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Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD

The Podcast by KevinMD

The voices behind health care: stories from the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from.

2,300 episodes · Since May 2020 · About 15 minutes each

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About

Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. New episodes every day, about 15 minutes each.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get notified when a new episode comes out. Already a listener? Rate and review the show so more people can find it.

Every episode ends with the same question: What take-home message do you want to leave with the KevinMD audience? The answers, quoted from every transcribed episode and attributed to the guest by name and date, are collected in Take-home messages: what physicians say when asked to leave one.

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The Podcast by KevinMD

Patients hide their food allergy, and few doctors speak up [PODCAST]

On a Hulu comedy, a man hides his shellfish allergy from a coworker. When the reaction starts, he takes Benadryl. Lianne Mandelbaum is a food allergy advocate, president of the No Nut Traveler, and airline correspondent for Allergic Living. This…

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On a Hulu comedy, a man hides his shellfish allergy from a coworker. When the reaction starts, he takes Benadryl. Lianne Mandelbaum is a food allergy advocate, president of the No Nut Traveler, and airline correspondent for Allergic Living. This episode is based on her article “Why a Hulu …

Read more…

Patients hide their food allergy, and few doctors speak up [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

U.S. health care won’t be fixed until everyone can see a doctor [PODCAST]

Almost 50 years into practice, a cardiologist says American health care is getting worse by the day. Peter R. Kowey specializes in heart rhythm disorders and ran a cardiology division for 25 years. This episode is based on his article…

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Almost 50 years into practice, a cardiologist says American health care is getting worse by the day. Peter R. Kowey specializes in heart rhythm disorders and ran a cardiology division for 25 years. This episode is based on his article “Why a broken health care system keeps getting worse,” …

Read more…

U.S. health care won’t be fixed until everyone can see a doctor [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Joining a private practice? Get the partnership terms in writing first. [PODCAST]

Being offered partnership in a medical practice is usually good news, but not always. One physician paid $60,000 to buy in, then signed a contract making her cover all of a $325,000 bonus her two partners had given themselves. That…

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Being offered partnership in a medical practice is usually good news, but not always. One physician paid $60,000 to buy in, then signed a contract making her cover all of a $325,000 bonus her two partners had given themselves. That meant $9,000 a month out of her pay, and leaving …

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Joining a private practice? Get the partnership terms in writing first. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Self-care isn’t self-indulgence, and burnout isn’t only a personal problem [PODCAST]

Doctors and nurses are trained to take excellent care of other people's health, and often don't look after their own. Close to half the health care workforce has burnout, and it shows in rounded shoulders, lower back problems, and little…

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Doctors and nurses are trained to take excellent care of other people’s health, and often don’t look after their own. Close to half the health care workforce has burnout, and it shows in rounded shoulders, lower back problems, and little time to process a patient’s death. Internal medicine and critical care physician …

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Self-care isn’t self-indulgence, and burnout isn’t only a personal problem [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Why malpractice lawsuits are rarer but more expensive than ever [PODCAST]

Doctors are sued far less often than they were 25 years ago, but the average malpractice payout has never been higher. Robert E. White, Jr., president of The Doctors Company, has spent 58 years in malpractice insurance. This episode is…

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Doctors are sued far less often than they were 25 years ago, but the average malpractice payout has never been higher. Robert E. White, Jr., president of The Doctors Company, has spent 58 years in malpractice insurance. This episode is based on his article “Why medical malpractice claims cost …

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Why malpractice lawsuits are rarer but more expensive than ever [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Active sitting: Why ergonomic chairs and standing desks fail [PODCAST]

The office chairs most of us sit in all day have little science behind them, and the popular fixes may not be much better. Turner Osler is a trauma surgeon and epidemiologist. This episode is based on his article “How…

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The office chairs most of us sit in all day have little science behind them, and the popular fixes may not be much better. Turner Osler is a trauma surgeon and epidemiologist. This episode is based on his article “How the benefits of active sitting change desk work,” published

…

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Active sitting: Why ergonomic chairs and standing desks fail [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Fired for seeing her own patients: moral injury and life after medicine [PODCAST]

2

A physician was fired by the doctors she had trained, in part because she preferred to see her own patients herself. Moral injury, she argues, does not require 100-hour weeks. Sarah A. Vlach is a physiatrist and sports medicine physician.…

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A physician was fired by the doctors she had trained, in part because she preferred to see her own patients herself. Moral injury, she argues, does not require 100-hour weeks. Sarah A. Vlach is a physiatrist and sports medicine physician. This episode is based on her article “Moral injury …

Read more…

Fired for seeing her own patients: moral injury and life after medicine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Disability claim denied? Your chart notes may be why. [PODCAST]

The words you put in a patient's chart can be used to deny their disability claim. A note that says "stable" or "improved" can mean one thing to you and another to the insurer. Jennifer Hess, an ERISA disability attorney…

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The words you put in a patient’s chart can be used to deny their disability claim. A note that says “stable” or “improved” can mean one thing to you and another to the insurer. Jennifer Hess, an ERISA disability attorney and Riemer Hess partner, represents physicians and other professionals in …

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Disability claim denied? Your chart notes may be why. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Doctors lose hours to admin work that AI or an assistant could do [PODCAST]

Many doctors who run their own practices spend hours on work someone else could do. One practice owner who charges $300 an hour was his own receptionist, verifying insurance all night and stepping away from a family dinner to take…

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Many doctors who run their own practices spend hours on work someone else could do. One practice owner who charges $300 an hour was his own receptionist, verifying insurance all night and stepping away from a family dinner to take a patient’s call. Central AI and Wing Assistant CEO Karan …

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Doctors lose hours to admin work that AI or an assistant could do [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Your living will could get you too much care, or too little [PODCAST]

When you can't speak for yourself, a living will is supposed to speak for you. Too often, it doesn't. Seventy percent of U.S. adults don't have one, and those who do often keep it in a drawer at home. Emergency…

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When you can’t speak for yourself, a living will is supposed to speak for you. Too often, it doesn’t. Seventy percent of U.S. adults don’t have one, and those who do often keep it in a drawer at home. Emergency physician and MIDEO Health Technologies CEO Ferdinando Mirarchi and attorney …

Read more…

Your living will could get you too much care, or too little [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Memory loss is not normal aging, and waiting costs the treatment window [PODCAST]

Someone tells you their memory is slipping. What you say next can decide whether treatment is still an option for them. Emer MacSweeney is a neuroradiologist and the cofounder and CEO of Re:Cognition Health. This episode is based on her…

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Someone tells you their memory is slipping. What you say next can decide whether treatment is still an option for them. Emer MacSweeney is a neuroradiologist and the cofounder and CEO of Re:Cognition Health. This episode is based on her article “Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis now decides who gets treated,” …

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Memory loss is not normal aging, and waiting costs the treatment window [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

A diagnosis no one authored can follow your patient from visit to visit [PODCAST]

A patient arrives already sure of what is wrong with them. The words they use came from somewhere else. Alan P. Feren is a retired surgeon, health care consultant, and patient advocate. This episode is based on his article "Clinical…

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A patient arrives already sure of what is wrong with them. The words they use came from somewhere else. Alan P. Feren is a retired surgeon, health care consultant, and patient advocate. This episode is based on his article “Clinical authorship: the missing principle in medical AI,” published on …

Read more…

A diagnosis no one authored can follow your patient from visit to visit [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Not all PTSD is the same, and the difference decides the treatment [PODCAST]

Some people process a terrible event over a week or two and move on. Others replay it for years, and their bodies never settle back down. Faust Ruggiero is a clinical psychologist who has treated post-traumatic stress in veterans, first…

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Some people process a terrible event over a week or two and move on. Others replay it for years, and their bodies never settle back down. Faust Ruggiero is a clinical psychologist who has treated post-traumatic stress in veterans, first responders, and others for years. This episode is based on …

Read more…

Not all PTSD is the same, and the difference decides the treatment [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Why the surgical backlog starts with how surgeons are trained [PODCAST]

Surgical training still runs on the model it did decades ago. Everything around it has changed. Danny Goel walks you through what that mismatch costs. He is an orthopedic surgeon, and this episode is based on his article "In 2026,…

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Surgical training still runs on the model it did decades ago. Everything around it has changed. Danny Goel walks you through what that mismatch costs. He is an orthopedic surgeon, and this episode is based on his article “In 2026, the surgical backlog has a training bottleneck,” published on …

Read more…

Why the surgical backlog starts with how surgeons are trained [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Heart and brain got the investment; the musculoskeletal system did not [PODCAST]

You can learn more from watching a patient walk down the hallway than from the rest of the exam. Most exams happen sitting or lying down. Narinder Singh Parhar is an internal medicine physician and founder of Jeeva Health Systems.…

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You can learn more from watching a patient walk down the hallway than from the rest of the exam. Most exams happen sitting or lying down. Narinder Singh Parhar is an internal medicine physician and founder of Jeeva Health Systems. This episode is based on his article “Musculoskeletal health …

Read more…

Heart and brain got the investment; the musculoskeletal system did not [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Burnout, difficult patients, and the question that changes both [PODCAST]

Most patients called difficult have a reason nobody has asked about. Every chart carries labels, and the labels rarely carry the person. Stella Awua-Larbi is a nephrologist who has practiced in the Chicago suburbs for more than 15 years. This…

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Most patients called difficult have a reason nobody has asked about. Every chart carries labels, and the labels rarely carry the person. Stella Awua-Larbi is a nephrologist who has practiced in the Chicago suburbs for more than 15 years. This episode is based on her article “The person behind …

Read more…

Burnout, difficult patients, and the question that changes both [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

AI, standing orders, and the 9 p.m. call medicine still cannot handle [PODCAST]

A patient with a urinary tract infection calls at 9 p.m. and gets told to call back in the morning. Frustrated patients default to the emergency room instead. Tod Stillson is a family physician, health care entrepreneur, and founder and…

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A patient with a urinary tract infection calls at 9 p.m. and gets told to call back in the morning. Frustrated patients default to the emergency room instead. Tod Stillson is a family physician, health care entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of ChatRx. This episode is based on his article …

Read more…

AI, standing orders, and the 9 p.m. call medicine still cannot handle [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Patients on ventilators have things to say, and no way to say them [PODCAST]

2

Only 4 in 10 caregivers say a doctor asked how the patient prefers to communicate. The patients who cannot answer often have the most to report. Chris Ross is a speech-language pathologist and school administrator. This episode is based on…

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Only 4 in 10 caregivers say a doctor asked how the patient prefers to communicate. The patients who cannot answer often have the most to report. Chris Ross is a speech-language pathologist and school administrator. This episode is based on her article “Communication access is a patient safety issue,” …

Read more…

Patients on ventilators have things to say, and no way to say them [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

How to be grateful when you are not a grateful person [PODCAST]

Gratitude is easy to preach and hard to feel on a bad day. One physician spent a 40-year career learning to practice it on purpose. Scott Abramson is a neurologist and author. This episode is based on his article "A…

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Gratitude is easy to preach and hard to feel on a bad day. One physician spent a 40-year career learning to practice it on purpose. Scott Abramson is a neurologist and author. This episode is based on his article “A physician’s three lessons on gratitude in medicine,” published on …

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How to be grateful when you are not a grateful person [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Stop calling it burnout: COVID denial and the wounds ER doctors carry [PODCAST]

An emergency physician bought a new iPad and found 53 phone numbers he had forgotten were there. Each one was a family he put on a video call to say goodbye before he intubated their loved one. Howie Mell is…

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An emergency physician bought a new iPad and found 53 phone numbers he had forgotten were there. Each one was a family he put on a video call to say goodbye before he intubated their loved one. Howie Mell is an emergency physician with a master’s degree in public health. …

Read more…

Stop calling it burnout: COVID denial and the wounds ER doctors carry [PODCAST]

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