David Meltzer on the Doctor-Patient Relationship

David Meltzer talks about doctor-patient relationships with host Russ Roberts. He discusses a controlled experiment to measure the continuity of doctor-patient relationships. He argues that the increasing use of hospitalists has raised costs and hurt patients. The initial results from his study show that patients who stay with their doctors have fewer subsequent hospitalizations and better mental health. The conversation closes with a discussion of the challenges facing the current medical system to adopt cost-saving or life-improving technology or techniques.