Much of medicine doesn't do what it is supposed to do: improve health.

That is the view of orthopaedic surgeon, Ian Harris.

He believes too many drugs are being prescribed, too much surgery is being performed, and there are too many unhelpful tests, scans, and overdiagnosis.

The 'business' of medicine, Ian says, is taking precedence over what the science tells us.

We should go back to the first principles of the Hippocratic oath and 'first, do no harm'.

Ian Harris talks to Paul Barclay

Recorded at the Williamstown Literary Festival on June 19, 2022.

Originally broadcast on July 6, 2022.

Speaker

Ian Harris — Sydney based orthopaedic surgeon; Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of NSW; co-author, Hippocrasy