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Freakonomics, M.D.

10. The Mystery of the Man with Confusion and Back Pain

Freakonomics, M.D.

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Society & Culture, Science

4.81.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2021

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hear diagnostician Gurpreet Dhaliwal try to solve the case of a patient who came to the emergency room with an unusual combination of symptoms. Plus, we discuss how difficult it is to separate the signal from the noise when treating patients, and how cognitive biases factor into doctors’ decision-making.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey everybody, it's Bapu.

0:04.4

I know it's been a little while, but we are working hard on a whole new batch of episodes

0:08.8

for you.

0:10.0

And I just want to let you know that in the coming weeks and months, we're going to

0:12.5

take on a lot of interesting questions.

0:14.9

Like why thousands of donated kidneys are thrown away each year while people die on transplant

0:20.9

lists.

0:21.9

Or how retiring can affect your brain health and a personal favorite, why men are so much

0:27.8

more likely than women to call their own research excellent.

0:32.2

That by the way, is based on some research that I actually co-authored and I am tempted

0:36.2

to say it's excellent, but I also see the irony of that.

0:39.7

Anyway, look, lots of great conversations ahead with fascinating doctors, economists,

0:46.2

and the people who are working on and studying the front lines of healthcare.

0:50.3

But in the meantime, I wanted to bring to you another medical mystery with Master Diagnost

0:55.0

physician, Dr. Graprit Daliwal, who you may recall is from the University of California

1:00.3

at San Francisco.

1:01.3

I work in the emergency department, the inpatient ward to the hospital, and the clinic.

1:06.0

And my area of interest is how doctors think and in particular how they diagnose.

1:10.9

I think it's already become a fan favorite for listeners.

1:13.6

And today we're going to hear him try to solve another actual medical mystery.

1:18.6

And again, in real time, at the end, you'll hear from me about why making the right diagnosis

1:24.0

in medicine is so difficult and how doctors often get it wrong.

...

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