Around the Institute

Aspen Ideas to Go Podcast: The Art of Medical Decision Making

May 7, 2015  • Tricia Johnson, Guest Blogger

The “Aspen Ideas to Go” podcast is a weekly show featuring fascinating speakers who have presented at the Aspen Ideas Festival and other public programs offered by the Aspen Institute — including Aspen Words, the Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book Series, and various events around the country. For a curated listening experience subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or listen to each episode on the Aspen Ideas website

Despite medical advances and the application of scientific principles to modern medicine, there seems to be increasing controversy about the “right” diagnostic and treatment choices, even for very common medical issues, such as how best to treat high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol, whether to take vitamins, and who should be screened for cancer with mammograms and PSA.

Doctors Jerome Groopman, chair of Harvard Medical School, and Pamela Hartzband, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, discuss why experts disagree, why there isn’t a clear “right” answer, and what patients need to know to make decisions in the face of conflicting information.

Visit our podcast page to listen to past podcasts. 

Tricia Johnson is editorial director of public programs at the Aspen Institute.