Last week, we aired a show about a rural hospital in Ohio. As it turns out, the former CEO of that very hospital, Phil Ennen, was listening. And he called in. Here is our conversation.

Brian Alexander, author of The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town, joins us to talk about how rural hospital culture and independence are collapsing under pressures to consolidate and corporatize, and how, ironically, those epicenters of care have precious little control over the factors most important for health.

Why, as doctors, do we do what we do? Through a series of personal stories - from Matt, Wendy, and several of our listeners, we'll take a look at the human experience of clinicians. We'll talk about the stories, emotions, experiences - and patients - we carry with us and how that impacts who we are and how we care for others.

Dr. Fred Liss is an orthopedic surgeon outside Philadelphia. When he couldn't change the hospital where he worked to deliver better care, he built his own. For the last twenty years, he has been a tireless advocate for physician-led care and patient choice.

How much is enough? How much too much? In the last hundred years, healthcare has experienced an unprecedented boom in innovation, technology, and... cost. Wendy and Matt explore the origins of the rising price of healthcare - who pays, who benefits, and how good 'ole fashioned greed interferes with the patient/doctor relationship.

No matter where you work, everyone - patients, physicians, other clinicians - has their own sh*t, and inevitably, we bring it into the exam room. In this episode, Matt and Wendy sit down with Deborah Morris, a consultant clinical psychologist, and Jon Taylor, a consultant forensic psychologist and psychotherapist, to talk about vulnerability and finding a bit more compassion for each other's sh*t. And we learn that, if you think the grass is greener on the other side of the pond, just try walking through it without stepping in some . . . piles.

In this premiere episode, Wendy and Matt lay out an overview of the series and breakdown some of the most pressing healthcare topics we all want to talk about (but are too afraid to ask). From prior authorization to monopolized healthcare systems, they tackle each subject with open minds, open hearts, and an open bar, and create a space for clinicians and patients to be seen and heard. As Matt wisely says, "When you're in the shit, it's nice to know there are people who are in the shit with you."

An honest, fun, irreverent, and deadly serious podcast series that exposes the truth about healthcare (with a shot to dull the pain). Hosts Wendy Dean, MD and Matt Ramsey, MD, take an in-depth look at medicine's machinery tearing the patient-physician relationship apart and how we might stitch them back together.

Premieres November 23, 2023.

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