logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2022
33m 59s

24. How Can You Choose the Best Doctor?

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode
We often select doctors based on their reputations or on misconceptions about what really matters. But research shows that doctors’ experience and where they trained can significantly impact patient care. 
Up next
Jul 2023
The Economics of Everyday Things: Animal Urine
In the newest show from the Freakonomics Radio Network, host Zachary Crockett explores the hidden side of the things around us. This week: One creature’s trash is another’s cash. (Or, how one man found profit in pee.) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com ... Show More
12m 57s
Jul 2023
Tom Brady, A.D.H.D., and a Really Bad Headache (Bonus)
A sneak peek at Bapu's new book, Random Acts of Medicine, available now from Doubleday, and an announcement about the show. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. 
37m 40s
Mar 2023
78. Do Kids Cause Divorce?
Couples get divorced for all kinds of reasons. Is having kids one of them? Bapu talks about research that investigates what happens to parents who unexpectedly have twins. Plus, an announcement about the future of the show. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswiz ... Show More
18m 50s
Recommended Episodes
May 2021
Does your doctor care about you?
<p>A searing experience with an apparently uncaring doctor when she was young helped make Dr. Jillian Horton a passionate advocate for a radical rethinking of how doctors are trained.</p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid">Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/ ... Show More
43m 4s
Oct 2024
The Doctor Will See You, and Stop Judging You, Now
How do you stop implicit bias from getting in the way of better health? This doctor wants to make learning how to manage bias as important as learning how to suture. SHOWNOTES: Have you ever felt judged at the doctor’s office, even before you said a word? Unfortunately, that’s ... Show More
19m 2s
Oct 2024
The Doctor Will See You, and Stop Judging You, Now
How do you stop implicit bias from getting in the way of better health? This doctor wants to make learning how to manage bias as important as learning how to suture. SHOWNOTES: Have you ever felt judged at the doctor’s office, even before you said a word? Unfortunately, that’s ... Show More
19m 2s
Apr 2022
BrainStuff Classics: Do Doctors' Biases Affect Health Care?
Implicit biases change the way we act without us even realizing it, and doctors aren't immune. Learn how we can identify and change our unconscious biases in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/healthcare/doctors-bi ... Show More
6m 23s
Dec 2022
70 - A Doctor's Work
What do doctors actually do? Are they Sherlockian detectives, hunting down obscure clues to solve intractable cases? Are they virtuosic experts, training for half a lifetime to bring the latest science to bear to cure disease? Or are they clerks, whose main job is to collect and ... Show More
49m 14s
Aug 2022
The root cause of undiagnosed pain | Sheetal DeCaria
While doctors take an oath to do no harm, there's a good chance their unconscious biases can seep into how seriously they take your pain. Physician Sheetal DeCaria explains how perception impacts the medical care and treatment of chronic pain -- and calls for health care professi ... Show More
13m 16s
May 2023
How much empathy should doctors have?
A good bedside manner is a wanted quality in healthcare professionals. But as is performing procedures that can be painful or uncomfortable. As medical students train to become doctors, they can experience changes in their levels of empathy; the ability to resonate with how other ... Show More
27m 53s
Jan 2022
SMNTY Classics: Do doctors listen to women?
<p>Do doctors listen to female patients? Women often complain of doctors not taking symptoms seriously, and patient-doctor mistrust is nothing new. Tune in to this classic episode to learn more about this relationship, including how stress influences a female patient's diagnosis. ... Show More
35m 11s
Mar 2022
Should your doctor be an influencer?
Doctors are taking to platforms like TikTok and Twitter to make medicine less of a mystery for people—and becoming celebrities along the way. But the ethics here are in a very grey area. We’ve seen how misinformation can run rampant on social media. And we’ve also seen that it do ... Show More
38m 44s
Nov 2021
Doctor Informed - The patterns which emerge
When you hear the reports from a major patient safety issue, it will be shocking to hear how they have played out - but the patterns in behaviour, of people and institutions which have gone disastrously wrong, can be seen throughout healthcare. As this first series of Doctor Inf ... Show More
31m 29s