Corporate greed and medical complicity fueled a $250,000 drug
Release Date: 01/02/2026
Racial disparities in pancreatic cancer screening cost Black lives
The Podcast by KevinMD
Internal medicine physician Earl Stewart, Jr. discusses his article "." Earl examines the devastating pattern of pancreatic cancer claiming Black cultural icons like John Lewis and Aretha Franklin while the medical establishment fails to implement race-specific screening guidelines. He highlights research showing that high-risk individuals undergoing surveillance have a 50 percent five-year survival rate compared to just 9 percent for those diagnosed through usual care. The discussion challenges the current medical inertia that demands perfect data before acting and proposes a three-tier...
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Hidden financial dangers of wRVU thresholds in medical employment agreements
The Podcast by KevinMD
Health care attorney Dennis Hursh discusses his article "." Dennis explains the critical distinction between a guaranteed salary and a draw against future earnings where failure to meet production targets can lead to clawbacks. The discussion covers how employers often set unrealistic wRVU thresholds that exceed historical data or MGMA benchmarks while failing to provide adequate marketing support to meet those goals. Dennis highlights the importance of ensuring new physicians have guaranteed income during their ramp-up period and warns against contract language that credits productivity only...
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Healing chronic illness requires treating the mind alongside the body
The Podcast by KevinMD
Internal medicine and functional medicine physician Shiv K. Goel discusses his article "." Shiv explores the limitations of conventional medical models that focus solely on acute intervention while ignoring the emotional roots of chronic conditions. He shares the compelling story of Linda whose physical ailments were deeply connected to decades of suppressed grief and trauma. The conversation delves into the science of psychoneuroimmunology and how unprocessed emotions get stored in the body's tissues eventually manifesting as disease. Shiv explains why true healing involves not just...
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Medicare cuts are destroying independent rural medical practices
The Podcast by KevinMD
Saravanan Kasthuri, medical director at Northwest Endovascular Surgery, and Jason McKitrick, executive director at the Office Based Facility Association, discuss their article "." Saravanan and Jason analyze the critical economic forces dismantling independent medical practices and threatening patient access in underserved areas. They highlight the personal story of Mr. G to illustrate the human cost of broken reimbursement models while explaining how the outdated Physician Fee Schedule forces doctors to sell to hospitals or private equity firms. The conversation details how consolidation...
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Artificial intelligence demands that doctors become architects of digital health
The Podcast by KevinMD
Family physician Tod Stillson discusses his article "." Tod explains how his career evolution revealed that artificial intelligence is not a threat to the medical profession but a necessary tool for reshaping care delivery. He argues that physicians must actively lead the integration of AI to ensure that clinical judgment is amplified rather than overridden by automation. The conversation covers the necessity of digital fluency, the shift toward structured asynchronous data collection, and how these technologies can actually restore the human connection by relieving administrative burdens....
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Overcoming the economic barriers of fee-for-service medicine
The Podcast by KevinMD
Surgeon and health tech strategist Sarah Matt discusses her article "." Sarah analyzes the friction between efficient digital health tools and an outdated payment system that rewards activity over quality. She proposes replacing analog metrics like visit volume with shadow KPIs that track actual health outcomes such as time-to-resolution and preventable hospitalizations. The discussion outlines a practical strategy to utilize existing billing codes for remote patient monitoring while simultaneously gathering data to negotiate shared savings agreements. Listen to learn how clinicians can drive...
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Urological analysis of delayed cancer diagnoses in political figures
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Urologist William Lynes discusses his article "." William examines the medical plausibility of a former president being diagnosed with widespread metastatic prostate cancer just months after leaving office. He explains why the slow growth of this disease means it almost certainly existed during the presidency and challenges the narrative that it went undetected despite world-class health care. The discussion covers the standard of care regarding PSA screening and hormonal therapy while highlighting how symptoms like bone pain would likely have been obvious to any competent medical team....
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Genetic testing requires more than just a binary result
The Podcast by KevinMD
Fertility specialist Oluyemisi Famuyiwa discusses their article "." Oluyemisi explores the transition to "Genetic Carrier Screening 3.0," a new era where expanded panels reveal hidden complexities that defy simple positive or negative interpretations. The conversation highlights how specific variations in genes like CFTR and SMN1 can lead to unexpected clinical consequences, such as male infertility or silent carrier status in spinal muscular atrophy. By examining the nuances of hemoglobinopathies and X-linked conditions, Oluyemisi explains why being a "carrier" often has direct health...
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True peace in medicine requires courage not silence
The Podcast by KevinMD
Professor and coach Kathleen Muldoon discusses their article "." Kathleen explores the dangerous misconception that peace in health care means silence or compliance. The conversation highlights how teaching medical students to smooth their edges and avoid conflict often leads to burnout, moral injury, and emotional numbness. By redefining peace as an active skill that requires a spine, Kathleen outlines how clinicians can navigate hierarchy and uncertainty without erasing their own humanity. This episode examines the vital difference between keeping the peace and protecting dignity in...
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Silence is a survival mechanism that costs women their joy
The Podcast by KevinMD
Obstetrician-gynecologist Priya Panneerselvam discusses their article "." Priya discusses how the quiet deference observed in their mother's generation continues to manifest in patients who apologize for their pain and hesitate to ask questions. The conversation explores the cultural and national forces that suppress female voices, linking personal family history to the broader political landscape regarding women's rights and leadership. By examining the cost of this inherited silence, Priya advocates for speaking out as an act of rebellion and gratitude for those who could not. Breaking this...
info_outlineInternal medicine and pulmonary physician Bharat Desai discusses his article "How Acthar Gel became a $250,000 drug." Bharat shares the shocking moment he realized an obsolete pituitary extract from 1952 was being sold for the price of a house. He explains how pharmaceutical companies exploited regulatory loopholes to reclassify a cheap animal derivative as a specialty biologic and effectively monopolize the market despite the existence of superior synthetic alternatives like prednisone. The conversation exposes the deep rot within the medical profession where key opinion leaders and institutions accepted industry funding to promote a physiological absurdity over evidence-based care. We must question how intellectual surrender allows corporate greed to exploit the very patients doctors are sworn to protect.
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