Press Reaction

The following are excerpts from reviews and commentary about CRITICAL CONDITION with Hedrick Smith.

"Critical Condition" is a journalistic gem…medicine well worth taking…
— Salon.com

[I]t's an outstanding work that relies on candid interviews and has an air of honesty. It convinces us that we are seeing some of the very best and worst about our health care system.
— The Los Angeles Times

[M]edical personnel and hospital and health-maintenance organization administrators, as well as doctors and their patients, could benefit from a look at Smith's documentary…
— The Washington Post

Hedrick Smith takes an incisive look at what happens when you really need to lean on your health care provider…Smith shows how economics, human fallibility and chance can keep seriously or chronically ill patients from getting the best health care when they need it most.
— The St. Petersberg Times

If you want to understand the state of American health care, this carefully reported documentary from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hedrick Smith does an admirable job of addressing the major issues of quality and affordability.
— The Los Angeles Times

[It] goes well beyond the piecemeal approach to healthcare reform that we've seen in this year's presidential campaign.
— Salon.com

[T]he show is informative and holds the attention for the full three- hour running time - partly because it's structured in four 45-minute segments, each with several vignettes, thus keeping the show flowing nicely…
— The Washington Times

Smith tackles a huge topic by carving it up… And no matter where he trains his lens, he digs up the same kinds of problems, over and over. And even where the system seems to be working, it's only a matter of time before Smith turns over another rock and you find out that things aren't as good as they look…
— Salon.com