Some of the toughest ethical challenges in life play out in health care. The Hard Call podcast series, launched over the summer by the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities, explores heart-wrenching choices confronting real patients, families and care teams. And in a novel, creative twist for a podcast, it also asks listeners to vote on what they would do if they were facing the same decisions.
“Hard Call: Derailed” was the first story launched. It tracks a patient with emerging bipolar disorder through five episodes. The story was funded by the Colorado Health Foundation and the Community First Foundation, and it has been championed by mental health organizations such as the National Behavioral Health Innovation Center. Derailed quickly garnered listeners from across the US and in Australia, Canada, England and Ireland.
The second story is “Hard Call: The Electronic Heart.” This four-part podcast series follows a patient, nicknamed “Max” to protect his privacy, through a set of critical decisions about a very risky and expensive treatment toward the end of life.
Hard Call collaborators Matthew Wynia, MD, MPH, director of the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the Anschutz Medical Campus, and Elaine Appleton Grant, an experienced journalist and public radio producer, say the two storylines have brought different listeners to the program. “The first Hard Call story, about a patient with bipolar disorder, has drawn a large number of listeners particularly interested in mental wellness and the care of patients with mental illness,” Grant said. “The second patient’s story is of interest to anyone who’s lived through difficult decisions around end of life care, or people interested in heart disease and how it’s being treated these days.”
Listen to a Colorado Public Radio interview with Wynia about the 'Hard Call' series and the story about a Denver man suffering from bipolar disorder here.
Each Hard Call episode ends with a difficult choice facing one person in the story and the provocative question, “What would you do?” Listeners are asked to vote on the Hard Call website. They can also see how others voted and join the discussion online.
Hard Call is a collaboration between creative minds in health care, radio and theater. Episodes are available in iTunes, Google Play, other podcast platforms and on the web. It is made possible by the CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities, with support from the Colorado Health Foundation and the Community First Foundation.
The CU Center for Bioethics and Humanities, located on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, engages today’s and tomorrow’s health professionals and the community in substantive, interdisciplinary dialogue about ethical issues confronting patients, professionals and society.