Lack of transparency in healthcare costs, predatory hospital billing and collection practices, have created the greatest challenge to public trust in the medical profession in this era. Dr. Makary calls out for standard cost and billing practices that inform the patient of the cost of their healthcare before they undergo any medical procedure.
Dr. Makary is an advocate for health care innovation. He has written extensively on organizational culture, the science of measuring quality in medicine, and health care reform. He is principle investigator of a Robert Wood Foundation Grant to lower health care costs in the U.S. by creating physician-endorsed measures of appropriate medical care and directs the national “Improving Wisely” project to reduce waste in medicine. He is also the director of The Center for Opioid Research and Education and founder of SolveTheCrisis.org.
Dr. Makary is the author of two bestselling books: Mama Maggie and Unaccountable, a book about health care transparency. He is a frequent medical commentator on the health care cost crisis, the impact of new technology, and interpreting the latest medical research for everyday consumers.
Dr. Makary is a surgical oncologist specializing in minimally-invasive surgery and teaches health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
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