How can economics shape our understanding of healthcare? How can cognitive biases lead even seasoned doctors into harmful errors, and what potential does machine learning have to mitigate these mistakes?

Anupam B. (Bapu) Jena is a professor of Health Care Policy and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Associate Physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, host of the Freakonomics M.D. podcast, and the author of the book Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health. He has an MD in medicine and a PhD in economics.

Bapu and Greg discuss the impact of timing on healthcare. From the intriguing effect of birthdate on ADHD diagnosis and how patient outcomes in medical care correlate to how recently a physician was in residency to the puzzling improvement of cardiology patient outcomes when there are fewer cardiologists present. They discuss the lessons learned from COVID through both medical and economic lenses and why the effectiveness trajectory of surgeons differs from that of other physicians. This is a fascinating dive into the data side of medicine, with several surprising takeaways for any listener.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*