871 Minimizing Medical Mistakes

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:
Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN talks with us about his recent article in The New York Times. He reminds us that every medical treatment carries risks and suggests that the current tendency to overtreat may contribute to patient harm. How can patients reduce their vulnerability to such problems? The old adage, “Trust but verify” may have an important role to play in health care.
Getting really high blood pressure under control saves lives, but a careful meta-analysis has found that there is no good evidence for treating mildly elevated blood pressure. What sorts of side effects do patients suffer unnecessarily as a consequence of being treated for this condition?
We explore the stories behind the health headlines and welcome listeners’ stories and questions about problems with medical mistakes.
Guests: Sanjay Gupta, MD, is the associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital and chief medical correspondent for CNN. His blog is http://sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn.com/. His article on More Treatment, More Mistakes was published in The New York Times on July 31, 2012.
David Cundiff, MD, is a retired internist who practiced palliative medicine at USC Medical Center. The Cochrane Collaboration review of drug treatment for mild hypertension was published online on August 15, 2012.
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