How Do We Know What Really Works in Healthcare? (Replay)

 Season 5, Episode 40

This week we look at healthcare. First, Freakonomics co-author Steve Levitt discusses the randomized control trial, or RCT, which he calls “the very best way to learn about the world around us.” Then Amy Finkelstein, a professor of economics at MIT, talks about using RCTs to explore healthcare delivery — and the “accidental” RCT she discovered when Oregon expanded Medicaid.

We also hear from Jeffrey Brenner, an M.D. and executive director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers. He has teamed up with Finkelstein to run an RCT on a program designed to help the poorest, sickest patients. Then, the M.D./economist Anupam Jena discusses research that defies our most basic understanding of medicine.

Don’t miss next week’s episode, when we continue our conversations with Jena and Brenner.

To learn more, check out the podcasts from which this hour was drawn: “How Do We Know What Really Works in Healthcare?” and “How Many Doctors Does it Take to Start a Healthcare Revolution?”

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