an advance in health care?
Nationally, emergency departments have become the latest battle ground around issues related to abortion.
Nationally, emergency departments have become the latest battle ground around issues related to abortion.
A very large preliminary study suggests that there may be some health benefits to regularly drinking black tea.
The new legislation offers some major successes, but with regard to drug pricing it is not close to what it could have been.
We currently have no good communication systems to assure that those at risk for serious inherited diseases are informed of their risk.
It turns out that much of what we’ve been told about antidepressants is wrong or misleading. The prevailing thinking has led to huge sales with little evidence of effectiveness.
Video recordings in the OR have a chance to improve quality but they also open a can of worms.
With changes in domestic pig farming we may solve one problem of inhuman care, but risk another problem by exposing pigs to diseases that can impact our health.
Public trust in expert opinions on infectious diseases is low, but that’s no reason to ignore what is potentially a large public health problem.
There are great disparities in health care and at both extremes – too much and too little – great harm can result.
Ageism - the negative attitudes directed toward older persons simply because of their age – can impact an older person’s health.
To reduce over utilization of emergency responders, fire departments are experimenting with a new, more comprehensive approach to home visits.
Determining the fees physicians get paid is anything but transparent and only serves to drive up health care costs.
Women are the dominant users of antidepressants and there are many possible reasons why.
Superstitions impact many aspects of our lives, but they can have a profound effect in health care.
Not traditionally considered a part of health care, transportation plays an oversized role in the management of chronic disease.
Veterinarians and Human health providers often deal similar diseases and that would stand a better chance of treatment with improved communication between the two professions.
Armed with good science that shows the drug is ineffective and dangerous people are still using it and often skipping their vaccines that are proven safe and effective. Go figure.
Health messages are often ignored or easily forgotten. Enter a novel approach using Hip Hop Music.
Special Olympics is working to protect those inside Ukraine and those fleeing to neighboring countries.
Human are of paramount importance, but the health of animals is important as a part of human health.
Just as we were on the cusp of eradicating polio from the globe we have a new outbreak.
Despite lots of advances in simulation, at some point trainees still need to learn on sick patients.
A new treatment with some unusual effects we need to understand before we agree to treatment.
Medical prior authorizations are intended to deter prescribing and save insurance companies money. Their real impact is to decrease the quality of care for people with chronic diseases.
Orphan drugs are often exceedingly expensive which beg the question of how much should we pay for a drug and how do we measure effectiveness?
Can we reach a point when there is nothing left to offer a person with serious mental illness? Can they refuse treatment at this point?
New research shows that the use of hydroxychloroquine for covid treatment was widespread and did not impact all populations equally.
If we can reliably designate some care as “low value”, then why do we still offer those treatments?
Who owns a patients’ test results and does the health provider have a duty to warn at risk relatives?
Female surgeons with similar experience and skill get fewer referrals than comparably trained male surgeons.
The relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession is unhealthy and it impacts us all.
Why did it take so long to change the recommendations about the preventive effects of aspirin?
Making profits from creating a disease and then making more profit from treating the same disease.
A close look at the health benefits of dairy products suggests the recommended 3 glasses of milk a day may not be a healthy choice.
We have learned some important lessons about caring for people from 9-11 we can apply to those impacted by COVID.
While the MRI can be enormously useful for a small number of people with back pain, when overused for common back pain it can lead to some serious problems.