The State of Public Health Conversation with Dr Atul Gawande Discussion
The State of Public Health: A Conversation with Dr. Atul Gawande
We have spent the first few weeks of our course work learning the structure and components of the U.S health care system, as well as the issues, and opportunities for improving our healthcare system. We have discussed the opportunities that have arisen from our experience with a global pandemic. However, the inherent issues we are facing with the U.S healthcare system will still be present as we emerge from this pandemic.
The following conversation covers a wide array of issues that existed before, and will continue to challenge our systems following the pandemic.
Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, is a surgeon, writer, and public health leader. He is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is the founder and chair of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and of Lifebox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally. He is also chairman of Haven, where he was CEO from 2018 to 2020.
In 2018, Dr Gawande was interviewed for the Harvard Kennedy School of Politics on “The State of Public Health”. In this provocative and comprehensive interview, Dr, Gawande comments on key public health issues facing our country.
1. Watch this video.
2. What do you think are the top two or three challenges that are most critical for our health care system?
3. As a future or current health care leader, why did you make these choices?
4. How might these issues affect you in your role as a future healthcare leader?
*Note – for those of you who may be interested in the Costa Rica project that was identified in the discussion, I have attached an article for your information.
