In the first segment:
Could the hospital actually be the third leading cause of death in the country? That is what a recent study estimates in the Journal of Patient Safety, pegging the number of deaths between 210,000 and 440,000. If this study's findings are accepted -- the former number being closer to 100,000 deaths per year -- they point to a critical issue.
What happens once the error has been made? What are hospitals required to disclose and what should they disclose? What role does apology play in communicating with patients?
Ruth Berggren is director of the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at the UT Health Science Center, and an advocate for telling patients more.
Lee Taft is a litigator who has written extensively and trained hospitals in seeking genuine forgiveness after medical error.
In the second segment:
After his "faux- filibuster" (depending on how you define the word) in the U.S. Senate, Texas' Ted Cruz is riding high on media coverage. Despite much of the coverage of his attempt to sap funding for "Obamacare" being negative, what has the event meant for his political life? What can we take away from his attempt? How popular is Cruz with Washington right now?
Joining us to talk about this is Senior Political Editor at The Atlantic magazine GaranceFranke-Ruta and Cal Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University.
*The Source airs at 3 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM - audio from this show will be posted by 5:30 p.m.
