I just started teaching my annual undergraduate course at Harvard, which focuses on the quality

of healthcare in America.

And when it comes to quality and healthcare, one aspect we focus a lot on are the people

who work in it.

Usually that means the physicians, surgeons, nurses, technicians, and others who diagnose,

treat, and care for patients, which seems to make sense.

And those people are usually paid well, in some cases very well, for the important

work that they do.

But a lot of the work in hospitals and medical offices is done by other people, people

who care for patients in different ways, but don't have a medical degree, or in many

cases a degree at all.

Sometimes they're making minimum wage.

I'm Bob Ujena, and this is Freakonomics MD.

Today on the show, we work hard to improve healthcare quality in the U.S.

What if we just paid certain people more?

So Bob Ujena, what are the typical things that affect quality and healthcare that we know

of?

That's my producer, Julie Canfer, and she's asking a question that really smart people

in my field think about all the time.

One of the most influential frameworks for quality came from the Institute of Medicine,

which more than 20 years ago laid out six goals.

Healthcare should be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.

...