Adam Cifu on Ending Medical Reversal

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4.7 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 15 February 2016

⏱️ 65 minutes

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Summary

Why do so many medical practices that begin with such promise and confidence turn out to be either ineffective at best or harmful at worst? Adam Cifu of the University of Chicago's School of Medicine and co-author (with Vinayak Prasad) of Ending Medical Reversal explores this question with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Cifu shows that medical reversal--the discovery that prescribed medical practices are ineffective or harmful--is distressingly common. He contrasts the different types of evidence that support or discourage various medical practices and discusses the cultural challenges doctors face in turning away from techniques they have used for many years.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:08.2	I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
0:13.1	Our website is econtalk.org, where you can subscribe, comment on this podcast, and find
0:18.1	links and other information related to today's conversation.
0:21.0	You'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done going
0:25.3	back to 2006.
0:27.5	Our email address is mailadycontalk.org.
0:30.0	We'd love to hear from you.
0:34.7	Today is January 28, 2016.
0:37.4	I want to thank listeners Sally Phamacacran, and Elizabeth Phamac for recommending today's
0:43.1	guest.
0:44.1	He is Adam C. Fue of the University of Chicago Medical School.
0:47.8	He's won many awards for teaching in the medical school.
0:50.1	He's author of a book on clinical diagnosis.
0:52.6	And today we're talking about his new book, Co-authored with Vinay Prasad, Ending Medical
0:57.7	Refersel, Improving Outcomes, Saving Lives.
1:00.9	Adam, welcome to econtalk.
1:02.9	Thank you very much.
1:04.1	I want to say first, this is a spectacular book that will resonate deeply with econtalk
1:08.7	listeners who are interested in health and the question of what is reliable evidence.
1:13.0	How do we know what we know?
1:15.1	And ultimately, I think we're going to get at the end of this conversation to issues related
	...

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