865 The Hidden Epidemic

Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here’s what it’s about:
When you go into the hospital, you have every right to expect that the care you receive will be competent as well as compassionate, and that you will not be the victim of a medical mistake. Statistically speaking, however, one patient in three might experience an error in care. There is an epidemic of medical mistakes made by conscientious individuals working in dysfunctional systems. What are the consequences of health care harm? What flaws in the system lead to errors, and how can they be addressed? Tune in to learn how to protect yourself and those you love. For even more information, you may wish to read our comprehensive book, Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them. As a listener, you can benefit from a 15% discount off the list price for a limited time. Your coupon code is SAFE15.
Guests: Robert M. Wachter, MD, is Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and chief of the medical service at UCSF Medical Center. He holds the Marc and Lynne Benioff Endowed Chair and is lead editor of two prominent publication series on medical errors, Quality Grand Rounds and AHRQ WebM&M. His book, written with Kaveh Shojania, MD, is Internal Bleeding: The Truth Behind America’s Terrifying Epidemic of Medical Mistakes. His website is www.hospitalmedicine.ucsf.edu and his blog can be found at www.wachtersworld.org. The photo is of Dr. Wachter.
William Charney is an expert in occupational health and a public health activist. He is the author of The Epidemic of Medical Error and Hospital Acquired Infection: Systemic Causes.
The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free for four weeks after the date of broadcast. After that time has passed, digital downloads are available for $2.99. CDs may be purchased at any time after broadcast for $9.99.