A few weeks ago, I asked how interested you are in more coverage of "The Pitt" on First Opinion. I heard from lots of you — thank you, it's always great to know I'm not just talking to myself here. The consensus was that you wanted to read about "The Pitt," but not necessarily weekly — only when someone had something important to say.
Well, here we are. On Friday, I published an op-ed by Allison Sesso, president and CEO of the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt, and Joe Sachs, an emergency physician, writer, and executive producer of the HBO Max series "The Pitt."
Sesso and Sachs wrote about Thursday's episode, which grapples with the ways that medical debt interferes with necessary care: "in the long history of medical TV shows, it's not often viewers see their own frustrations with deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-network charges reflected on the screen. Art is finally catching up with the long-brewing medical debt crisis."
The episode, and Sesso and Sachs' compelling essay, almost felt like a direct response to an op-ed First Opinion published last year, in which an emergency medicine resident wrote, "Here is where 'The Pitt' falls short. As we help patients on their worst days, we don't always consider the days that follow. We are not trained to weigh the financial burden placed on patients by our medical care. 'The Pitt' missed a chance to show the devastating financial consequences that can befall patients treated in the hospital."
My next goal: an op-ed or podcast interview with Ned Brower, an actor on "The Pitt" who also happens to have been an EMT and full-time pediatric emergency nurse.
I still haven't actually watched the show. I am steeling myself to binge it soon.
Recommendation of the week: "Summer House" is back on Bravo. The beautiful chuckleheads and their nonsense aren't even a guilty pleasure — just a straight-up pleasure.
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