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Jenny Opalinski has spent more than a decade inside hospitals where people lose the ability to speak, breathe, swallow, and sometimes survive. A medical speech language pathologist by training, she worked in ICU, neuro rehab, and long term acute care settings, including a Level 1 trauma center, where she watched clinicians absorb 10 to 15 traumatic events in a single shift and then get told to move the crash cart faster next time.That lived reality pushed her to co found The Wellness Shift, an advocacy and education platform focused on healthcare worker burnout, suicide, and assault. In this conversation, Opalinski walks through the moment that changed everything for her: standing in a hospital hallway listening to a family wail after a failed code, followed by a debrief that addressed logistics and ignored grief entirely.She also explains how that work led to Humanity Rx, her podcast about the human cost of medicine, and Dragon's Breath: Calming Tricks for Big Feelings, a children's book that translates evidence based breathing and regulation strategies into language kids can actually use. The episode covers moral injury, time scarcity, false wellness, respiratory muscle training, and why empathy keeps getting treated as an optional expense instead of clinical infrastructure.RELATED LINKSJenny Opalinski on LinkedInHumanity Rx PodcastFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Fitz Koehler is a fitness expert, race announcer, author, and breast cancer survivor whose career spans decades of helping people move, train, and live healthier lives. After earning a master's degree in exercise and sport sciences, she built the Fitzness brand, launched the Morning Mile school fitness program, and became one of the country's most recognizable voices at endurance events before cancer abruptly shifted the conversation. She spent 15 months enduring chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation after discovering breast cancer shortly after receiving a clean mammogram. She kept traveling, announcing races, and working through treatment while watching the body she had spent a lifetime building become weaker by the week. Instead of asking why cancer happened, she focused on the only things she believed remained under her control: movement, nutrition, sleep, and mental health. The conversation explores where personal agency ends and biology takes over. Koehler argues that exercise is not about chasing perfection or preventing every diagnosis. It is about building physical reserve before illness arrives and preserving strength, mobility, and independence during treatment. She rejects wellness snake oil, fad supplements, and miracle cures in favor of practical habits rooted in exercise science and lived experience. The discussion also confronts a harder truth. Koehler did everything “right” and still developed cancer. That tension becomes the center of the episode. Fitness cannot eliminate randomness, but it can influence how people experience treatment, recover from surgery, and reclaim their lives afterward. The conversation moves beyond motivation and into survivorship, exercise oncology, cancer rehabilitation, evidence-based nutrition, and the limits of individual control inside a healthcare system that often tells patients what they should do without showing them how to do it. Along the way, the conversation wanders through kickboxing, Cinnabon, Jean-Claude Van Damme, chocolate-covered Cheetos, Jerry Seinfeld playing during chemotherapy stretches, and why the simplest advice is often the hardest to follow. Beneath the humor sits a larger argument: preparing the body for hardship is not about living forever. It is about living better when life inevitably gets difficult. RELATED LINKSFitz KoehlerFitznessThe Morning MileYou. Supercharged!My Noisy Cancer ComebackYour Healthy Cancer ComebackUF Health Cancer CenterAmerican College of Sports Medicine Exercise Is MedicineFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
MDs react to JAMA op-ed claiming autonomous AI will outperform doctors on routine medical tasks by 2030, spurring widespread layoffs: When even intravenous iron isn't enough to stave off anemia; “Emergency “ home medical kits draw ire of medical experts: Meta dinged $567 for teen addiction—why spending it for therapy of adolescents who are hooked on social media may be a waste of money; Adequate vitamin D minimizes post-op pain; When is a second prostate biopsy called for?
Zeventienduizend patiënten van Zuyderland in Zuid-Limburg worden al digitaal thuis gevolgd. In de groep die digitaal begeleid wordt, halveerde het aantal bezoeken aan de spoedeisende hulp. Toch levert diezelfde zorg het ziekenhuis minder op dan een bezoek aan de poli. De financiële prikkel werkt een digitale transitie nog altijd tegen, waardoor echte opschaling uitblijft. In deze aflevering van BNR Beter bespreekt Nina van den Dungen wat digitale zorg nu al oplevert en waarom opschalen zo moeizaam gaat. Te gast zijn Bas van Nispen, CEO van digitaal ziekenhuis Ksyos, en Esther Talboom-Kamp, voorzitter van de raad van bestuur van Zuyderland en bijzonder hoogleraar Digitale Zorg Thuis aan de Open Universiteit. Talboom-Kamp begon uit noodzaak: een vergrijzende regio, veel armoede en een structureel personeelstekort. Zuyderland bouwde zelf een infrastructuur op waarmee verpleegkundigen op afstand hartslag, zuurstof en gewicht in de gaten houden en ingrijpen voordat een patiënt in het ziekenhuis belandt. Volledig digitaal is het nooit, benadrukt ze. Wie moeite heeft met inloggen of met medische taal kan terecht bij een fysiek loket in Heerlen of Sittard, of bij de bibliotheek. Van Nispen bouwde een digitaal ziekenhuis zonder bedden. Ksyos levert laagcomplexe specialistische zorg op verwijzing van de huisarts, van slaapapneu tot cardiologie, en zag vorig jaar ongeveer 250.000 patiënten. Sinds 2011 zit het bedrijf aan een omzetplafond. Meer bekendheid zou meer patiënten opleveren die niet vergoed worden, dus deed Ksyos jarenlang bewust aan anti-marketing. Verder gaat het over de vraag of de prijs van eenvoudige specialistische zorg omlaag kan, over ongecontracteerde zorg als kraamkamer voor innovatie nu het kabinet die vergoeding wil schrappen, over het ontbreken van een werkbare definitie van passende zorg, en over de vraag of het kabinet steviger moet inzetten op het Groeiplan MedTech. Talboom-Kamp hoopt in 2030 op een Scandinavisch model, met één digitaal loket dat bepaalt waar je terecht moet. Over deze podcast BNR Beter is het wekelijkse programma van BNR Nieuwsradio over een toekomstbestendige zorgsector. Elke week bespreekt presentator Nina van den Dungen met zorgprofessionals, ondernemers en beleidsmakers hoe de Nederlandse zorg met technologie, innovatie, regelgeving en wetenschap beter kan worden. BNR Beter is elke maandag om 15:30 op de radio te beluisteren bij BNR Nieuwsradio, en vanaf dat moment ook als podcast via deze feed. Over de makers Nina van den Dungen (1987) is freelance journalist en als radio- en podcastpresentator al ruim 15 jaar verbonden aan BNR. Zo is ze regelmatig te horen als presentator van de nieuwsprogramma's in de ochtend- en avondspits en daarnaast presenteert ze wekelijks de beleggingspodcast Doorgelicht en BNR Beter over de zorgsector. Stijn Goossens (1996) is de redacteur van BNR Beter en plaatsvervangend presentator. Bij BNR houdt Stijn zich bezig met onderwerpen over tech, wetenschap en innovatie. Hij presenteert ook de podcast Op de zaak en test elke vrijdag een nieuw techproduct in de Ochtendspits op BNR. Hiervoor was Stijn werkzaam voor NTR Wetenschap en techplatform Bright.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, Lori Feldman-Winter, MD, MPH, FAAP, discusses how pediatricians can reduce racial disparities in breastfeeding. David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, also speak with Alexander Fiks, MD, FAAP, and Kristin Ray, MD, MS, FAAP, about telemedicine use in primary care for children. For resources go to aap.org/podcast.
Jeremy Heffner, MD, FACS is a board-certified trauma surgeon, former Chair of Surgery at Lima Memorial Health System, and cofounder of Surgery Unified, one of the largest physician-led communities in surgery. His perspective carries weight because he has spent decades inside operating rooms, hospital leadership, physician culture, and the growing collision between medicine and corporate healthcare. He grew up in a blue-collar Ohio family of firefighters, railroad workers, police officers, and tradespeople. Medicine represented something rare: a career that combined service, stability, and purpose. He pursued engineering, earned his medical degree, completed trauma surgery fellowship training at the University of Michigan, and entered a profession that taught physicians to sacrifice themselves for patients.Then the rules changed.This conversation traces the gap between the medicine physicians were trained to practice and the healthcare industry that emerged around them. Administrative burden expanded. Insurance companies gained influence over treatment decisions. Prior authorization became routine. Hospital systems consolidated. Physicians retained responsibility for outcomes while losing authority over the conditions required to achieve them.Heffner describes watching colleagues struggle with burnout, moral injury, PTSD, and growing frustration with a system that increasingly inserts business incentives between clinicians and patients. He explains why younger physicians are entering medicine with a level of visibility that previous generations never had. They see the paperwork, the denials, the loss of autonomy, and the personal cost before they ever finish training.The discussion moves beyond physician dissatisfaction and into the broader consequences for patients. When insurers delay care, hospitals absorb costs, clinicians absorb stress, and patients absorb uncertainty. The financial incentives remain intact while trust erodes across every level of the healthcare system.At its core, this episode examines what happens when a profession built around service finds itself operating inside an industry built around extraction. The result affects physicians, nurses, caregivers, and every patient forced to navigate the consequences.RELATED LINKSJeremy HeffnerSurgery UnifiedSurgeOnUniversity of Michigan Department of SurgeryKevinMDSuck It Up ButtercupFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode of The Better Life with Dr. Pinkston, host Dr. Pinkston is joined by recurring guest Ray Solano from PD Labs to break down the current state of modern healthcare, online telemedicine platforms, and the true value of personalized compounding pharmacy services. Together, they discuss: The Telemedicine Boom: Why quick online quizzes and pill-delivery services lack continuity of care, miss underlying health issues, and prioritize profit over long-term patient support. What Truly Is Personalized Medicine? How custom compounding, off-label therapies (like low-dose naltrexone), and tailored dosages solve complex health challenges. Debunking Compounding Myths: Understanding the heavy federal and state regulations, strict quality controls, and advanced tech—including 3D printing—behind accredited compounding pharmacies. Chronic Illness Solutions: Insights into tackling root-cause issues like mold toxicity, Lyme disease, and chronic microbial infections. Advocating for Patient Rights: Updates on legislative battles to protect patient access to vital therapies like custom thyroid formulations and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Seasonal Health Tips: Why preparing your immune system before back-to-school and flu season is essential for staying healthy year-round. Connect & Resources: PD Labs: Visit pdlabsrx.com or call 888-909-0110 Dr. Pinkston: Visit drpbetterlife.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1971, the National Cancer Act transformed cancer into a national research priority. More than 50 years later, the next frontier is no longer defined solely by scientific discovery, but by how quickly knowledge, lived experience, and patient voices can reshape healthcare itself.The concluding chapter of The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship explores how the cancer advocacy movement continues to evolve in an era of digital communities, social media, precision medicine, and grassroots activism. Building on the work of pioneers such as Mary Lasker, Rose Kushner, and the generations of survivors who followed, today's advocates are expanding the movement beyond awareness to demand health equity, trusted information, patient-centered research, and meaningful representation in healthcare decision-making.The episode examines how technology has transformed advocacy from local support groups into global communities capable of organizing in real time. Researchers, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and survivors reflect on the growing influence of digital storytelling, online education, and peer-to-peer networks that connect patients across diagnoses, generations, and geographic boundaries. At the same time, they acknowledge new responsibilities: ensuring accurate medical information, combating misinformation, protecting trust, and keeping patients at the center of innovation.The story also looks ahead to the next generation of advocates. Young leaders are applying lessons learned from decades of cancer activism while drawing inspiration from broader movements for social justice, public health, and community organizing. Their work reflects a simple but enduring truth: meaningful change rarely begins inside institutions. It begins when ordinary people refuse to accept that the system cannot improve.Cancer survivorship has never been a finished story. Every generation inherits the progress achieved by those who came before while confronting challenges uniquely its own. The future of survivorship will be shaped not only by scientific breakthroughs, but by those willing to listen, organize, educate, and ensure that every patient's voice helps define what comes next.RELATED LINKSNational Cancer InstituteCancer MoonshotCenters for Disease Control and Prevention | Division of Cancer Prevention and ControlHopeLabTigerlily FoundationStupid CancerFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This episode is sponsored by NURP NURP helps busy physicians grow their wealth through AI-powered algorithmic trading designed for demanding careers. No day trading, no guesswork, and no constant market watching required. Ready to put your money to work? Visit start.nurp.com/doctors to learn more. Trading involves risk, and results may vary. This is not financial advice. __________________________________ Are you building a sustainable telemedicine career—or simply collecting more state licenses? In this episode of BootstrapMD, Dr. Mike Woo-Ming welcomes Dr. Leo Damasco and Phoebe Gutierrez, to discuss their podcasting journey and the evolving telemedicine landscape. They explain how their partnership developed, why abandoning rigid scripts transformed their show, and how joining the Doctor Podcast Network helped them focus on meaningful conversations, research, guests, and sustainable content creation. The conversation then explores telemedicine's transition from its COVID-era boom into a more mature and competitive industry. Leo and Phoebe discuss shrinking physician leverage, increasing regulation, market consolidation, private equity involvement, and the shift toward smaller, focused practice models. They encourage physicians to think strategically about licensing, business ownership, leadership opportunities, diversification, and developing expertise beyond clinical care. They also explain how physicians can evaluate telemedicine companies and identify potential warning signs before joining. They emphasize asking questions, understanding regulatory responsibilities, participating in leadership, and protecting professional judgment. Rather than avoiding telemedicine, physicians should enter thoughtfully, build valuable skills, diversify when appropriate, and position themselves as knowledgeable contributors rather than interchangeable providers. Three Actionable Takeaways: Build Beyond Your Clinical Credentials: Having multiple state licenses can open doors, but licenses alone may no longer differentiate physicians in a competitive telemedicine market. Develop complementary expertise in compliance, operations, leadership, business development, technology, or practice management. The more problems you can intelligently solve, the more valuable you become to telemedicine organizations and potential practice partners. Investigate Before Joining a Telemedicine Company: Before accepting a telemedicine role, ask detailed questions about state requirements, physician responsibilities, clinical workflows, technology, prescribing practices, leadership expectations, and how patient information is handled. If a company discourages questions or describes your role as completely passive, pause and investigate further. Your professional license deserves careful protection. Diversify Strategically, Not Automatically: Having several telemedicine employers can provide protection against company instability, but working across too many platforms can dilute your attention and prevent meaningful expertise. Early diversification can help you learn the industry and discover what works. Over time, consider concentrating on organizations where you can contribute substantially, earn well, and build lasting value. About the Show: Bootstrap MD is the ultimate podcast for physician entrepreneurs looking to escape traditional healthcare and control their financial futures. Hosted by Dr. Mike Woo-Ming, a successful physician, entrepreneur, and investor, the show delivers actionable insights on starting businesses, creating passive income, and navigating healthcare entrepreneurship. Featuring interviews with industry leaders, physicians, and experts in telemedicine and digital health, it's your guide to building a profitable, fulfilling career. Tune in weekly at http://bootstrapmd.com About the Guests: Dr. Leo Damasco – Pediatrician and emergency medicine doctor turned telemedicine advocate, helping physicians transition to digital health. Phoebe Gutierrez – Former state regulator turned telehealth executive, specializing in compliance and sustainable virtual care models. They both host Telemedicine Talks Podcast, where they explore healthcare innovation, physician entrepreneurship, regulatory challenges, and practical strategies for building sustainable careers in telemedicine. Website: Telemedicinetalks.com Podcast: Telemedicine Talks Connect with Phoebe Gutierrez: https://www.linkedIn.com/in/pkgutierrez/ phoebe@telemedicinetalks.com (mailto:phoebe@telemedicinetalks.com) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In 1987, Mary P. Lovato, a member of Kewa Pueblo in New Mexico, was diagnosed with acute leukemia. To receive a bone marrow transplant, she had to travel more than 800 miles from home because specialized cancer care was unavailable through the Indian Health Service. When she returned, she discovered another obstacle: many in her community feared cancer so deeply that they avoided speaking about it altogether.This episode examines how cancer survivorship exposed profound inequities in the American healthcare system. Long before health equity became a national priority, advocates from underserved communities were confronting disparities rooted in geography, poverty, racism, language, underfunded healthcare systems, and historical mistrust of medical institutions. Their work demonstrated that scientific advances alone cannot improve survival if patients cannot reach, afford, or trust the care available to them.The story follows pioneers including Mary P. Lovato, who built the first national Native-led cancer support and education program for Indigenous communities, and Maimah Karmo, founder of the Tigerlily Foundation, whose breast cancer diagnosis inspired a movement to improve early detection, clinical trial participation, and representation for Black women. Their advocacy challenged longstanding barriers to culturally competent care while highlighting persistent inequities in access to screening, fertility preservation, navigation, and innovative treatments.The episode also explores why diversity in clinical research matters. For decades, many cancer clinical trials disproportionately enrolled White patients, limiting both access to promising therapies and the scientific understanding of how treatments perform across different populations. Researchers, patient advocates, and community leaders responded by redesigning outreach, improving patient navigation, reducing logistical barriers, and insisting that affected communities help shape the research itself.Cancer survivorship cannot be measured solely by scientific breakthroughs. It also depends on whether every patient has a meaningful opportunity to benefit from them. The pursuit of health equity remains one of the defining challenges and enduring responsibilities of modern oncology.RELATED LINKSNational Cancer Institute | Cancer Health DisparitiesIndian Health ServiceTigerlily FoundationNational Cancer Institute | Cancer Clinical TrialsAmerican Indian Cancer FoundationAbramson Cancer Center | University of PennsylvaniaFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Peptides, Telemedicine, Pharmacy & Compliance: The Future of Peptide HealthcareThe peptide industry is evolving rapidly, bringing together peptides, telemedicine, pharmacies, healthcare providers, and compliance in new and innovative ways.In this episode, we take a closer look at the growing peptide healthcare industry and the role of telehealth, pharmacy operations, patient access, and regulatory compliance. We explore the opportunities and challenges businesses and healthcare professionals face as the industry continues to develop.Whether you're interested in peptide therapy, telemedicine, compounding pharmacies, healthcare compliance, digital health, or the future of peptide healthcare, this conversation provides valuable insight into an industry that's changing quickly.
In 2000, Katie Couric underwent a live colonoscopy on national television following the death of her husband, Jay Monahan, from colorectal cancer at age 42. The broadcast demystified a procedure many Americans feared, led to an estimated 20% increase in colonoscopy screenings, and became one of the clearest examples of how public storytelling can change healthcare behavior.This episode examines how celebrities, journalists, filmmakers, and entertainers helped reshape the public conversation about cancer during a period when survivorship was becoming increasingly visible. As breakthroughs in targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and early detection allowed more people to live beyond cancer, public figures used their platforms to encourage screening, reduce stigma, and accelerate research. Their influence extended far beyond awareness campaigns, helping transform cancer from a private diagnosis into a national public health conversation.Central to this story is Laura Ziskin, the Hollywood producer behind Pretty Woman and the Spider-Man films, whose metastatic breast cancer diagnosis inspired the creation of Stand Up To Cancer. Working alongside Couric and leaders from entertainment, journalism, and biomedical research, Ziskin championed a new funding model that required multidisciplinary scientific collaboration, helping accelerate discoveries that contributed to multiple FDA-approved cancer therapies. The episode also highlights the advocacy of actor Patrick Dempsey, whose family's experience with ovarian cancer led to the creation of the Dempsey Center, expanding support for patients and caregivers beyond medical treatment.The story also asks what celebrity advocacy often leaves unsaid. Financial toxicity, caregiver burden, chronic pain, mental health, and the long-term effects of treatment rarely receive the same attention as dramatic diagnoses or breakthrough cures. As cancer survivorship continues to evolve, the greatest challenge may not be convincing people to care about cancer, but helping them understand what it truly means to live with and beyond it.RELATED LINKSStand Up To CancerKatie Couric MediaDempsey CenterAmerican Association for Cancer ResearchNational Cancer InstituteDana-Farber Cancer Institute | Adult Survivorship ProgramFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When his shifts were cut during the pandemic, he took a telemedicine job to pay the bills and ended up loving it. Suneer Chander is an emergency physician who co-wrote the article "Telemedicine as a career, not a side gig," published on KevinMD. He makes the case that telemedicine is the most impactful public health advance to come out of the pandemic, yet most doctors treat it as weekend income instead of the career patients actually need it to be. You will hear why so few physicians work in it full time, what a day of asynchronous care in sexual health, obesity medicine, and psychiatry really looks like, and the red flags that signal a company using your license rather than respecting it. Chander argues the field needs committed clinical leaders, not moonlighters. You will hear which doctors are the best fit, the red flags to watch for, and how Chander says to weigh an offer beyond the paycheck. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast
In 2006, a landmark report titled Closing the Gap: Research and Care Imperatives for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer confirmed what young survivors had been saying for years. While survival rates for children and older adults had steadily improved, adolescents and young adults had experienced decades of stalled progress. They had become cancer's lost generation.This episode explores how young adult survivors transformed their shared isolation into one of the most influential grassroots movements in cancer advocacy. Diagnosed during the years typically devoted to education, careers, relationships, and starting families, patients between the ages of 15 and 39 confronted challenges that extended far beyond treatment. Fertility preservation, sexual health, employment, financial toxicity, insurance, and long-term quality of life were rarely discussed in oncology clinics, leaving many to navigate survivorship alone.The episode follows advocates including Tamika Felder, Lindsay Avner, Heidi Adams, Doug Ulman, and Dr. Archie Bleyer, whose research and advocacy fundamentally changed how medicine understands adolescent and young adult cancer. Through organizations including Planet Cancer, Fertile Hope, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and later Stupid Cancer, survivors built online communities, educational resources, conferences, and national partnerships that challenged long-standing assumptions about cancer care. Their work helped establish fertility preservation as a standard discussion before treatment, expanded research dedicated to adolescent and young adult oncology, and elevated quality of life as a critical clinical outcome alongside survival.The movement also demonstrated the power of lived experience to reshape medicine. Survivors became researchers, educators, nonprofit founders, and policy advocates, insisting that cancer care account not only for years of life saved, but for the lives patients hoped to build afterward.What began as a search for peers evolved into a national movement that permanently transformed adolescent and young adult oncology. Today, dedicated research programs, clinical fellowships, survivorship resources, and patient advocacy organizations continue to build on the foundation these young cancer mavericks created.RELATED LINKSNational Cancer Institute | Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer ProgramClosing the Gap: Research and Care Imperatives for Adolescents and Young Adults with CancerAmerican Society of Clinical Oncology | Fertility Preservation GuidelinesStupid CancerLivestrong FoundationJournal of Adolescent and Young Adult OncologyFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
"Patients have already told the market what they're willing to pay for a health outcome," CMT Editor-in-Chief Michael Tetreault said in an interview for this article. "A GLP-1 subscription and a concierge medicine membership now cost about the same, roughly $3,000 a year. The question isn't whether patients will invest in their health. It's who earns that investment." By Editorial Staff, Concierge Medicine Today, August 2026 (See full list of citations and sources and disclaimers at end of article) Please note, this is market and editorial analysis, not medical, legal, financial, or accounting advice, and it does not evaluate the clinical merits of GLP-1 medications, which is a conversation between a patient and their physician. Concierge medicine is not, and should never be marketed as, a treatment alternative to any prescription medication, including GLP-1s. That distinction matters enough that we're stating it plainly here, before we go any further, and readers should keep it in mind throughout. That said, let's unpack the topic. FULL ARTICLE: https://conciergemedicinetoday.org/2026/08/24/what-glp-1-marketing-reveals-about-concierge-medicines-opportunity/ A patient on a compounded GLP-1 and a patient enrolled in a concierge medicine practice are now spending almost exactly the same amount each year. Roughly $3,000. We put the real numbers next to each other: GLP-1 telehealth pricing, our own 2026 concierge medicine benchmark survey, direct primary care spend, urgent care, etc. The overlap doesn't stop at price. The age group spending the most on GLP-1s, 50 to 64, is also the core of the concierge medicine patient base. Patients have already decided they'll pay out of pocket for a health outcome. That part isn't up for debate anymore. What's still open is who earns that trust, and why. To be clear about what we're saying and what we're not: concierge medicine is not a substitute for any medication a patient and their physician decide is right for them. What it can be is the unhurried relationship where that conversation actually happens, something a fifteen-minute visit rarely allows. Full research, sourcing, and what this means for how practices market themselves are in the article. Disclaimer: This article is for informational and editorial purposes. It does not constitute medical, legal, financial, or accounting advice, and it takes no position on the clinical use, safety, or efficacy of GLP-1 medications or any other prescription treatment. Concierge medicine as described here, is a healthcare membership business model. It is not a treatment, and it should not be marketed or described as an alternative or substitute for any medication a patient and their physician have determined is appropriate. Physicians and practices using any messaging from this article in their own marketing are responsible for ensuring compliance with FTC truth-in-advertising standards and their state medical board's advertising rules, including avoiding any claim, direct or implied, that concierge membership treats, replaces, or competes with a specific medication or clinical intervention. Figures labeled as estimates reflect Concierge Medicine Today's own analysis of published per-unit data and are identified as such throughout. Readers should consult a licensed physician, attorney, or financial advisor for guidance specific to their situation. Sources glpchart.com. "GLP-1 Telehealth Price Report 2026." 2026. GLP-1 Telemedicine. "The Real Cost of Telehealth GLP-1 Programs in 2026: Subscription Fees, Hidden Charges, and What You're Actually Paying For." 2026. Chronos Body Health & Wellness. "The Real Cost of GLP-1 Weight Loss Medications in 2026: What You Should Know Before You Start." April 14, 2026. Concierge Medicine Today. 2026 Industry Pricing Benchmark. 2026. (cited via Concierge MD Finder, "How Concierge Medicine Pricing Works in 2026: A Real Cost Breakdown," May 30, 2026) Connectedly Health. "DPC Pricing Index by State (2026): Direct Primary Care Costs." February 15, 2026. Medical Economics. "Five surprising findings about the state of direct primary care," citing the Direct Primary Care Alliance 2026 physician survey. 2026. Mira Health (talktomira.com). "Urgent Care Visit Cost With and Without Insurance (2026 Update)." July 8, 2026. ClinicAds. "Telehealth Marketing in 2026: The Complete Guide to Compliant, Profitable Patient Acquisition." July 17, 2026. EMARKETER. "GLP-1 drugs dominate prescription TV ad spend," citing iSpot.tv data. 2025. EMARKETER. "Pharma linear TV ad decline in H1 driven by steep GLP-1 spending cuts." July 16, 2026. Foley & Lardner LLP. "GLP-1 Compliance: FDA Targets Telehealth Marketing in 30 New Warning Letters." March 12, 2026. Sheppard Mullin. "FDA's Focus Returns to Compounding and Telehealth: Another Wave of Warning Letters." June 18, 2026. Target Patients MD. "GLP-1 Provider Marketing That Works Right Now." May 12, 2026. KFF. "Poll: 1 in 8 Adults Say They Are Currently Taking a GLP-1 Drug for Weight Loss, Diabetes or Another Condition, Even as Half Say the Drugs Are Difficult to Afford." November 14, 2025. RAND Corporation. "New Weight Loss Drugs: GLP-1 Agonist Use and Side Effects in the United States." August 6, 2025. Concierge MD Finder. "U.S. Concierge Medicine Market Report 2026: 2,601 Practices, DPC vs Traditional, Pricing," citing the Concierge Medicine 2026-2030 industry report. May 30, 2026. Straits Research. "Direct Primary Care Market Size, Top Share, Demand" industry report. July 21, 2025. Drexel News Blog. "Q+A: Is the Growth of Direct Primary Care Expanding Health Care Access Where It's Needed Most?," citing Goldstein et al., Annals of Family Medicine. November 26, 2024. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. "Urgent Care Center and Retail Health Clinic Use: United States, 2024." NCHS Data Brief No. 562. American Academy of Private Physicians (AAPP). 2026 concierge physician count estimate. (cited via Concierge MD Finder, "How Concierge Medicine Pricing Works in 2026," May 30, 2026)
In 2006, the Institute of Medicine published From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, concluding that millions of Americans were surviving cancer only to find themselves navigating a healthcare system unprepared for life after treatment. The report challenged oncology to recognize that curing cancer was not the end of care, but the beginning of survivorship.This episode explores how the growing cancer survivorship movement exposed the long-term consequences of cancer treatment that medicine had largely overlooked. As survival rates improved following the National Cancer Act of 1971, millions of survivors faced chronic fatigue, neuropathy, infertility, cognitive impairment, financial hardship, employment discrimination, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. These were not rare complications. They became defining features of survivorship for many patients.Drawing on the work of oncologist Dr. Patricia Ganz, survivor advocate Ellen Stovall, and researchers, clinicians, and survivors across the country, the episode examines how survivorship research expanded beyond recurrence and mortality to include quality of life, psychosocial care, rehabilitation, and long-term follow-up. Their efforts helped establish survivorship care plans, multidisciplinary survivorship clinics, and a broader understanding that cancer affects every aspect of a person's life long after treatment ends.The episode also confronts persistent inequities in survivorship care. Insurance coverage often ends when treatment stops, supportive services remain inconsistent, financial toxicity continues to drive medical hardship, and racial, geographic, and socioeconomic disparities still influence who receives comprehensive follow-up care. For many survivors, finishing treatment simply marks the beginning of another struggle.Modern oncology increasingly recognizes that surviving cancer is measured by more than years of life. It is also measured by quality of life, dignity, access to care, and the ability to rebuild a future after treatment. That evolution remains one of the most significant legacies of the cancer survivorship movement.RELATED LINKSNational Academy of Medicine | From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in TransitionNational Cancer Institute Office of Cancer SurvivorshipAmerican Society of Clinical Oncology | Survivorship CompendiumCancerCareHopeWell Cancer SupportNational Coalition for Cancer SurvivorshipFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this session, attendees will be equipped to navigate the discernment process of identifying the best-fit sending agency for them.
In 1967, breast surgeon Dr. Harold P. Freeman arrived at Harlem Hospital expecting to treat cancer. Instead, he confronted a healthcare system where poverty, racism, lack of insurance, and institutional barriers often determined who lived long enough to receive treatment. Patients frequently arrived with advanced disease, not because medicine lacked answers, but because access to care had failed them.This episode explores how cancer survivorship expanded beyond medical breakthroughs to include healthcare access, health equity, and organized advocacy. Building on the early work of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), it examines the recognition that surviving cancer depended not only on research, but also on whether patients could navigate a fragmented healthcare system.Freeman responded by creating one of the nation's first patient navigation programs at Harlem Hospital in 1990. Community-based navigators helped patients overcome practical barriers including insurance, transportation, appointments, communication, and fear. The model dramatically improved timely diagnosis and treatment, increased breast cancer survival in Harlem, and ultimately inspired the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005, establishing navigation as a cornerstone of modern oncology care.The episode also follows cancer survivor Ellen Stovall, whose leadership transformed survivorship into a national policy movement. Through the NCCS, she united advocates across cancer types, fought for insurance protections, expanded access to clinical trials, helped shape the creation of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute, and organized the landmark 1998 National March for Cancer Survivorship in Washington, D.C. Her work reframed survivorship as a public policy issue rather than a personal experience.Together, Freeman and Stovall demonstrated that scientific progress alone could not eliminate disparities in cancer outcomes. Their work established two enduring principles that continue to shape oncology today: patients need someone to help them navigate care, and survivors must have a voice in the policies that govern it. Modern cancer survivorship depends on both.RELATED LINKSNational Coalition for Cancer SurvivorshipHarold P. Freeman Patient Navigation InstituteNational Cancer Institute Office of Cancer SurvivorshipPatient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005American Cancer SocietyTuskegee Study Timeline | Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Welcome to a very, very, very special bonus episode of Out of Patients, and one unlike anything published on this feed before. For nearly 20 years, Matthew Zachary has handed these microphones to patients, caregivers, doctors, advocates, troublemakers, and people with something worth saying. This time, he handed them to his daughter. Hannah Greenzweig grew up around this show, and now she has commandeered the studio with 3 of her wonderfully creative high school friends to talk about something they built entirely themselves. There is an enormous amount of Dad Pride baked into this episode, along with the strange and wonderful realization that sometimes your kid grows up, takes your chair, takes your microphone, and produces a better show without you.Hannah Greenzweig, Michael Aidinov, Gwendolyn Baldini, and Astronomy are student artists from the Roundabout Youth Ensemble at James Madison High School in Brooklyn. Working alongside teaching artists from Roundabout Theatre Company, they spent a school year creating an original play from the ground up, writing every scene, developing every character, and producing the performance themselves.Instead of discussing a Broadway production, they dissect one they invented.Their play, Subject Matter, began with a room full of improbable ideas. Murderous bounce houses, pirate family sagas, underwater adventures, courtroom dance battles, and birthday parties at math museums all competed before the group settled on an absurd rivalry between New York's fictional History Museum and Math Museum. From there, they built a fully staged comedy about institutional competition, sabotage, oversized personalities, and the unexpected discovery that history and mathematics need each other more than either side wants to admit.The conversation pulls back the curtain on a creative process most audiences never see. The students explain how scenes evolved through constant rewrites, how characters emerged from improvisation, how costumes came together with last minute ingenuity, and how rehearsals often collapsed into uncontrollable laughter. They recount cutting favorite ideas, solving production problems with limited resources, and trusting each other enough to keep rewriting until the story worked.The episode also captures something harder to script: teenagers speaking honestly about collaboration without adults translating their experience. They celebrate classmates who stepped into unexpected roles, teachers who quietly held the production together, and the strange joy of creating something that exists only because everyone showed up.It is a conversation about theater, friendship, education, creativity, and what happens when 4 young artists get the microphones and the adults get out of the way.RELATED LINKSRoundabout Theatre CompanyRoundabout Youth EnsembleJames Madison High SchoolFEEDBACKLike this bonus episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
A man is struck by a car on the streets of Los Angeles. In the emergency department, a CT scan ordered to look for traumatic injuries reveals something nobody expected: a mass in his colon. Days later, sitting across from Dr. Belinda Waltman, he calls the accident “a blessing in disguise.” Then he changes the subject. He is less worried about cancer than about whether he can afford to miss another day of work. In this season finale of Standard Deviation, host Dr. Oliver Bogler explores what happens when biomedical science collides with the realities of the healthcare safety net. Dr. Waltman, a primary care physician in Los Angeles County, specializes in expedited cancer workups for uninsured and underinsured patients. Every diagnosis arrives carrying another set of questions about housing, transportation, food insecurity, wages, and survival that rarely appear in medical records or scientific literature. For years, Waltman carried those stories without knowing how to bring them into the academic record. As a full-time clinician without a research lab, grant funding, or publication pipeline, she faced barriers familiar to many working scientists and physicians whose most important observations happen outside traditional research settings. With support from the Life Science Editors Foundation's JEDI program, those experiences became The Margins Matter, a narrative medicine essay published in JAMA that argues the social realities surrounding cancer care are not background details. They are part of the disease itself. Bogler traces how editorial mentorship transformed lived clinical experience into published scholarship while asking a larger question about who gets to shape the scientific record. The conversation examines cancer care, Medicaid, health-related social needs, medical publishing, and the structural incentives that determine which stories become evidence and which disappear from view.The result is a conversation about documentation, visibility, and why the margins of medicine often determine who survives long enough to benefit from its advances.RELATED LINKSDr. Belinda WaltmanThe Margins Matter | JAMAThe Margins Matter | PubMedLife Science Editors FoundationFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
GLP-1 medications have changed how we treat obesity and metabolic disease. But as their use has exploded, so have questions about side effects, muscle loss, long-term use, and whether patients are receiving the support they need to use them safely. In this episode, I reconnect with metabolic health and regenerative medicine expert Dr. Tyna Moore to revisit our conversation from two years ago and examine what we've learned since. We discuss: How to tell when your GLP-1 dose may be too high What you can do to protect your muscle and bone during weight loss Which metabolic and nutritional markers should you check before and during treatment Why weight can sometimes return after stopping a GLP-1 What emerging research suggests about GLP-1s beyond weight loss GLP-1s can be life-changing, but a lower number on the scale isn't the same as better health. Ultimately, how these medications are used—from dosing and monitoring to nutrition and strength training—matters just as much as whether they're used at all. Additional resources: Join Dr. Tyna Moore's community Listen to Dr. Tyna Moore's previous appearance on The Dr. Hyman Show View Show Notes From This Episode Sign up for Dr. Hyman's Brainshaping Academy to learn how to nourish the biological systems that support your mental, emotional, and cognitive health https://drhyman.com/products/brainshaping?utm_source=dr_hyman_show&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=may_27&utm_content=link Get Free Weekly Health Tips from Dr. Hymanhttps://drhyman.com/pages/picks?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Sign Up for Dr. Hyman's Weekly Longevity Journalhttps://drhyman.com/pages/longevity?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Join the 10-Day Detox to Reset Your Healthhttps://drhyman.com/pages/10-day-detox Join the Hyman Hive for Expert Support and Real Resultshttps://drhyman.com/pages/hyman-hive This episode is brought to you by Seatopia, Perfect Amino, Cozy Earth, Timeline, Sunlighten, and Made In. Find a cleaner source of seafood. Check out seatopia.fish and use code HYMAN for free shipping on your first order. Get daily protein support at bodyhealth.com and use code HYMAN20 for 20% off. Head over to cozyearth.com to save 20% and upgrade all of your daily essentials today. Support healthy aging and get 20% at timeline.com/drhyman with code HYMAN. Discover why so many people are using sunlighten.com and use code HYMAN to save up to $2,100 today with free shipping. Upgrade your cookware at madeincookware.com and save 10% off your first order with code HYMAN-HIVE. (0:00) Introduction, Dr. Hyman's evolving views, and episode goals (0:43) Sponsor: Rose Nutrition Liposomal NAD (1:42) Sponsor: Seatopia clean seafood box (2:44) Disclaimers and Lyme disease preview (4:04) Guest Dr. Tina Moore reintroduced (4:30) GLP-1s: Effects after years and microdosing strategies (7:14) Risks of high-dose GLP-1s and misconceptions about muscle/bone loss (13:09) Functional deficiencies and microdosing approaches (17:05) Sponsor: Made In stainless clad cookware (18:02) Sponsor: Timeline with Mitopure (18:58) Broader and additional benefits of metabolic health and GLP-1s (21:48) GLP-1s for immune and brain health; genetic differences (27:59) Introduction to peptides and GLP-1 drugs (32:36) Gray market concerns and weight regain after stopping GLP-1s (37:14) Long-term safety, cost, and personalizing GLP-1 treatment (40:57) Emotional blunting and recent concerns about GLP-1s (46:30) Functional medicine approach: addressing root causes (46:46) Sponsor: Sunlighten Sauna (47:20) Sponsor: Magnesium Breakthrough from Bio Optimizers (48:17) Dr. Hyman's evolving perspective on GLP-1s (49:19) Hormonal effects of GLP-1s for men and women (55:02) Baseline lab markers and tests before GLP-1s (57:10) New and next-gen GLP-1 therapies (59:43) Telemedicine, gray market issues, and importance of reputable practitioners (1:05:57) Rapid fire: Alcohol, common mistakes, misconceptions, and eligibility for GLP-1s (1:08:16) Key lab tests and surprising non-weight benefits
In 1986, 23 survivors, physicians, nurses, attorneys, and community organizers gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a weekend that would permanently change the language and politics of cancer. Working late into the night, they debated not only strategy, but identity, ultimately declaring that from the moment of diagnosis, every person with cancer is a survivor.This episode traces the social and political forces that gave birth to the modern cancer survivorship movement. As advances in early detection and treatment allowed more people to live beyond cancer, survivors discovered that finishing treatment did not mean returning to normal life. Many faced employment discrimination, loss of insurance, social stigma, infertility, chronic health complications, and a healthcare system that viewed survival as the end of care rather than the beginning of a new chapter.Against the backdrop of the civil rights, disability rights, and community health movements of the 1960s and 1970s, physicians, activists, and survivors challenged medicine's paternalistic culture and demanded a greater voice in decisions affecting their lives. Central to this story are physician and survivor Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, whose landmark 1985 essay, Seasons of Survival, redefined survivorship as a lifelong continuum, and community organizer Katherine Logan, whose determination united dozens of grassroots organizations into what became the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.The coalition's founding established principles that continue to shape oncology today. Survivors were no longer defined solely by disease or treatment outcomes. Their experiences became evidence. Their voices became essential to clinical research, healthcare policy, and patient advocacy. By redefining survivorship as an ongoing experience rather than a destination, the movement challenged medicine to recognize the lasting physical, emotional, financial, and social consequences of cancer.The ideas forged during that weekend in Albuquerque became the foundation of modern cancer survivorship. Nearly 40 years later, the coalition's defining principle, that survivorship begins at diagnosis, continues to influence cancer care, research, policy, and the way millions of people understand life after cancer.RELATED LINKSNational Coalition for Cancer SurvivorshipNational Cancer Institute Office of Cancer SurvivorshipThe New England Journal of MedicineAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA.gov)Library of Congress | Civil Rights History ProjectWhite Coat, Clenched Fist by Fitzhugh MullanFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act, transforming cancer research with an unprecedented federal investment and launching what became known as the War on Cancer. The legislation did not emerge from scientific discovery alone. It was the culmination of decades of relentless advocacy by researchers, philanthropists, journalists, and patients who believed cancer demanded the same national commitment that had put astronauts on the Moon.This episode traces the origins of the cancer survivorship movement by returning to a time when cancer was rarely discussed in public, many physicians withheld diagnoses from their patients, and surgery offered few lasting cures. It follows the pioneering work of pathologist Dr. Sidney Farber, whose early chemotherapy research challenged conventional thinking, and Mary Lasker, whose political strategy, fundraising, and public campaigns helped transform cancer from a private tragedy into a national public health priority. Together, they built the coalition that reshaped federal support for oncology research and forever changed the relationship between science, government, and the American public.The story then turns to journalist and breast cancer survivor Rose Kushner, whose refusal to accept the standard one-step radical mastectomy challenged nearly a century of surgical dogma. Working alongside surgeon Dr. Bernard Fisher, Kushner helped bring evidence-based medicine to breast cancer treatment through randomized clinical trials that demonstrated less invasive surgery could achieve equivalent outcomes. Their efforts changed clinical practice, strengthened informed consent, and helped establish the principle that patients should participate in decisions about their own care.The breakthroughs explored in this episode extended far beyond new treatments. They redefined the role of patients in medicine, accelerated clinical research, and laid the foundation for modern cancer survivorship. The movement that followed would not simply help more people live longer. It would change what surviving cancer meant.RELATED LINKSNational Cancer InstituteNational Cancer Act of 1971American Cancer SocietyDana-Farber Cancer InstituteNational Library of MedicineThe New England Journal of MedicineFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Long before cancer survivors organized into a movement, Hollywood had already shaped how Americans understood the disease. Films rarely used the word “cancer,” physicians often withheld diagnoses from patients, and the people who survived were almost nowhere to be found on screen.Recorded before The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship became a documentary series, this bonus conversation explores where the project first began. Matthew Zachary sits down with his mother, Roz Greenzweig, a retired educator and lifelong film enthusiast whose memories of classic cinema became an unexpected lens for understanding how cancer was portrayed throughout the twentieth century.Together, they revisit landmark films including Dark Victory, Love Story, and other iconic portrayals that reflected an era when cancer was treated as unspeakable, inevitable, and almost always fatal. Their conversation contrasts those carefully constructed Hollywood narratives with the lived reality of a family confronting a brain cancer diagnosis in 1995, revealing how popular culture both reflected and reinforced the fears surrounding the disease.The discussion also foreshadows many of the themes explored throughout the documentary series: the evolution of patient advocacy, the emergence of cancer survivorship, the role of caregivers, and the power of storytelling to influence public understanding. Before policy changed, before advocacy organizations grew into national movements, conversations like these were already challenging long-held assumptions about what cancer looked like and who had the right to tell its story.Consider this the prologue to The Cancer Mavericks. Before the movement found its history, it began with a family trying to make sense of the stories they had inherited.RELATED LINKSAmerican Cancer SocietyNational Cancer InstituteAmerican Film InstituteER (NBC)50/50 (Official)Chasing Life (ABC Family Archive)FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Questions? Email podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Wendy Strgar, recently named to the 2025 Forbes 50 Over 50 Innovation List, is an award-winning entrepreneur and the founder of Good Clean Love and Vaginal Biome Science. She pioneered BioMatched® technology, applying biomimicry to develop safer, science-based products that support vaginal health. As both CIO and CEO, Wendy has led groundbreaking research on the vaginal microbiome and helped influence FDA standards—making her a true innovator in women's health. In this episode, Wendy Stregar of Good Clean Love breaks down the science of the vaginal microbiome, exposing common product ingredients that harm it and sharing how her new telehealth platform, biomimicry-based products, and vaginal estradiol insights help women fix chronic BV, yeast infections, and painful sex. RESOURCES: Learn more about Wendy Strgar here: https://www.wendystrgar.com/ Instagram: @wendy.strgar @goodcleanlove Get 10% off Peluva minimalist shoe with coupon code COACHTARA here: http://peluva.com/coachtara CHAPTERS: 0:00 – Meet Wendy Strgar 2:27 – Sponsor: Peluva Shoes ad 4:15 – Gut, oral, and vaginal microbiome basics 8:56 – Women's health's 5% research problem 10:17 – Funding Vaginal Biome Science and misdiagnosis 12:47 – The K-Y/Astroglide propylene glycol problem 14:51 – pH, odor, and healthy bacteria basics 17:32 – Launching Good Clean Clinical Care 19:57 – Vaginal estradiol and why the carrier matters 22:23 – Telemedicine platform and doctor access 26:50 – Good Clean Love at Target, Walmart, and the Reset 28:44 – Crispatus and racial disparities in birth outcomes 33:04 – Cancer treatment and vaginal health 36:24 – Clitoral anatomy and nerve endings 40:14 – The three-step biomimicry method 49:16 – Higher Coaching, app, and retreats 54:23 – Breaking the recurring BV, yeast, and UTI cycle 1:02:21 – Probiotics, cost, and the orgasm gap 1:04:02 – Orgasm science, scent, and arousal WORK WITH TARA: Are You Looking for Help on Your Wellness Journey? Here's how Tara can help you: TRY TARA'S APP FOR FREE: http://taragarrison.com/app INDIVIDUAL ONLINE COACHING: https://www.taragarrison.com/work-with-me CHECK OUT HIGHER RETREATS: https://www.taragarrison.com/retreats SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram @coachtaragarrison TikTok @coachtaragarrison Facebook @coachtaragarrison Pinterest @coachtaragarrison INSIDE OUT HEALTH PODCAST SPECIAL OFFERS: ☑️ Upgraded Formulas Hair Test Kit Special Offer: https://bit.ly/3YdMn4Z ☑️ Upgraded Formulas - Get 15% OFF Everything with Coupon Code INSIDEOUT15: https://upgradedformulas.com/INSIDEOUT15 ☑️ Rep Provisions: Vote for the future of food with your dollar! And enjoy a 15% discount while you're at it with Coupon Code COACHTARA: https://bit.ly/3dD4ZSv If you loved this episode, please leave a review! Here's how to do it on Apple Podcasts: Go to Inside Out Health Podcast page: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-out-health-with-coach-tara-garrison/id1468368093 Scroll down to the 'Ratings & Reviews' section. Tap 'Write a Review' (you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). Thank you!
In this episode of Talking Sleep, host Dr. Seema Khosla welcomes Dr. Laura Donahue, an assistant professor of sleep medicine at Vanderbilt University with a background in internal medicine and a researcher in sustainable healthcare, to discuss the environmental impact of sleep medicine practice and practical strategies for reducing carbon footprint and medical waste. Recent environmental challenges—heat waves exacerbating insomnia, wildfires affecting respiratory and sleep health—highlight how climate directly impacts patient wellbeing. But do sleep medicine clinicians have an obligation to reduce their own environmental footprint? Dr. Donahue explores this question, examining the waste generated by sleep testing, PAP therapy, and ongoing supplies. The conversation begins with foundational concepts: How does climate change impact sleep health? What exactly constitutes medical waste, and how does it differ from carbon footprint? Dr. Donahue explains methods for calculating carbon footprint and how the US healthcare system compares globally. She introduces life cycle analysis—a comprehensive tool for understanding environmental impact across product lifecycles. Sleep lab waste assessments receive detailed attention. Dr. Donahue walks through how to conduct a waste audit of sleep facilities and why examining both carbon footprint and waste matters, acknowledging that these metrics don't always move directionally. Her research on PAP device waste, conducted with Dr. Morgenthaler, revealed substantial environmental costs associated with standard OSA therapy—findings that prompted examination of alternatives. Telemedicine emerges as a potential sustainability strategy. Dr. Donahue compares carbon footprints of virtual versus in-person sleep consultations, exploring how practice model choices affect environmental impact. However, the analysis doesn't focus solely on PAP therapy—hypoglossal nerve stimulators and other non-PAP treatment options receive consideration as alternatives with potentially different environmental profiles. SHAPE, an organization dedicated to helping healthcare providers examine their carbon footprint and waste generation, receives discussion. Dr. Donahue explains SHAPE's mission and practical resources available to sleep medicine programs. She provides concrete guidance on reducing environmental impact: waste audits, supply chain evaluation, and transitioning to circular economy models where possible. A particularly relevant discussion addresses plastic waste from CPAP devices and consumable supplies. Dr. Donahue explains how waste audits serve as the first step toward identifying reduction opportunities and discusses strategies for minimizing single-use plastics in sleep medicine practice. The episode acknowledges that sustainability requires institutional commitment and individual awareness. Dr. Donahue emphasizes that small changes—from supply selection to practice model design—accumulate to meaningful environmental impact. Whether you're interested in sustainable healthcare, concerned about medical waste, seeking to reduce your sleep practice's carbon footprint, or wanting to better understand climate impacts on sleep health, this episode provides practical guidance and evidence-based approaches. Join us for this important conversation about environmental responsibility in sleep medicine practice.
In this episode of Matters.com Presents, Mike interviews John M. Rosen.John M. Rosen, a pediatric neurogastroenterologist and digital health innovator, sits down to talk about what really matters to him right now: using technology to improve healthcare access for kids. From telehealth visits that help a teenager with autism get care from the comfort of his own couch, to AI-powered tools that put health information directly in the hands of parents, John makes a compelling case for why innovation in pediatric GI care is long overdue. He also pulls back the curtain on Pooficient, his new app designed to help families tackle constipation and GI health — and yes, even shares the story of taking his own toddler to the ER for what turned out to be constipation after all his years of training.[00:22] John M. Rosen shares what matters most to him: using technology to improve kids' health[00:33] How telehealth is eliminating the need for families to travel hundreds of miles to see specialists[00:54] A real-world example: how virtual visits transformed care for a teenager with autism[02:38] How digital record-sharing and AI are putting health knowledge in parents' hands[03:18] Introducing Pooficient: the app helping families navigate pediatric GI health[04:51] The surprising scale of childhood constipation and why it's still a taboo topic[06:20] John M. Rosen's honest confession: taking his own toddler to the ER for constipation[07:49] The sophisticated AI behind Pooficient and what makes it stand out[08:07] Speed round begins[08:22] Matters.com Speed Round: Pediatric Gastroenterology, Pizza, Telemedicine, Artificial Intelligence, Coffee, Mental HealthYou can find John M. Rosen at:https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmrosen/https://www.pooficient.com/This podcast is brought to you by Matters.com. A new social media and collaboration platform - launching soon. Join thousands getting the Matters.com newsletter — world news, fresh perspectives, and early beta access.
Rebecca Bloom is a former employee benefits and executive compensation attorney who spent more than 25 years helping women navigate cancer, work, insurance, disability coverage, and financial survival. She is the founder and author of When Women Get Sick, a book built from decades inside the legal, workplace, and patient advocacy systems most people only discover after diagnosis.Bloom started in Big Law at Simpson Thacher handling employee benefits and compensation work she originally chose to pay off student loans. Then her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly the language she used in corporate law offices became the language of survival at home. Explanation of benefits forms. Coverage disputes. Second opinions. Disability protections. Medical leave. Bills no one could explain.That collision changed the direction of her life.In this episode, Bloom explains how serious illness quietly turns patients into unpaid administrators managing paperwork, logistics, financial risk, and emotional labor while trying to survive treatment. She breaks down how employer based health insurance shapes nearly every aspect of cancer care in America and why women often carry the invisible burden of protecting everyone else from discomfort while they themselves fall apart.The conversation digs into workplace power, the illusion of the healthcare “safety net,” caregiver exhaustion, and the class divide hiding underneath patient empowerment culture. Bloom explains why educated, insured women with resources still struggle to navigate healthcare bureaucracy and what happens to patients without those advantages.This episode explores cancer care, health insurance, employee benefits, patient advocacy, workplace protections, caregiving, and the structural incentives that force sick people to become project managers of their own survival.RELATED LINKSRebecca BloomWhen Women Get SickBay Area Cancer ConnectionsSimpson Thacher & BartlettFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Could new research change the way hemophilia B carriers are cared for during pregnancy? On this episode of BloodStream, Patrick and Amy explore emerging research that challenges long-held assumptions about factor IX levels during pregnancy and what it could mean for patients and providers. Nathan Mermilliod shares his experience living with hemophilia B, and Dr. Steven Fein discusses the evolving landscape of telemedicine in partnership with Zebra for Care. From new discoveries to lived experiences, this episode highlights the stories and science moving the bleeding disorders community forward. Show Notes: Contrary to current guidance, antenatal factor IX levels increase in female carriers of hemophilia B Hope for Hemophilia Zebra Care Presenting Sponsor: Takeda, visit bleedingdisorders.com to learn more. Subscribe: The BloodStream Podcast Connect with BloodStream Media: BloodStreamMedia.com BloodStream on Facebook BloodStream on X/Twitter BloodStream on Instagram BloodStream on LinkedIn BloodStream on TikTok
Mike McSherry is the CEO of Xealth, the digital health orchestration company now operating inside Samsung Electronics. Xealth gives clinicians a way to prescribe and recommend far more than medication—including digital health apps, connected devices, remote-monitoring programs, transportation, meal delivery, and other services that increasingly shape a patient's care journey.The Samsung acquisition puts Xealth inside a company with a healthcare footprint far larger than most Americans realize. Samsung operates major hospitals, manufactures biologic medicines and medical equipment, develops healthcare robotics, and already has televisions, appliances, phones, watches, and other connected devices inside millions of American homes. Mike's bet is that this existing footprint can become the infrastructure for aging in place, chronic-care management, fall detection, medication support, and earlier intervention—without making patients feel constantly watched or turning the home into a hospital.That opportunity is becoming more immediate through the CMS ACCESS Model, a ten-year effort to bring technology-enabled, outcomes-based care to Medicare patients with chronic conditions. The model could allow companies offering services such as weight management, diabetes support, mental healthcare, wearable monitoring, and AI coaching to participate more directly in Medicare care delivery. Xealth can serve as the connective layer between health systems, clinicians, patients, and these new programs, while Samsung's devices and consumer reach could support both monitoring and distribution.Mike's larger argument is that healthcare is approaching a data reset. Consumer technology companies and AI platforms are beginning to combine medical records, laboratory results, wearable signals, and patient-reported information into a more complete picture than many hospitals currently possess. Health systems and EHR companies that cannot absorb wearable data may lose relevance—but simply dumping more information on clinicians will make the problem worse. The real breakthrough will come from AI systems that filter continuous data, identify what actually matters, and surface only the moments that require human attention.We discuss:Why Samsung may have a better chance in home-based healthcare than Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and other major companies that struggled to turn consumer reach into sustained healthcare adoptionHow Samsung's hospitals, medical equipment, biologics manufacturing, robotics, wearables, smartphones, televisions, and connected appliances could become infrastructure for aging in place and chronic-care managementWhy big technology companies repeatedly bounce off healthcare—and why the industry rewards trust, patience, integration, and long-term investment rather than quick wins and software-like marginsWhat the ten-year CMS ACCESS Model could change for Medicare patients with chronic conditions—and why companies such as Noom, WHOOP, Headspace, Lark, and Welldoc could begin operating more like technology-enabled care providersHow Xealth could connect clinicians and health systems with covered digital-health programs, while Samsung's devices and consumer reach support patient monitoring, engagement, and distributionWhy EHRs that cannot absorb wearable data risk falling behind AI platforms and consumer-health companies that already combine medical records, laboratory results, and continuous biometric informationHow AI could prevent physicians from drowning in streams of heart rate, temperature, oxygen, sleep, stress, and activity data by identifying the signals that actually require human interventionWhere wearables and connected care go next—from patches, earbuds, glasses, and implantables to household devices and robots that help patients remain independent without making their homes feel like hospitals—Brought to you by: Sage Growth Partners — Value-focused strategy and marketing for growth-driven healthcare organizations. — Where to find Jared: • X: https://x.com/jaredstaylor • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredstaylor/
Vasanta Pundarika built her career inside healthcare investment banking before launching Lotuspring, an advisory firm focused on women's health and behavioral health. She spent nearly 20 years advising healthcare systems, treatment providers, and growth stage companies on mergers, financing, and operational strategy while watching the industry repeatedly misunderstand the people it claimed to serve.The conversation starts unexpectedly with anthropology, bread, and language. Vasanta explains how she spent years changing the pronunciation of her own name to make other people comfortable before eventually reclaiming it. That thread opens into a much larger discussion about adaptation, identity, and what institutions quietly train people to tolerate.From there, the discussion moves into behavioral health, women delaying care, and the invisible labor that healthcare business models routinely ignore. During COVID, Vasanta noticed men's behavioral health units refilled faster than women's units. The reason had nothing to do with demand. Women were still home managing caregiving responsibilities, children, aging parents, and households while their own mental health collapsed in the background.The episode examines what happens when healthcare companies become “snazzy big brands” before building real clinical substance underneath. Vasanta describes the tension between mission and margin inside healthcare startups, private equity backed care models, and behavioral health expansion. The conversation pushes on who benefits when healthcare scales aggressively, who absorbs the operational pressure, and how patient trust erodes long before executives notice it on a dashboard.They also discuss patient advocacy culture, anthropology as systems analysis, healthcare capitalism, prior authorization, investor language, and why some clinically excellent companies never survive long enough to scale.RELATED LINKSVasanta PundarikaLotuspringWomen's Health HorizonsSakhi for South Asian SurvivorsNACDPrinceton University Anthropology DepartmentFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Duration: 1 hr In this episode of Bright Spots in Healthcare, host Eric Glazer brings together leaders from Johns Hopkins Medicine, Northwell Health, WVU Medicine, and TytoCare to explore one of healthcare's biggest challenges: how to move beyond isolated AI pilots and operationalize AI in ways that genuinely improve specialty care. While AI continues to dominate headlines, the organizations making the greatest progress aren't simply adopting more technology. They're redesigning workflows, strengthening governance, extending specialist expertise, and embedding AI into clinical operations in ways that improve patient access while reducing burden on clinicians. This discussion explores what it really takes to scale AI across complex health systems, from executive strategy and governance to workflow redesign, remote examinations, ambient AI, and extending specialty expertise into rural and underserved communities. Our guests include: Rebecca Canino, MBA, Executive Director, Office of Telemedicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine Kristin Myers, Executive Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, Northwell Health Sharda Udassi, MD, Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Division & Associate Chief Quality Officer, WVU Medicine Greg Orr, Chief Operating Officer, TytoCare Together, they explore: Why successful AI initiatives begin with operational transformation—not technology deployment How leading health systems are embedding AI into existing clinical workflows instead of creating new ones What governance looks like when organizations are scaling AI responsibly How remote examinations and AI are helping extend scarce specialty expertise into rural and community settings Practical examples of AI improving diabetic retinopathy screening, patient navigation, scheduling, EEG interpretation, and specialty access Why redesigning care delivery—not simply adding digital tools—is becoming the key to sustainable AI adoption Where healthcare leaders see the next generation of AI creating measurable impact for clinicians and patients alike. Whether you're leading digital transformation, telehealth, clinical operations, or AI strategy, this episode offers practical lessons from organizations moving beyond experimentation and successfully scaling AI across specialty care. Panelist Bios: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/events/scaling-ai-enabled-remote-specialty-care-from-innovation-to-operational-performance/ Download the Episode Guide: Get key takeaways and expert highlights to help you apply lessons from the episode. Download guide: https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Episode-Guide-Bright-Spots-in-Health-Care-TytoCare-07-15-26.pdf Key Insights Summary: Find key insights from the discussion, guest takeaways, and detailed moderator notes captured by Eric during the conversation, https://www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Key-Insights-Summary-Bright-Spots-07-15-26.pdf Thank You to Our Episode Partner, TytoCare: TytoCare is helping health systems rethink how specialty care is delivered beyond the traditional walls of the hospital and clinic. Through its AI-enabled, FDA-cleared remote examination platform, TytoCare equips clinicians with clinical-grade exam data from virtually anywhere, enabling more informed decision-making than video visits alone. By combining guided remote examinations with AI-assisted workflows, TytoCare helps provider organizations improve access to specialty care, optimize clinician capacity, strengthen virtual care models, and create more connected patient experiences. As health systems look to scale AI responsibly, TytoCare is helping turn innovation into operational performance. Schedule a Meeting with a Senior Leader at TytoCare: Interested in learning how leading health systems are scaling remote specialty care? To connect with Greg Orr or another member of the TytoCare leadership team, contact show producer Jessica Tenzer at jtenzer@brightspotsventures.com to schedule a conversation. About Bright Spots Ventures: Bright Spots Ventures is a healthcare strategy and engagement company that creates content, communities, and connections to accelerate innovation. We help healthcare leaders discover what's working, and how to scale it. By bringing together health plan, hospital, and solution leaders, we facilitate the exchange of ideas that lead to measurable impact. Through our podcast, executive councils, private events, and go-to-market strategy work, we surface and amplify the "bright spots" in healthcare, proven innovations others can learn from and replicate. At our core, we exist to create trusted relationships that make real progress possible. Visit our website at www.brightspotsinhealthcare.com.
If you've ever been told that low libido is "just part of getting older," this episode is for you. The truth is, low desire is often just one piece of a much bigger picture. Hormones, stress, relationships, sleep, body image, vaginal health, and emotional connection all play a role in a woman's sexual health—and too often, these conversations never happen inside a traditional doctor's appointment. In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Adanna Ikedilo, board-certified OB/GYN and founder of The GYN Lounge, to discuss why women's health deserves a more personalized approach. We talk about the realities of perimenopause and menopause, why many women feel dismissed by the healthcare system, and how telemedicine is helping bridge the gap between busy providers and women who need more time, education, and support. We also dive into the business side of medicine, what it takes to transition from a traditional practice to an online model, and why building systems allows practitioners to provide better care while creating more freedom in their lives. In This Episode, We Cover: Why low libido is about much more than hormones The biggest misconceptions about women's sexual health How perimenopause and menopause affect desire The connection between hormones, relationships, and emotional health Why women often feel unheard in traditional healthcare How telemedicine is changing women's healthcare Building an online medical practice while maintaining a brick-and-mortar office The challenges physicians face as business owners Marketing an online healthcare business through education and networking Why social media helps build trust with patients Overcoming perfectionism and showing up online Creating systems that improve both patient care and work-life balance A Message I Want You to Hear You deserve answers. You deserve to feel heard. And you deserve healthcare that looks at the whole picture—not just one symptom. Low libido isn't something you simply have to accept. There are options, treatments, and conversations that can help you reclaim your health and quality of life. Why Low Libido Is More Than Hormones Many people assume low libido is simply caused by declining hormone levels. While hormones certainly play a role, they're only one part of the equation. Relationship dynamics. Stress. Sleep. Body image. Pain during intimacy. Emotional connection. All of these factors influence sexual desire. That's why truly helping women requires a comprehensive approach rather than simply prescribing medication. How Telemedicine Is Changing Women's Healthcare One of the biggest challenges in traditional medicine is time. Office schedules are packed. Appointments run behind. Complex conversations often get squeezed into just a few minutes. Telemedicine creates space for deeper conversations. It allows providers to educate patients, answer questions thoroughly, and create personalized treatment plans without the limitations of a busy office schedule. For many women navigating perimenopause and menopause, that extra time makes all the difference. Building a Practice That Serves Patients Better Being a great physician doesn't automatically prepare someone to run a business. Dr. Adanna shares how learning operations, systems, compliance, marketing, and leadership became just as important as her medical expertise. By creating clear systems and patient-centered processes, she built an experience that removes many of the barriers women face when seeking care. Showing Up Online Without Perfection Like many healthcare professionals, Dr. Adanna initially hesitated to create content online. She worried about saying the right thing. Looking professional. Having the perfect setup. Eventually she realized that none of those things mattered as much as simply showing up. Sometimes the most impactful content starts with your phone, one message, and the willingness to press "publish." Your Action Step Whether you're a healthcare provider, coach, or entrepreneur, ask yourself: Where am I making things more complicated than they need to be? Could one simple system improve the experience for the people I serve? Could one imperfect social media post reach someone who needs my message today? Progress always starts with taking the first step. Final Thoughts Women's health deserves more conversation. More education. More compassion. And more individualized care. Whether you're navigating hormonal changes yourself or supporting others through them, remember that there is rarely just one answer. When we look at the whole person instead of just one symptom, we create space for real healing. Resources Learn more about Dr. Adanna Ikedilo: Website: https://thegynlounge.com/ The GYN Lounge: https://thegynlounge.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegynlounge_official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegynlounge Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGYNLounge YouTube: The GYN Lounge Are you a health coach in need of done-for-you content? Visit yourhealthcoachbiz.com and save 40% using code GO40. Launch your podcast or get full podcast management services through The Healthy Hustle Podcast Agency. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelafeldman Website: https://rachelafeldman.com
Brad Power spent years advising major corporations on systems design, process engineering, and decision making before lymphoma shoved him into the patient side of American healthcare. Instead of accepting the experience at face value, he started reverse engineering the machinery around cancer itself. Brad is the founder of Cancer Patient Lab and Open Cancer AI, two projects built around a blunt reality most patients discover too late: the healthcare system rewards people who know how to navigate it. Everyone else risks getting steamrolled by information asymmetry, insurance barriers, administrative friction, and institutional incentives designed around efficiency instead of human survival.The conversation starts with Harvard Business Review and Tumblr blogs before moving directly into the darker architecture underneath modern cancer care. Power explains how hospitals optimize for throughput, how insurance companies reward operational consistency over personalized medicine, and why many patients quietly end up needing a crash course in oncology, reimbursement policy, and behavioral psychology while fighting for their lives.The discussion digs into CAR-T therapy, functional testing, AI assisted decision support, and the growing collision between personalized medicine and standardized care pathways. Power argues that engaged patients often get better outcomes because they learn how to push for off guideline treatments, contest denials, and ask smarter questions. The counterpoint lands hard: patients should never have needed to become experts in the first place.The episode also explores the cultural consequences of AI entering cancer care. OpenAI advertising, data privacy, trust erosion, pharmaceutical influence, and “agentic AI” all collide inside a healthcare economy already drowning in distrust. Power sees artificial intelligence as a force multiplier for patient literacy and access. The larger system still decides who gets approved, who gets delayed, and who gets left behind.By the end, the conversation lands exactly where modern healthcare keeps forcing people to land: survival increasingly depends on learning how the machine works before the machine works on you.RELATED LINKSBrad PowerCancer Patient LabOpen Cancer AIHarvard Business ReviewResearch to the PeopleCAR T Cell TherapyFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
By the time the paper hit version 71, Dr. Nirosha Murugan had already done the hard part. The data were real. The experiment had worked. A team of researchers had used a wearable bioreactor to trigger limb regeneration in frogs, a result with obvious implications for regenerative medicine. But the science still wasn't getting over the line. The problem wasn't the work. It was the translation.On this episode of Standard Deviation, host Oliver Bogler talks with Dr. Nirosha Murugan, a biophysicist and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Tissue Biophysics at Wilfrid Laurier University, about what happens when a scientist working at the edges of quantum biology, bioelectricity, and tissue regeneration runs headfirst into the unwritten rules of academic publishing. Murugan's research asks biologists to think beyond molecules and chemistry alone, and to consider the physical signals, electromagnetic fields, and invisible forces that shape development and healing. It is ambitious science. It is also exactly the kind of work that can make gatekeepers nervous.Bogler follows Murugan through the less glamorous part of discovery: the hidden curriculum of getting a paper published, securing scientific credibility, and learning that data do not simply “speak for themselves.” Murugan describes how jargon buried the pitch of her own work, how a lack of editorial support left her at a disadvantage, and how the JEDI program at the Life Science Editors Foundation paired her with a former journal editor who taught her how to structure a manuscript, write a cover letter, and survive peer review.The result was publication in Science Advances, but the larger story is about power. Who gets taught the rules of biomedical research. Who has access to grant writers, editors, and institutional polish. Who is left to brute-force their way through the maze. And how one scientist, having finally found the map, now makes sure her own trainees do not have to learn it the hard way.RELATED LINKSDr. Nirosha MuruganWilfrid Laurier UniversityLife Science Editors FoundationJEDI ProgramScience Advances paper on limb regenerationFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Send us Fan MailSchedule an Rx AssessmentAdding telemedicine as a revenue stream...How do you do it? On this episode of the Bottom Line Pharmacy Podcast, we sit down with Mehrdad Hariri, Founder and CEO of RxConnexion, to break down:The real reason most pharmacies struggle to get tractionHow telemedicine actually works inside a pharmacyWhy telemedicine isn't just for compounding And more!Stay connected with Mehrdad Hariri and RxConnexion: Adding telemedicine as a revenue stream...How do you do it? On this episode of the Bottom Line Pharmacy Podcast, we sit down with Mehrdad Hariri, Founder and CEO of RxConnexion, to break down:The real reason most pharmacies struggle to get tractionHow telemedicine actually works inside a pharmacyWhy telemedicine isn't just for compounding And more!Stay connected with Mehrdad Hariri and RxConnexion: RxConnexion Website: https://www.rxconnexion.com/RxConnexion Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PSGARXRxConnexion Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rxconnexion/RxConnexion YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ @RxConnexion RxConnexion TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rxconnexionStay connected with us: FacebookTwitterLinkedInScotty Sykes – CPA, CFP LinkedInScotty Sykes – CPA, CFP TwitterBonnie Bond – CPA LinkedInBonnie Bond – CPA TwitterMore resources on this topic: Podcast – Driving Independent Pharmacy Profitability in 2026 with Nicolette Mathey, PharmD, CEO of Atrium24Podcast – 2026 Quarter 2 Pharmacy UpdatePodcast – America 250, The history of Pharmacy, Q&A
Kim Tzoumakas is the CEO of VytlOne, the nation's only independent, fully integrated total pharmacy solutions partner — the century-old company formerly known as Maxor, which she rebranded and merged with ProxsysRx in a fast-moving transformation after taking the helm in January 2025. VytlOne partners with mission-driven hospitals and health systems, combining pharmacy operations, 340B management, specialty pharmacy, pharmacy benefit management, and patient affordability solutions to help nonprofit providers unlock revenue and reinvest in their communities — work that generated $1.4 billion for its pharmacy partners in a single year. Its newest bet is VytlAIQ, an end-to-end intelligence platform built ground-up (not grafted onto a legacy system) that connects clinical, pharmacy, payer, and financial data into one real-time platform, surfacing next-best actions and checking every 340B claim for eligibility and documentation so problems get caught before they cost providers money. Kim came to pharmacy the long way around — two decades as a healthcare attorney embedded in hospitals and health systems, then CEO of RAYUS Radiology and 21st Century Oncology. Her core conviction is that 340B isn't a loophole to be abused or a relic on its way out; it's critical infrastructure that lets nonprofit health systems reinvest in patient care, and the real failure is that the tools serving it stayed reactive, fragmented, and manual. VytlOne's bet is that AI belongs in pharmacy not to replace clinical judgment or wipe out teams, but as an intelligent partner that tears down the administrative barriers — prior auth, denied claims, missing documentation — standing between a patient and their medication. The test of success: a patient who simply feels their care move faster and never once thinks about the software behind it.We discuss:Why the first thing Kim checks in any business isn't the P&L — it's the boards, the ownership model, and financial stability that determine whether a CEO can actually win — and what twenty years as a healthcare attorney inside hospitals taught her to seeThe real story on 340B: why the "it's going away" prediction has been wrong for thirty years, why the program is now evolving faster and getting more complex, and the one scenario where hospitals genuinely are in the wrong — double-dipping on rebatesHow you build a product when the rules might change next quarter — launching VytlAIQ right as the courts threw out the 340B rebate model, and why VytlOne built it from the ground up with pharmacists at the table instead of stitching together what already existedWhy most health-system dashboards get built and then ignored — and what makes a platform a pharmacist and a CFO will actually act on: one centralized, real-time source feeding the EHR that tracks every claim all the way through to payment receivedWhat you can't afford to break when you rebrand and merge a hundred-year-old company fast — protecting the culture and the people who gave decades to the organization while still turning the cornerThe uncomfortable truth for a CFO who's been burned by vendors — why pharmacy teams reflexively say "we already do that," where the skepticism about third parties really comes from, and how to turn a ten-million-dollar opportunity into a win-win instead of a threatWhere the line sits between what AI should decide versus only suggest in pharmacy — why it should never make a clinical or licensed decision — and the legal risks Kim sees as tech players rush into healthcare without understanding the guardrails, patient risks, or regulatory historyWhat Kim learned mentoring veterans through the Pat Tillman Foundation about fear of failure and hard choices — and the five-years-out test for VytlAIQ: a patient in specialty or chronic care who simply feels faster access to their medication and never connects it back to the software—Brought to you by: Sage Growth Partners — Value-focused strategy and marketing for growth-driven healthcare organizations. — Where to find Jared: • X: https://x.com/jaredstaylor • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredstaylor/
Dr. Jess Peatross trained in conventional medicine and worked as a hospitalist before she started questioning why so many chronically ill patients kept getting worse inside the healthcare system she trusted. Her perspective carries weight because she spent years following every protocol exactly as taught before walking away from hospital medicine entirely.Raised in Huntington, West Virginia during the opioid crisis, she entered medicine believing the system existed to heal people. Instead, she found hospitals driven by billing codes, liability management, and pharmaceutical dependence while patients with chronic illness, autoimmune disease, mold exposure, and chronic pain cycled endlessly through appointments and prescriptions.Dr. Peatross explains what pushed her toward functional medicine, cannabis therapy, and prevention focused care after watching patients improve only after leaving conventional treatment pipelines behind. The conversation tackles physician burnout, chronic illness stigma, healthcare incentives, and the growing collapse of trust between patients and institutions.The discussion also moves into supplements, environmental toxins, ultra processed food, and the uncomfortable economics behind keeping people permanently sick but continuously billable. Dr. Peatross describes the professional backlash that comes with challenging medical orthodoxy while Matthew connects her experience to the broader erosion of public trust across American healthcare.Together they unpack what happens when patients stop believing the system can help them and start searching elsewhere for answers.RELATED LINKSDr. Jess PeatrossInstagramMarshall UniversityBrave New WeedFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Farla Efros is a senior retail executive and former CEO who built and sold companies before facing her own breast cancer diagnosis. She brings that same operational mindset into a healthcare system that expects patients to manage complexity while they are at their most vulnerable.She was on a client call in Spain when the diagnosis came through. A clear mammogram had missed it. An MRI caught it. Within hours, she was ordering binders, building a plan, and structuring her treatment like a turnaround strategy. Every appointment became a meeting. Every doctor faced an agenda with dozens of questions. She paid out of pocket for PET scans that were denied and hired a third party firm to validate her treatment path when her own doctors resisted outside input. The conversation tracks what happens when a high-functioning executive enters a system built on delay, denial, and fragmentation. Efros describes negotiating for tests, managing physician relationships, and assembling an “executive board” of advisors across conventional and alternative care. She calls the experience “the worst client I ever had,” exposing how administrative burden shifts onto patients and families.The tension sits between what worked for her and what is inaccessible to most. Her approach requires confidence, time, and fluency in navigating power. The system rewards that behavior while quietly failing patients who cannot replicate it. Insurance coverage still left her paying out of pocket. Doctors pushed standard protocols over precision medicine. Survivorship offered little support once treatment ended.This episode examines how cancer care operates as a series of incentives rather than a coordinated system, and why patients are forced to become operators just to get through it.RELATED LINKSFarla EfrosFarla Efros on LinkedInF*ck CancerF*ck Cancer on AmazonAccentureCTOAMPULL QUOTES“I treated cancer like the worst client I ever had.”“They wouldn't approve the test, so I paid for it myself.”“Every appointment was a negotiation.”FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mark Clermont is the CEO of Cecelia Health, and Wendi Mader is the company's Chief Commercial Officer. Cecelia is a virtual multi-specialty medical practice, licensed in all 50 states, that helps employers, payers, health systems, and life sciences companies manage chronic and cardiometabolic disease and bring down the cost of care. It's not a point solution. It's a medical practice that prescribes and manages medication (including GLP-1s, from prescribing through titration and side-effect management), runs intensive nutrition therapy, and handles behavior and lifestyle care, all through a team of RNs, RDs, certified diabetes educators, and physicians. The model is built to extend primary care, not replace it, and to coordinate across specialists instead of adding one more disconnected program.Mark and Wendi's argument is simple: chronic disease isn't winning because we lack apps or tools. It's winning because care is fragmented and nobody's tying it together. GLP-1s are making that worse before they make it better. They're the first drug class with indications spanning diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, fatty liver, and soon addiction, which means a single patient can suddenly need four specialists who don't talk to each other. Cecelia's bet is that a multi-specialty practice can be the layer that connects all of it.We get into:Why chronic disease keeps winning even though there are more apps, tools, and wellness programs than ever, and what point solutions got wrongWhat actually happens to a patient with diabetes and high blood pressure inside Cecelia's model versus the system todayWhy GLP-1s are the first drug class to cross medical specialties, and why that's making fragmentation worse right nowThe patient on a high-dose GLP-1 and an SSRI who almost ended up in the ER, and what the direct-to-consumer prescriber missedHow the US can rank dead last among developed nations and still be the system Mark wouldn't trade for anywhere elseWhere the industry is over-indexing on AI in chronic care, and where Wendi thinks tech actually belongsThe specialty shortage, healthcare deserts, and rural-health funding, and how virtual coordinated care reaches patients brick-and-mortar can'tWhat's different for patients five years from now if Cecelia gets this right—Brought to you by: Sage Growth Partners — Value-focused strategy and marketing for growth-driven healthcare organizations. — Where to find Jared: • X: https://x.com/jaredstaylor • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredstaylor/
In 2020, Emily Mendenhall drove from Washington, DC to Okoboji, Iowa, a town of 800 that swells to 200,000 every summer, and walked into a pandemic that looked nothing like the one dominating national headlines. Inside gas stations and bars, masks marked you as an outsider. In one stop, a man told her family they would not be served if they kept theirs on. Her 6 year old daughter cried, confused. Mendenhall, a medical anthropologist at Georgetown University, did what she always does. She started asking questions. Over months, she interviewed neighbors, former classmates, and local officials, including her own brother in law who helped lead the local COVID response. The result became Unmasked, a case study in how community identity, economics, and politics shaped public health decisions in real time. That work led directly into her latest book, Invisible Illness: A History, from Hysteria to Long COVID, where she tracks a much older problem. Patients with chronic illness, especially women, often fail to meet medicine's demand for proof. Without a clear diagnosis, they lose access to care, insurance coverage, and legitimacy. Mendenhall argues that long COVID did not create this failure. It exposed it.This conversation centers on how healthcare systems reward certainty and punish complexity. Long COVID clinics send patients to 17 specialists without resolution. Insurance structures require diagnoses that many conditions cannot provide. Medical training still struggles to integrate trauma, mental health, and chronic disease into a coherent model of care.Mendenhall brings lived experience into the conversation. After COVID, she dealt with months of fatigue and escalating anxiety that altered her baseline health. She does not claim the label of long COVID, but she understands how quickly the system becomes harder to navigate once symptoms stop fitting clean categories. The stakes are not theoretical. In the United States, access to healthcare, disability benefits, and treatment still depends on whether a condition can be measured, coded, and reimbursed. For millions living with invisible illness, the burden of proof becomes the illness itself.RELATED LINKSEmily MendenhallInvisible Illness: A History, from Hysteria to Long COVIDScience PoliticsGeorgetown UniversityFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Ric Sinclair is the CEO of Cotiviti, an enterprise healthcare software and data company that serves hundreds of health plans — including the top 25 in the country — across payment integrity, interoperability, risk adjustment, value-based care, and member engagement, touching coverage for over 300 million patients and members. Cotiviti pairs algorithms and AI with thousands of clinical nurses, MDs, and content experts in a human-in-the-loop model, working across the full administrative ecosystem that moves between payers, providers, patients, and pharma. Ric's core conviction is that healthcare's central problem isn't a data problem or a technology problem — it's a coordination problem, and what the system has never had is a true infrastructure layer to tie it together. Cotiviti isn't trying to pick a side between payers and providers; the bet is that a neutral party sitting in the middle can drive fair, transparent outcomes and pull down the trillion-plus dollars of administrative waste in U.S. healthcare.We discuss:Why healthcare's core problem isn't a data problem or a technology problem — it's a coordination problem, and what it actually takes to build the first infrastructure layer the system has ever hadThe real difference between owning a decade of data assets (and the Edifecs integration) and becoming the infrastructure the industry runs on — and where Cotiviti is in that build todayHow "human in the loop" works at scale — pairing AI with thousands of nurses, MDs, and content experts so every claim is reviewed fairly and problems get predicted before they happenWhy Ric's answer to AI isn't "cut the 10-person team to 2" — it's "take all 10 and do what 50 could," and what that augment-don't-replace math means for client ROIHow you build trust and accountability into an AI workflow rather than bolting it on — and who's accountable when models start shaping decisions about claims and careHow to sit in the neutral middle between payers and providers who don't trust each other — and what it takes to build something both sides actually believe is fairWhat Ric learned as a working drummer in Nashville before healthcare found him — leading without the spotlight, making others better, and why simplicity is a discipline that transfers straight into businessWhat a truly differentiated healthcare platform looks like five years out — and the test Ric uses for what "winning" means: a family of five at the dinner table who never have to think about the administrative machinery behind their care—Brought to you by: Sage Growth Partners — Value-focused strategy and marketing for growth-driven healthcare organizations. — Where to find Jared: • X: https://x.com/jaredstaylor • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredstaylor/
At 25, Jace Yawnick was building a career in health and wellness sales, chasing growth, status, and the usual young adult fantasy of getting somewhere fast. Then his body stopped cooperating. Fatigue turned into chemotherapy. The diagnosis was primary mediastinal B cell non Hodgkin lymphoma, and the rest of his life split into before and after. Now in remission, he talks about cancer the way people actually live it, not the way nonprofits package it. He gets into survivorship, mental health, young adult isolation, and the deadening absurdity of prior authorization. One of the sharpest parts of the conversation lands on a simple American insult disguised as policy: treatment innovation means very little when insurance can still deny the scan, the drug, or the next step. Jace has seen that firsthand, including during routine monitoring after active treatment. This episode tracks what happens when a young cancer patient becomes a public voice and refuses to play mascot. It covers oncology, insurance, remission, advocacy, and the long mental hangover that follows survival. It also names the part too many institutions dodge: the system works great right up until it doesn't, and when it fails, patients get handed the bill, the panic, and a camera if they want anyone to care. RELATED LINKSJace Beats CancerJace Yawnick on LinkedImConquer Cancer ArticleCURE Today ArticlePyure BrandsFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
At 20 years old, newly arrived from Puerto Rico and trying to build a future in science, Benjamin Suarez Jimenez found himself sitting in front of two senior faculty members accused of plagiarism. He knew the material. He had done the work. His mistake came from failing to cite class notes during an exam because nobody had told him that was expected. In a matter of minutes, he watched what felt like his entire career flash before him.On this episode of Standard Deviation, host Oliver Bogler examines the hidden architecture of academic science through the experiences of Dr. Benjamin Suarez Jimenez, Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester and a neuroscientist studying PTSD, anxiety, trauma, and spatial cognition through virtual reality and video game environments.Benjamin traces his path from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States, through the NIH, Columbia University, and eventually to leading his own laboratory. Along the way, he encountered a series of barriers that had little to do with scientific ability and everything to do with access to unwritten rules. From academic gatekeeping to grant writing expectations, he learned that success in biomedical research often depends on knowledge that never appears in a textbook.Oliver explores how those invisible obstacles shape careers, influence research funding, and determine who gains access to opportunity. The conversation also examines the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Program at the Life Science Editors Foundation, which pairs scientists from underrepresented backgrounds with experienced scientific editors. Through that mentorship, Benjamin transformed a critical grant proposal into a successful pilot award that helped launch an NIH R01 application.The discussion extends beyond one scientist's experience. Benjamin describes helping a former mentee navigate dissertation roadblocks that threatened her graduation, illustrating how institutional bureaucracy can delay careers and discourage talented researchers. Together, they explore the hidden administrative burden, cultural barriers, and bias that many scientists carry alongside their research, and what happens when someone who receives support turns around and opens the door for others.RELATED LINKSLife Science Editors FoundationBenjamin Suarez Jimenez LabDr. Benjamin Suarez JimenezBenjamin Suarez JimenezFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dr. Sarah Matt trained as a burn surgeon, working in a field where patients arrive with catastrophic injuries and survival depends on speed, skill, and resources. She left the bedside after confronting a limit that medicine does not like to admit. One physician can only see so many people in a day. The system surrounding those patients decides the rest. She moved into health technology, held leadership roles in startups, and built global infrastructure at Oracle to scale care across populations. Then she watched billions of dollars in digital health and AI initiatives stall out when they hit real clinical environments.This episode follows that pivot from surgeon to strategist and back into direct patient care in rural New York, where she now treats uninsured patients, migrant workers, and communities pushed to the margins. The conversation centers on a persistent failure across healthcare systems. Products get built for regulators, executives, and investors instead of the people who use them. The result shows up in failed adoption, broken workflows, prior authorization delays, and rising physician burnout.The discussion cuts through health policy language and lands on lived consequence. The system rewards speed over usability, scale over trust, and compliance over care. Patients absorb the fallout. Physicians carry the liability. The incentives remain intact.RELATED LINKSDr. Sarah MattThe Borderless Healthcare RevolutionThe Clinical RealistJessica FedererSovatoFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Get the FREE GUIDE to 10 Nonclinical Careers at nonclinicalphysicians.com/freeguide. Get a list of 70 nontraditional jobs at nonclinicalphysicians.com/70jobs. =============== In this replay from 2022, John catches up with Dr. Cherisa Sandrow of Sandrow Consulting. Dr. Sandrow is a family medicine physician who transitioned to telemedicine full-time in 2017, doubled her income, and cut her working hours in half. She returns to share what's new and to walk through the program she built to help other physicians do the same. Dr. Sandrow addresses important issues, including: multi-state licensing, business structure and LLC setup, contract review and non-compete awareness, telehealth company selection, resume and LinkedIn updates, and the mindset work that makes the rest of it stick. You'll find links mentioned in the episode at nonclinicalphysicians.com/wonderful-life-with-telemedicine/.
In the late 1980s, a child exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl disaster lay in a hospital bed while doctors told his family there were no clear answers and no reliable path forward. Decades later, that same child, Yan Leyfman, walks into exam rooms as a hematology oncology fellow, expected to deliver clarity inside a system that still runs on delay, uncertainty, and institutional self preservation.This episode traces the throughline from early life shaped by radiation exposure and hospice level uncertainty to a career inside academic medicine, translational research, and oncology media. Yan built his identity around survival and usefulness, moving from patient to physician while carrying the memory of what it feels like to sit on the other side of the table. He helped launch MedNews Week during the COVID crisis to push back on misinformation and expand access to medical knowledge, stepping into a public role while still in training.The conversation stays grounded in the friction between personal narrative and system reality. Clinical training demands efficiency, hierarchy, and emotional distance. Cancer care demands time, clarity, and human connection. Those forces collide in real patient encounters where prior authorization delays, insurance barriers, and fragmented care pathways shape outcomes as much as any treatment protocol.Yan speaks openly about mentorship, belonging, and the drive to make meaning out of survival. The discussion pushes further into what the healthcare system actually rewards, what it quietly strips away, and how quickly empathy can erode under institutional pressure. The episode also examines the role of medical media, where education, industry influence, and narrative control often blur together.This is a conversation about identity under construction, about what happens when someone who remembers powerlessness steps into a role that carries authority, and about whether that memory can survive long enough to change anything.RELATED LINKSYan Leyfman on LinkedInYan Leyfman on InstagramSurviving ChernobylFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Matthew Zachary is a brain cancer survivor, healthcare advocate, founder of Stupid Cancer and We the Patients, and host of Out of Patients. In April 2026, he returned to the stage at Merkin Hall near Lincoln Center for his first solo public piano concert in almost 22 years while launching his debut book, We the Patients: Understanding, Navigating, and Surviving America's Healthcare Nightmare.What unfolded became far larger than a concert.Over 2 hours, survivors, clinicians, advocates, nonprofit founders, journalists, pharmaceutical sponsors, and healthcare insiders gathered in one room to reflect on 30 years of survivorship, institutional failure, accidental advocacy, and the emotional afterlife of cancer. The evening moved through original piano performances, live chapter readings, and deeply personal conversations about infertility, disability, financial toxicity, insurance denials, grief, burnout, and what happens when patients spend decades navigating systems designed around transactions instead of continuity.Guests including Wendell Potter, Maimah Karmo, Craig Lustig, Shelly Fuld Nasso, Tamika Felder, and others reflected on how the modern cancer advocacy movement emerged largely because patients built parallel systems where healthcare infrastructure failed to meet human needs. The conversation explored how prior authorization, reimbursement incentives, administrative fragmentation, and institutional distrust continue shaping the patient experience across oncology and survivorship.The performance also marked a deeply personal milestone. After brain cancer compromised his left hand at age 21, Zachary spent 6 months rehabilitating both hands to return to public performance for the first time in over 2 decades. The result became part concert, part civic gathering, and part historical record of a generation of survivors who refused to disappear quietly.RELATED LINKSMZLIVE Official WebsiteMZLIVE YouTube VideoFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In December 1996, a 37 year old pharmaceutical executive sat in a Borders bookstore reading medical textbooks on the floor, trying to understand a disease she had never heard of. Multiple myeloma carried a three year prognosis. Her daughter was 18 months old. Her father had just died of cancer. Within weeks, she pushed her doctors to say the quiet part clearly. This would likely end her life before her child entered kindergarten.Kathy Giusti refused to accept passive survival. She built a plan while the system offered fragments. She interviewed oncologists and fertility specialists at the same time. She pursued IVF to have a second child while preparing for treatment. She stayed employed to keep insurance coverage. Every decision carried financial, medical, and emotional risk.That same urgency exposed a deeper failure. Cancer research moved slowly. Academic centers guarded data. Clinical trials lacked coordination. Patients entered a system that demanded compliance without providing clarity. Giusti responded by building the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, not as a support group, but as an operating engine to accelerate drug development, fund research, and force collaboration across institutions.This episode tracks the tension between individual agency and systemic failure. Giusti describes how patients navigate diagnosis, insurance barriers, and fragmented care in real time. She explains how data, genomics, and clinical trials reshape cancer treatment while still leaving patients responsible for decisions they are not trained to make. She addresses disparities in access, the limits of early detection, and the reality that progress in oncology often depends on speed, funding, and alignment of incentives.The conversation moves between lived experience and structural critique. It names the cost of delay, the burden placed on patients to act as their own advocate, and the tradeoffs required to push a system forward that still protects itself first.⸻RELATED LINKSKathy GiustiMultiple Myeloma Research FoundationFatal to FearlessAmerican Society of Hematology⸻FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.