Why does this doctor think physicians are "born entrepreneurs" with natural grit?
Dr. Anna Chacon hosts emergency medicine physician and serial entrepreneur Dr. John Shufeldt, who has built an extraordinary career spanning clinical practice, business ventures, and education. Board-certified in emergency medicine with an MBA and JD, Dr. Shufeldt founded NextCare (expanding to 60 locations across seven states), established MeMD (a telemedicine company sold to Walmart in 2021), and currently leads Tribal Health, staffing over 50 Native American facilities. He also manages Xcellerant Ventures and partners with VivaMed Biopharma. His philosophy? Physicians are "born entrepreneurs."
The conversation explores Dr. Shufeldt's journey from starting NextCare with three mortgages on his house to scaling across seven states. Topics include navigating medical board complaints, the evolving role of advanced practice providers, and strategic urgent care location selection. What drives someone to pursue law school while practicing emergency medicine? How did early telemedicine pioneers convince skeptical patients and insurers? Dr. Shufeldt shares hard-won insights about failure, resilience, and finding your entrepreneurial "and."
In This Episode:
- (00:00) Building NextCare from startup to 60 locations across seven states
- (07:40) The importance of finding your entrepreneurial "and" to prevent burnout
- (16:07) Pivoting from urgent care to MeMD telemedicine before it was mainstream
- (19:52) Launching Xcellerant Ventures to invest in physician entrepreneurs
- (20:48) Addressing healthcare disparities in Native American communities
- Share with a dermatology pro you know, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes!
About the show: Welcome to Skin Deep, a podcast designed for dermatology professionals. Host Dr. Anna Chacon, a distinguished dermatologist and author, shares her unique experiences and offers valuable insights on the future of dermatology, including telemedicine and teledermatology in reaching underserved communities. Dr. Chacon provides actionable recommendations for dermatology practices, emphasizing compassion, patient education, and staying current with advancements in the field.
About the host: Dr. Anna Chacon, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Indigenous Dermatology, specializes in treating patients in remote and rural communities. As the first dermatologist serving Alaska's Bush region, she travels by bush plane to reach isolated communities. Dr. Chacon holds medical licenses in all 50 states, DC, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, providing both in-person and teledermatology services.
Resources:
Xcellerant Ventures: https://www.xcellerantventures.com
Tribal Health: https://tribalhealth.com
Dr. John Shufeldt's email: john@johnshufeldtmd.com
Dr. John Shufeldt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-shufeldt/
Dr. John Shufeldt Instagram: @johnshufeldtmd
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Skin Deep: Exploring Epiglottitis
- (00:01:06) - This entrepreneur built a telemedicine company from scratch
- (00:03:54) - Post-Bacc MS, JD in Business
- (00:05:12) - George Clooney on Medical Board Complaints
- (00:09:49) - Expert on the Importance of Urgent Care
- (00:14:20) - Flying Around the World in a Helicopter
- (00:16:26) - How Walmart Went From Telehealth to Inpatient Care
- (00:20:07) - Focus on Tribal Health and Venture Capital
- (00:23:24) - Accelerant Ventures: How Do We Pitch Companies?
- (00:24:08) - Have We Reached Virtual Care?
- (00:24:55) - Dermatologist in Tribal Health
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Male Room with Dr. Jesse Mills
As Director of The Men’s Clinic at UCLA, Dr. Jesse Mills has spent his career helping men understand their bodies, their hormones, and their health. Now he’s bringing that expertise to The Male Room — a podcast where data-driven medicine meets common sense. Each episode separates fact from hype, science from snake oil, and gives men the tools to live longer, stronger, and happier lives. With candor, humor, and real-world experience from the exam room and the operating room, Dr. Mills breaks down the latest health headlines, dissects trends, and explains what actually works — and what doesn’t. Smart, straightforward, and entertaining, The Male Room is the show that helps men take charge of their health without the jargon.