About 15 years ago, Dr. James Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant, was diagnosed with cancer. Throughout his treatment, he experienced the kind of fragmented, low-tech care that too many Americans accept as normal. After his recovery, Chen set out to create a new, better primary care system.

Today, his sons Christopher and Gordon Chen carry forth their father’s mission, providing underserved patients (primarily low-income seniors managing multiple chronic conditions) with a level of concierge-style care typically reserved for the wealthy. Chris, now CEO, and his brother Gordon, Chief Medical Officer, now  oversee than 100 medical centers in 15 states.

This is season eight of Fixing Healthcare, which focuses on how leadership can drive transformative improvements in medicine. In this episode, the Chen brothers discuss the future of primary care, the role Medicare Advantage (and capitation) will play, and how their leadership philosophy honors the example set by their father.

HELPFUL LINKS

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #84: ChenMed brothers feel ‘moral imperative’ to give seniors affordable, VIP care appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

On today’s episode of “Medicine: The Truth” (formerly “Coronavirus: The Truth”), hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr tackle healthcare’s hottest issues and biggest problems.

The show begins with a question: Why, according to the Commonwealth Fund, is American healthcare once again in last place, lagging its global peers? For the answer, Dr. Pearl borrows from the world of sports. Whether it’s “blocking and tackling” in football or “the plays you should make” in baseball, American healthcare falls short when it comes to the fundamentals: preventing disease, managing chronic illness, and keeping patients safe and out of the hospital.

In Covid-19 news, Dr. Pearl addresses the latest data out of China. While it has long been assumed the country uncounted its Covid-19 death toll (attributing less than 100,000 fatalities to the virus), analysis of year over year mortality rates indicates the true mortality total is between 1 and 1.5 million. This, despite nearly three years of lockdowns, resulting in major economic difficulties.

As always, Dr. Pearl and Jeremy eagerly follow the facts, uncover the truth, and help listeners understand how the world’s biggest healthcare stories affect us all. Click here for more info: https://www.fixinghealthcarepodcast.com/

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post MTT #70: Why does U.S. healthcare rank last among wealthy countries (again)? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

In any industry, too much market consolidation limits competition, choice and access to goods and services, all of which drives up prices.

But there’s another—often overlooked—consequence. Market leaders that grow too powerful become complacent. And, when that happens, innovation dies. Healthcare is a prime example.

Welcome to Diving Deep. Each month, this show probes some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems, delivering thoughtful analysis and solutions.

Today, hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr explore the many ways healthcare has become monopolized, from hospitals and health systems to the drug industry and beyond. Whether you provide medical care or receive it, you’ll learn much from this conversation. To dive in, press play and peruse the helpful links below.

HELPFUL LINKS

* * *

Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #83: Diving deep into the many monopolies of U.S. healthcare appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Valentine’s Day is here—a time to celebrate the heart. In this episode, Drs. Robert Pearl and Zubin Damania (aka ZDoggMD) discuss a series of studies confirming that interpersonal relationships (with friends, family, etc.) have the biggest impact on life expectancy and overall wellness.

This raises the question: Is there a role for medicine in addressing this most vital component of health?

At Turntable Health, the primary-care venture Dr. Z founded in Las Vegas, the traditional “waiting room” was converted into a community space where patients could hang out, have conversations, participate in mindfulness classes and even form friendships (in a HIPAA-compliant way, he added).

“We are social creatures and we need others,” says ZDoggMD.

In this Unfiltered episode of Fixing Healthcare, cohosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Pearl, along with ZDoggMD, discuss the “L” word, the importance of relationships in good health and how clinicians can set aside denial (a cultural tenet of medicine) and let emotion safely enter in to medical practice.

To find out more, press play and check out these helpful links:

Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy

Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions

Healthy Relationships Matter More Than We Think

Do Social Ties Affect Our Health?

ZDoggMD’s YouTube playlist on “Consciousness & Mindfulness”

How One Clinic Disrupted Primary Care, Made Patients Healthier & Failed

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Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #82: An unfiltered look at love and life expectancy appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Dr. Eric Topol, now a three-time returning guest on the Fixing Healthcare podcast, discusses 21st-century lessons in leadership.

Topol is the director of the Scripps Research Institute and a professor of molecular medicine. He has published more than 1,200 peer-reviewed articles and serves as the editor-in-chief of Medscape. He has authored three bestselling books including his most recent, “Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again.”

In this episode, Topol talks about the future of medical leadership and the role of AI (including ChatGPT), genomics research and genome editing, medical education and the retail/pharmacy giants in healthcare.

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #81: Eric Topol on the future of AI, medical education and leadership appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

For three years, all eyes (and ears) were turned toward the Covid-19 pandemic. And since early 2020, Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr have hosted the popular podcast “Coronavirus: The Truth.”

That show has cut through the fearmongering and misinformation circulated on social media to bring listeners the truth about the coronavirus—with informed commentary, helpful context and reporting from only the most credible sources. Over the past year, as other medical issues have rivaled this viral pandemic in threat and public interest, the duo have added broader healthcare topics to the show.

Today, “Coronavirus: The Truth” becomes “Medicine: The Truth.” Using the same format, the show will tackle healthcare’s hottest issues and biggest problems—including news and information about Covid-19 when relevant.

As always, Dr. Pearl and Jeremy will follow the facts, uncover the truth, and help listeners understand what’s holding back our nation’s health. Topics will feature the latest medical issues affecting patients and their physicians. The show will explore major public health problems, medical technologies, drug developments, and much more.

Listener note: If you’re currently subscribed to or following Coronavirus: The Truth on Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform, you don’t have to change a thing. Just sit back and enjoy our new show Medicine: The Truth. If you’re new to the show, you can also hear it by following/subscribing to the Fixing Healthcare podcast.

Click here for more info: https://www.fixinghealthcarepodcast.com/

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post CTT #69: Welcome to our new show ‘Medicine: The Truth’ appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Without looking it up, how many Americans do you think are enrolled in Medicaid, the government-funded program that provides health coverage to low-income adults, children and families?

The answer is one of three shocking healthcare statistics you’ll hear about on today’s program.

Welcome back to Diving Deep, the first new episode of the new year. Each month, this show probes some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems.

Today, hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr dive into a topic that’s sure to surprise listeners: three shocking healthcare statistics for 2023. But first, the hosts go inside the newly sworn-in Congress to discuss three viable, beneficial healthcare laws that could (actually) pass over the next two years. To end the show, Dr. Pearl weighs in on what leaders can do, starting in 2023, to fix the mess that is American healthcare.

Whether you provide medical care or receive it, you’ll learn much from this conversation. To dive in, press play or peruse the helpful links below.

HELPFUL LINKS

* * *

Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #80: 3 shocking healthcare stats + 3 beneficial healthcare laws appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

The internet (and nearly every American industry) is abuzz with a new phenomenon called ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), a remarkable artificial intelligence chatbot launched in November 2022 that has an uncanny ability to generate human-like text.

Recent headlines tell of the potential havoc this AI can inflict: “ChatGPT writes medical research abstracts that can fool scientists” and “Use of ChatGPT in counseling sessions is raising ethical questions.”

Dr. Z lauded ChatGPT’s ability to write a convincing Doc Vader script—a scary thought for the nation’s No. 1 healthcare satirist. But what else can AI accomplish?  In this Unfiltered episode of Fixing Healthcare, cohosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl join ZDoggMD to talk about hyper-realistic AI and explore its influence on American healthcare.

Press play for a fresh take on this technology’s potential impact on medicine.

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Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #79: An unfiltered look at ChatGPT and medicine appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

This episode kicks off season eight of the Fixing Healthcare podcast.

The guest: Dr. David Feinberg, currently chairman of Oracle Healthcare, former CEO of Cerner (acquired by Oracle in 2022), and previous head of both Google Health and Geisinger. This is Dr. Feinberg’s third appearance on the show. He joined hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr in season one (episode 3) and season six (episode 41).

The focus of Season 8: How better, bolder leadership can fix American healthcare. 

As Dr. Pearl explains at the top of the podcast: “The medical and academic leaders featured on Season 8 of Fixing Healthcare will discuss the difference that strong leadership can make, both for patients and clinicians. I know their insights will be educational and inspirational. Hopefully, 2023 will be the year that our country takes the strides needed to make American healthcare, once again, the best in the world.”

In the episode, Dr. Feinberg and the hosts discuss:

Helpful links:

David Feinberg joins Fixing Healthcare season 1 (episode 3)

David Feinberg joins Fixing Healthcare season 6 (episode 41)

A retrospective on Cerner’s transition to Oracle

The man behind Larry Ellison’s health care gamble

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a new book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.”

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #78: How leadership can fix healthcare, with Dr. David Feinberg appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

This week, Fixing Healthcare hosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl conclude their holiday tribute to episodes past with this 2018 interview of Dr. Don Berwick.

Don is the former president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and led the organization’s 100,000 Lives Campaign. He’s the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and has served on the faculty for Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health.

This is the third and final Fixing Healthcare flashback episode—all of which have featured ideas from season one to fix American healthcare from the nation’s top leaders.

The purpose? To quote Dr. Pearl: “My hope in replaying these ideas is to help listeners once again realize how much could be done to transform American healthcare and improve people’s lives. And simultaneously, help them recognize how far we are from delivering the excellence in healthcare Americans want, need and deserve.”

Helpful links:

Season 1 explainer: ‘Welcome to the toughest interview in healthcare’

Episode 5 recap: ‘Don Berwick brings a global perspective to fixing US healthcare’

The full transcript of this episode with Don Berwick

Don Berwick: Profiles in leadership

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #77: Fixing Healthcare flashback with Don Berwick appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.