The Podcast by KevinMD

Physician executive Sreeram Mullankandy discusses his article, "Bridging the digital divide: Addressing health inequities through home-based AI solutions." The conversation highlights that while the future of health care delivery is moving into patients' homes, this shift risks leaving the most vulnerable populations behind. Sreeram explains that non-medical factors, or Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), can influence up to 80 p...

Pediatrician Sarah Webber discusses her article, "Why it's so hard to admit when we don't like our jobs." The conversation is a vulnerable look into her personal experience with burnout just nine months into what she thought was her dream job as a pediatric hospitalist. Sarah shares her journey of feeling drained and unhappy, and her initial attempts to "fix" things with more mindfulness, gratitude, and journaling, only to find the...

LGBTQ+ journalist BJ Ferguson discusses the article, "Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws." The conversation serves as a call to action for medical professionals, arguing that their duty to protect patient health now extends beyond the clinic and into the legislative arena. BJ outlines how anti-LGBTQ+ laws, particularly those targeting gender-affirming care, directly threaten patient well-being and und...

Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article "The broken health care system doesn't have to break you." Jessie discusses the profound changes in the practice of medicine that no longer align with traditional training models. She identifies outdated beliefs prevalent in medicine, such as self-sacrifice, service at all costs, and avoiding discussions of compensation, which contribute to widespread physician b...

Anesthesiologist Maire Daugharty, who expanded her expertise by earning a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling, discusses her article "Why ADHD isn't just a childhood disorder and what that means for adults." Maire discusses the critical importance of timely diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, highlighting its negative impacts on self-esteem, mood disorders, substance use, and even criminality when left unaddressed. Sh...

Physician Scott Abramson discusses his article "How doctors' words can make or break patient care." Scott shares two compelling scenarios illustrating the profound impact of a physician's communication. He recounts a family conference where a doctor's use of medical jargon like "lesion" completely obscured the diagnosis of cancer for a concerned family, highlighting the barrier that medical language can create. Conversely, Scott de...

Public policy analyst Julia Drydyk discusses her article "Human trafficking isn't what you think: Why education is key to stopping it." Julia clarifies the crucial distinction between human smuggling and human trafficking, explaining that trafficking involves exploitation through coercion regardless of geographic movement, often occurring within communities rather than solely at borders. She addresses how popular media perpetuates ...

Endocrinologist Michael Morkos discusses his article "Mastering the art of efficient patient encounters: tips for physicians." Michael shares practical strategies for optimizing the patient encounter to enhance both efficiency and patient satisfaction. He delves into effective documentation techniques, emphasizing the importance of maintaining eye contact while touch-typing in the exam room, and adapting clinic setups with adjustab...

Nurse practitioner Surani Hayre-Kwan discusses her article "Are you protecting your career? 5 essential questions about your NP liability insurance." Surani discusses the critical need for nurse practitioners to secure their own professional liability insurance, highlighting how relying solely on employer-provided coverage can leave significant gaps. She provides insights into common pitfalls, such as employer policies often exclud...

Internal medicine and pediatric physician Charles LeBaron discusses his article "How the CDC's opioid rules created a crisis for chronic pain patients." Charles discusses the 2016 CDC opioid guideline, initially framed as a solution to over-prescription and overdose deaths, and critically examines its actual impact. He reveals how the guideline, despite being based on "low quality of evidence," led to widespread restrictions on opi...

Otolaryngologist Kevin C. McMains discusses his article "The hero's journey: Understanding professional identity formation in graduate medical education." Kevin discusses the ongoing crisis of burnout and mental health issues in medical training, critically examining traditional educational and environmental interventions. He identifies a gap in the current narrative surrounding work-life balance, suggesting that framing work and l...

Osteopathic medical student Scarlett Saitta discusses her article "The school cafeteria could save American medicine." Scarlett discusses the profound connection between childhood nutrition and long-term health outcomes, drawing from her personal experiences and observations in her hometown. She highlights how current food systems contribute to chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and how misleading food marketi...

Licensed clinical psychologist and health care ethicist Jenny Shields discusses her article, "DSM-5 doesn’t name it, but moral distress is everywhere in medicine." Jenny illuminates the pervasive issue of moral distress among clinicians, defining it as the psychological toll exacted when they know the ethically appropriate action but are systematically prevented from taking it by institutional constraints such as hospital policies ...

Psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, "When rock bottom is a turning point: Why the turmoil at HHS may be a blessing in disguise." Muhamad offers a counterintuitive perspective on the recent wave of layoffs and leadership changes sweeping through federal health agencies like the NIH, CDC, and FDA. He argues that this "rock bottom" moment, rather than signaling collapse, ...

Physician and clinical researcher Chris Apfel discusses his article, "Functional precision oncology: a game changer in cancer therapy." Chris explains that functional precision oncology takes a highly personalized approach by testing a patient's live tumor cells outside the body (ex-vivo) against a panel of cancer drugs to directly observe which treatments are most effective against that specific cancer. This method, he argues, can...

Health care attorney Dennis Hursh discusses his article, "What independent and locum tenens doctors need to know about fair market value." Dennis explains why understanding fair market value (FMV) is crucial for independent and locum tenens physicians, not only for securing appropriate payment but also for ensuring compliance with federal laws like the Stark Law. He breaks down the Stark Law's definition of FMV as compensation aris...

Physician executive Jay Anders discusses his article, "Health care's data problem: the real obstacle to AI success." Jay asserts that the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in health care is fundamentally dependent on the quality of the underlying clinical data. He explains that while tools like large language models and conversational AI show promise in synthesizing information and easing documentation, their reli...

Patient advocate Tami Burdick discusses her article, "How collaboration saved my life from a rare disease doctors couldn't diagnose." Tami shares her personal and arduous journey with granulomatous mastitis (GM), a rare and poorly understood condition, and how embracing collaborative health care in three key ways led to her successful remission. She details the crucial partnership between her conventional Western medicine doctor, s...

Patient advocate Lianne Mandelbaum discusses her article, "What Avarie's death in Rome teaches us about the gaps in food allergy education." Lianne reflects on the tragic death of Avarie, a young American student with a known tree nut allergy who died in Rome due to anaphylaxis, contrasting this loss with the promising advancements in food allergy research and treatment. She meticulously outlines the systemic failures in Avarie's c...