The Doctor is Out

We close out the fourth season with Dr. Julie Gerberding, the former CDC director, the current CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and one of the pre-eminent infectious disease physicians in the country.

In this interview, Dr. Gerberding discusses pursuing a career in public health, lessons from her time as CDC director, and parallels between starting a career during the AIDS epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Gerberding also dives into her role spearheading global health at a large pharmaceutical company as Chief Patient Officer of Merck. We end the conversation discussing the Foundation for the NIH and solutions enabled by public-private partnerships in scientific discovery and global health.

Join for a rich conversation on the importance of proactive measures, collaborative efforts, and equitable approaches to protect and promote the well-being of communities around the world.

Dr. Jess Mega, a prominent practicing cardiologist and healthcare executive, joins the podcast to discuss her career in patient care, clinical trials, and healthcare innovation. With her experience as a Harvard and Stanford Cardiologist, founder of Verily Life Sciences, a CMO and CSO of Verily, and a member of the board of the Danaher Corporation, Dr. Mega provides valuable insights into developing a career in both academia and private industry. Join for a conversation on getting involved with clinical trials, industry partnerships, and being a successful board director.

We are joined by Dr. Thomas Insel, a psychiatrist, author and neuroscientist who is a leading expert on mental health. Dr. Insel is the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health and founder of Vanna Health-- a startup that aims to expand access to comprehensive care for serious mental illness.

We start the conversation by discussing the state of mental health access in the United States and the challenges that individuals and communities face when seeking treatment. Dr. Insel shares his insights on the shortage of mental health providers, the stigma associated with mental illness, and the barriers that prevent people from accessing care.

Stanford Health Care Chief Information Officer and internal medicine physician Dr. Michael Pfeffer discusses the role of a CIO at a large health system, clinical informatics, and adopting technology solutions in healthcare. Join for a conversation on accelerants and barriers toward technology innovations in healthcare and advice for entrepreneurs looking to build and sell healthcare technology solutions aimed at large health systems.

Google Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Michael Howell joins this week for a conversation on building clinical careers in tech and the role of big tech companies like Alphabet in healthcare. In this interview, Howell discusses his recent piece in NEJM Catalyst on building successful clinical teams in large tech companies and the role of clinical teams in the tech industry. Join for a conversation on fostering cultural shifts from clinicians as collaborators to healthcare innovators.

Read Howell's recent NEJM Catalyst article here: https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.22.0440

Dr. Jeffrey Kang– Geriatrician, former CMO of CMS, former CMO of Cigna, former executive at Walgreens and ChenMed, and now CEO of at-home primary care startup Wellbe Senior Medical– joins for an in-depth conversation on how to usher value based care innovations in the healthcare system. As the first Chief Medical Officer of CMS, Kang pioneered HCC codes, HEDIS and CAHPS metrics, and much of the foundation of value based care in the United States. Join for a discussion on the role of private equity vs venture funding in disruptive healthcare entrepreneurship, the future of primary care, and health system reforms needed in value-based care. During the conversation, Kang discusses novel ideas around risk adjustment coding in Medicare Advantage, which he outlined in a Health Affairs article in response to the landmark piece by Dr. Don Berwick (S3E1) and Dr. Rick Gilfillan. You can find his article here: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20220706.909897/full/

Dr. Patrick Carroll, Family Medicine Physician and Chief Medical Officer of Hims & Hers, joins for an enriching conversation on consumer-driven healthcare, population health and value-based care. Carroll discusses his journey starting out as a primary care physician working with the Indian Health Service and extending that ground level work to become a leader in population health as Chief Medical Officer Atrius Health and later Chief Medical Officer of Walgreens, where he was involved in Walgreens' acquisition of Village MD. Caroll also discusses his role as Chief Medical Officer of Hims & Hers, building an engine for healthcare disruption through direct to consumer healthcare and consumer driven healthcare at Hims & Hers. Listen in for an enriching discussion on direct to consumer business models in healthcare, the future of clinically integrated online pharmacies like Hims & Hers, Thirty Madison, and Amazon Clinic, and the future roles of nonclinical online pharmacies like Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs.

Physician scientist and oncologist in training Dr. Amira Barkal discusses her extraordinary journey commercializing scientific discoveries she made with Dr. Irving Weissman during MD/PhD at Stanford. Barkal went on to raise $76M as founder and CEO of Pheast Therapeutics, all while completing her residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Join for a conversation around finding courage to start a company as a scientific founder, navigating being a founder CEO, and operating a biotech startup during clinical training.

Physician scientist and rheumatologist Dr. Paul Rothman joins for a reflective conversation as he completes his 10 year tenure as CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Join for a rich discussion on leadership, management, navigating transitions from medical to administrative careers, and the skills necessary to become a leader in healthcare.

Dr. David Mou, the CEO and former CMO of the telehealth psychiatry startup Cerebral, discusses guiding his company through DOJ investigations into controlled substance prescribing practices and market headwinds months after raising a $300M Series C at a $4.8B valuation. A Harvard-trained psychiatrist, Mou has a conversation about Cerebral's mission, building trust through clinical quality, and stepping up to navigate the company after its CEO was removed.