On August 21, we had the pleasure of presenting a free film screening of the powerful new documentary The Bleeding Edge featuring a post-film discussion with three local experts related to the film’s many layers of subjects including Brittany Spiker, Essure Problems group representative, as well as Teneille R. Brown, J.D. and Leslie P. Francis, Ph.D., J.D., Professors of Law at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.
In The Bleeding Edge, Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering (The Invisible War, The Hunting Ground) turn their sights on the $400 billion medical device industry, examining lax regulations, corporate cover-ups, and profit-driven incentives that put patients at risk daily. Weaving emotionally powerful stories of people whose lives have been irrevocably harmed, the film asks: what life-saving technologies may actually be killing us?
- Research any device that will be used on or in you. New is not necessarily better.
- Get a second opinion for any risky or expensive procedure.
- Ask your surgeon how many procedures he or she has performed.
- Have a friend or family member be your advocate while you’re in the hospital.
If you are interested in looking further into educational resources on this topic, we put together a short list of suggestions:
- Patient Safety Action Network
- openpaymentsdata.cms.gov – A great resource to check if your doctor has been paid by a medical device company
- Essure Problems – This website can connect you with the hundreds of national and international Facebook support and activists groups. This is a grassroots movement to get an unsafe medical device off the market.
- Medical Ethics and Humanities
- Center for Law and Biomedical Sciences
- A Case For Women
- Medical Device Safety Act of 2017
Didn’t get a chance to see the film with us? You can now stream it on Netflix!
Utah Film Center also proudly supports this film through our Fiscal Sponsorship Program.
