Reforming the 340B drug discount program through data, clarity, and collaboration
Release Date: 04/16/2025
Buying into a medical practice: key legal and financial checks for physicians
The Podcast by KevinMD
Health care attorney Dennis Hursh discusses his article, "." He emphasizes that while receiving an offer to buy into a practice is typically a significant honor and opportunity, physicians must perform thorough due diligence to avoid potential pitfalls. Dennis advises physicians and their legal counsel to meticulously review corporate governance documents, watching for unequal voting rights or tiered partnership structures that limit influence. He stresses the importance of examining shareholders' or operating agreements to ensure the buy-in methodology matches the buy-out methodology and...
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Customer relationship management tools to beat physician burnout and regain practice control
The Podcast by KevinMD
Child psychiatrist and entrepreneur Marissa Caudill discusses her article, "." She argues that a significant driver of physician burnout is the lack of control within systems that prioritize metrics and administrative tasks over meaningful patient connections, leaving doctors feeling overwhelmed and disconnected. Marissa proposes that physicians can regain control and find more joy by implementing their own systems, specifically highlighting the power of customer relationship management (CRM) tools. She explains how a HIPAA-compliant CRM allows physicians to automate communication (like...
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Taking a break from medicine: a physician assistant's journey from burnout to world travel
The Podcast by KevinMD
Physician assistant David Olson discusses his article, "." He describes feeling trapped in an unhealthy, borderline abusive relationship with medicine, citing normalized disrespect, intense pressure from employers focused on metrics over provider wellbeing, and the demoralizing impact of system failures, particularly during and after COVID-19. David shares his experiences with dwindling job satisfaction as a hospitalist facing staffing instability and later in the "wasteland" of primary care, highlighting how burnout severely affected his marriage and his relationship with his children,...
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Spreading hope one card at a time for doctors' well-being
The Podcast by KevinMD
Physician advocate and physical therapist Kim Downey, physician coach Erin Hurley, and patient advocate Dawn Veselka discuss their article, "." They highlight the emotional toll of medicine, noting a concerning shift in how physicians describe their work—from fulfilling to exhausting and demoralizing—contributing to burnout rates near 50 percent and high suicide rates. Kim, Erin, and Dawn champion the power of simple acts of kindness, like handwritten notes, to combat this, referencing Erin's personal experience receiving encouraging cards during medical school. They introduce the...
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Fitness, mindset, and nutrition: Unlocking longevity after 60
The Podcast by KevinMD
Interventional physiatrist Francisco M. Torres discusses his article "." He challenges societal assumptions about inevitable decline after age sixty, arguing that joy, vitality, and strength can thrive with the right approach. Francisco emphasizes a combination of factors: tailored fitness routines incorporating strength, cardiovascular, and flexibility exercises; listening to the body and finding personal joy in movement; and prioritizing nourishing foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Crucially, he highlights the power of mindset, citing research showing that...
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Healers or criminals: the alarming trend of physician prosecution
The Podcast by KevinMD
Practicing internist and psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article "." He argues that physicians, historically pillars of trust, are increasingly being targeted and criminalized under regulations like the Controlled Substances Act and health care fraud statutes. Muhamad details several cases, including those of Drs. Sachy, Kousa, and Anand, as well as his own acquittal on federal fraud charges, to illustrate how medical judgment and complex patient care are being conflated with criminal activity. He critiques the tactics used, such as aggressive federal investigations, flawed...
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A surgeon's startling ketamine experience
The Podcast by KevinMD
General surgeon Arthur Williams discusses his article "." He shares an account from his novel of an experience needing a pacemaker for a "janky heart" prone to atrial fibrillation and bradycardia (sick sinus node), complicated by a low ejection fraction. Arthur vividly describes the anxiety and vulnerability of being a surgeon on the patient side of the gown, his candid and sometimes critical inner thoughts during interactions with the nursing staff and anesthesiologist, and the specific fear associated with the invasive procedure. He recounts the anesthesiologist's decision to use ketamine...
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Leading with care: a new approach to health care leadership for well-being
The Podcast by KevinMD
Internal medicine and infectious disease physician and author Joshua D. Hartzell discusses his article "." He addresses the crisis of burnout and attrition in health care, arguing that leaders often fail to extend the same level of care to their teams as they do to patients. Joshua introduces "caring-inspired leadership," an evidence-based approach where every leadership action centers on caring for the team to improve both provider well-being and patient care. He outlines key strategies: leaders must prioritize their own well-being by setting boundaries and taking vacations to avoid burnout,...
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Why the FDA's outdated prescription rules hinder access to birth control and naloxone
The Podcast by KevinMD
Surgeon and author Jeffrey A. Singer discusses his article "." He argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's requirement for prescriptions for certain safe medications, specifically hormonal contraceptives and the opioid antidote naloxone, creates significant barriers to access and reflects outdated paternalism. Jeffrey highlights that obtaining prescriptions for birth control pills adds cost and inconvenience, disproportionately affecting women who report difficulty accessing appointments, despite decades of recommendations from major medical groups like the American College of...
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Reforming the 340B drug discount program through data, clarity, and collaboration
The Podcast by KevinMD
Health care executive Gavin Magaha discusses his article "." He outlines how the 340B drug discount program, established over 30 years ago, has not evolved with modern health care delivery, leading to complexity, poorly defined standards, compliance issues, and misaligned incentives that hinder its original intent to serve vulnerable patients. Gavin highlights challenges like the outdated package-based discount model, the use of unapproved replenishment methods, and a lack of data transparency contributing to disproportionate program growth—a 23 percent increase in 340B sales versus an 11.4...
info_outlineHealth care executive Gavin Magaha discusses his article "Advancing drug discount programs starts with collaboration and clarity." He outlines how the 340B drug discount program, established over 30 years ago, has not evolved with modern health care delivery, leading to complexity, poorly defined standards, compliance issues, and misaligned incentives that hinder its original intent to serve vulnerable patients. Gavin highlights challenges like the outdated package-based discount model, the use of unapproved replenishment methods, and a lack of data transparency contributing to disproportionate program growth—a 23 percent increase in 340B sales versus an 11.4 percent rise in total U.S. drug spending in 2023. The solution, he argues, lies in stakeholder collaboration unified by advanced technology: centralizing data, leveraging analytics and machine learning for transparency and compliance, and creating a single source of truth to foster trust, reduce costs, and ensure the program effectively supports patients.
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