Since my TEDMED talk on the importance of transparency in medicine was featured on TED.com last month, I have had an overwhelming number of responses. The majority were very positive. Hundreds of people encouraged us to keep going, and a lot wanted to know how they could participate: as transparent doctors and as patients.
Many asked about how they could find a transparent doctor in
their area. Our website is not robust enough for a geographical search
function, and it contains a small fraction of the doctors who have signed the Total
Transparency Manifesto. We are open to working with nonprofits and
developers on improving Who’s My Doctor to make it more user-friendly.
In the meantime, Who’s My Doctor is fortunate to have
captured the attention of someone who I’ve secretly admired for a long time:
NPR radio host Guy Raz. You may have heard of Guy’s work as host of All Things
Considered. Since March 2014, he has been the host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour. As
a TED nerd and NPR faithful, I download these excellent podcasts every week. Some
of my recent favorites have been the Source
of Creativity featuring (among others) Sting and Overcoming.
I had the privilege of meeting Guy at TEDMED; he is as
energetic and charismatic in person as he is on air. I was flattered when he
invited me to be interviewed on TED Radio hour—but quite astounded and not a
little bit embarrassed when he revealed that the
topic of this session was “courage”. The other people interviewed in this
episode are war journalist Janine Di Giovanni, human rights litigator Kimberley
Motley, former CEO Margaret Heffernan.
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| TED Radio Hour: Courage |
What we’ve done in Who’s My Doctor is important, but hardly
courageous! Having been a patient and caregiver, I know how frightening it is
to be in the position of extreme vulnerable, when you or a loved one are ill.
Dealing with these stressful situations is what takes real courage; Who’s My
Doctor is our attempt to level the playing field.
Whatever your thoughts are on transparency in medicine, I
hope you will listen to Guy’s
masterful interview, where he created a narrative out of my story and the
stories of Janine, Kimberley, and Margaret. I look forward to your comments.
