In this episode, Pat Basu, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, sits down with me to discuss the effects misinformation and “false choices” have on patients and science, and how to find middle ground in these uncertain times.

• Intro :04
• About Basu :16
• The interview 3:45
• How did you get to where you are today? 3:46
• The importance of compartmentalizing roles in life 6:37
• Basu’s role at the White House 7:32
• How do you feel things have been going regarding the pandemic? Where were the breakdowns in communication? 12:27
• How the pandemic has led to misinformation for patients and the politicizing of science 16:35
• How critical thinking and the search for accurate information is being muddled 21:12
• Basu’s feeling on “false choices” 25:30
• Policy inconsistencies during the pandemic 29:19
• Unintended consequences 33:00
• Basu’s explanation of the “shadow curve” in relation to COVID-19’s impact on cancer and other chronic illnesses 35:32
• Are you optimistic that things are going to improve in the next several years? 41:40
• The importance of health care systems changing with the times 43:47
• Basu’s one pearl 46:30
• How to find Basu 47:38

Pat Basu, MD, MBA, is the president and chief executive officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc., which includes the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Comprehensive Cancer Care Network of hospitals and Outpatient Care Centers and serves as a member of the national Board of Directors at CTCA. Basu is also a recipient of the American Medical Association’s National Excellence Award for Leadership, the Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 Award, Stanford Medicine’s Physician of the Year Award, University of Illinois Distinguished Alumni Award and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ Distinguished Alumni Award. 

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at [email protected]. Dr. Basu can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @patbasu. Follow us on Twitter @HemOncToday @ShikhaJainMD

Disclosures: Jain reports she is a paid freelance writer for Lippincott. Basu is the president and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America.