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Freakonomics, M.D.

19. Do Your Doctor’s Political Views Affect Your Care?

Freakonomics, M.D.

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Society & Culture, Science

4.81.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Since doctors are human, they bring their own beliefs and preferences into the examination room. But they’ve also taken an oath to act in the best interest of all patients. What happens when politics and medicine collide?

Transcript

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0:00.0

Politics and Health have a long, tangled history in the U.S.

0:10.0

Of course, there's the 1973 Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade.

0:15.0

This is a fundamental interest on the fact that it is a constitutional right.

0:20.0

Yes, how about defeating?

0:21.0

Okay, and second.

0:22.0

And then, more recently, there is the highly political, very heated debate on the Affordable Care Act,

0:28.0

which finally passed in 2010.

0:30.0

This bill, more than any other decision we are going to make in this body,

0:35.0

will do more to put millions of Americans as dependence of a state,

0:40.0

rather than being dependent upon themselves.

0:43.0

So, politics have clearly always been a part of laws that affect our health.

0:48.0

But what about the politics of our doctors?

0:51.0

When we're sick, how does a doctor's political views affect the treatments they recommend?

0:59.0

From the Freakonomics Radio Network, this is Freakonomics MD.

1:05.0

I'm Bob Ujena.

1:06.0

I'm a medical doctor, but I'm also an economist.

1:09.0

Each episode, I dissect an interesting question at the sweet spot between health and economics.

1:14.0

Today, the first of two episodes, where I ask,

1:18.0

how does a doctor's political views affect their care?

1:21.0

And, what does that mean for patients?

1:24.0

Doctors, just like any other person in decision-making job,

1:29.0

sometimes have to come kicking and screaming into the realization of their implicit biases.

...

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