The Podcast by KevinMD

Patients are being cut off from medications they need, doctors are afraid to prescribe, and the reason traces back to political donations most Americans never see. Richard A. Lawhern, health care educator and patient advocate, joins us to explain how lobbying money shapes health care legislation and what patients can do about it. This episode is based on his article "Health care lobbying is destroying the U.S. system," published on KevinMD. You will hear why $4.5 billion was spent influencing the 2024 election, how undisclosed donors block reforms like single payer, and why nearly a quarter of every health care dollar goes to administrative costs that do nothing for patients. Richard explains how the National Campaign to Protect People in Pain trains advocates to reach committee staffers and shift the political calculus. Press play to hear how the system actually works and where ordinary advocates can apply pressure.

True team-based care starts with you. At ChenMed, we believe the best way to care for patients is to change the way we practice medicine.
When you join our team, you are empowered to lead. We've moved beyond the traditional volume-heavy model to focus on true value-based care. Our model gives you the time and resources to manage complex cases and make a lasting impact on your community.
Whether you are applying for a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or medical director position, you will feel supported by a physician-led culture that understands your challenges. Your dedication doesn't go unnoticed here. You'll be rewarded with a career that offers both professional fulfillment and a better quality of life. Visit ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD to learn more.
VISIT SPONSOR → https://ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD

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
RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Most doctors were never taught how to sit with a patient's grief, anger, or fear without absorbing it. Eva Minkoff, a health care executive coach, and Kim Downey, a physical therapist and physician advocate, join Kevin to discuss their KevinMD article "How regulating clinical empathy prevents physician burnout." You'll hear why physicians who lean too far into patient emotion burnout, why those who shut down lose trust and treatment adherence, and why both paths end in the same exhaustion. Eva walks through her three-step framework (recognize the feeling, distinguish it from the story, address the emotion first) and explains why naming a patient's anger or grief in five seconds builds the connection that protects both the doctor and the care. Kim brings the patient view, sharing how doctors who stay present without drowning create the kind of relationship she calls sacred. If you're a clinician asking how to keep caring without burning out, listen for the five-second practice Eva walks through.

True team-based care starts with you. At ChenMed, we believe the best way to care for patients is to change the way we practice medicine.
When you join our team, you are empowered to lead. We've moved beyond the traditional volume-heavy model to focus on true value-based care. Our model gives you the time and resources to manage complex cases and make a lasting impact on your community.
Whether you are applying for a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or medical director position, you will feel supported by a physician-led culture that understands your challenges. Your dedication doesn't go unnoticed here. You'll be rewarded with a career that offers both professional fulfillment and a better quality of life. Visit ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD to learn more.
VISIT SPONSOR → https://ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD

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
RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Most of the people deciding where billions of health care dollars get invested have never treated a patient. Harsha Moole, a physician scientist and health care venture capital founder, joins Kevin to discuss his KevinMD article "The crash cart that taught me physician-led investing." You'll hear how a single overlooked workflow problem on a hospital crash cart became a multi-hospital company, why physician-led groups screen every deal through three gates of clinical, regulatory, and reimbursement diligence, and how doctors can get involved without leaving their day job by advising startups, advising venture funds, or co-investing through a physician network. Harsha also breaks down why angel investing requires a long timeline, the discipline to diversify across 4 to 10 companies, and money you can afford to lose. If you've ever looked at a health care product and thought you could have told them it wouldn't work, this conversation makes the case for using that clinical instinct beyond the bedside.

True team-based care starts with you. At ChenMed, we believe the best way to care for patients is to change the way we practice medicine.
When you join our team, you are empowered to lead. We've moved beyond the traditional volume-heavy model to focus on true value-based care. Our model gives you the time and resources to manage complex cases and make a lasting impact on your community.
Whether you are applying for a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or medical director position, you will feel supported by a physician-led culture that understands your challenges. Your dedication doesn't go unnoticed here. You'll be rewarded with a career that offers both professional fulfillment and a better quality of life. Visit ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD to learn more.
VISIT SPONSOR → https://ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD

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
RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Medical students who skip writing their own reflections are not lazy, they are surviving an irrational system. Kathleen Muldoon, a coach and professor, returns to discuss what student AI use in medical education actually reveals about the curriculum, the hidden incentives behind it, and why she calls students in instead of catching them. This episode is based on her article "Driving medical education reform through intellectual honesty," published on KevinMD. You will hear why pass-fail courses inside graded curricula push students to put their energy elsewhere, why the hidden curriculum speaks louder than the syllabus, and what students disclosed when she asked them what was going on. You will learn what her workshops are designed to do that AI cannot, why she believes AI cannot teach empathy, and what a more humane medical education would actually require. Press play to find out why she thinks the next generation of clinicians is not the problem, and what the systems training them must change to produce humane physicians.

True team-based care starts with you. At ChenMed, we believe the best way to care for patients is to change the way we practice medicine.
When you join our team, you are empowered to lead. We've moved beyond the traditional volume-heavy model to focus on true value-based care. Our model gives you the time and resources to manage complex cases and make a lasting impact on your community.
Whether you are applying for a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or medical director position, you will feel supported by a physician-led culture that understands your challenges. Your dedication doesn't go unnoticed here. You'll be rewarded with a career that offers both professional fulfillment and a better quality of life. Visit ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD to learn more.
VISIT SPONSOR → https://ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD

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
RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Most patients on antidepressants are told they can't take methylene blue, even for brain fog. Steven E. Warren, a physician and longevity medicine clinician, joins Kevin to discuss his KevinMD article "51 cases that reframe methylene blue serotonin syndrome." You'll hear why 50 of the 51 published serotonin-syndrome cases involved high-dose IV methylene blue given under anesthesia, mostly during parathyroid surgery, rather than the low oral doses used in outpatient longevity practice. Steven walks through the Goldilocks dosing posture he uses for patients with brain fog, why he screens every patient's full medication list for interactions before starting, and why he tells every patient there are no randomized trials behind methylene blue. He also describes the broader longevity practice he sees daily: patients stacking peptides from the gym, megadosing vitamin D from podcasts, and ordering supplements off Amazon without quality control. If you're a clinician fielding methylene blue questions or a patient considering it, listen for the questions Steven thinks should be asked before starting any unstudied supplement.

True team-based care starts with you. At ChenMed, we believe the best way to care for patients is to change the way we practice medicine.
When you join our team, you are empowered to lead. We've moved beyond the traditional volume-heavy model to focus on true value-based care. Our model gives you the time and resources to manage complex cases and make a lasting impact on your community.
Whether you are applying for a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or medical director position, you will feel supported by a physician-led culture that understands your challenges. Your dedication doesn't go unnoticed here. You'll be rewarded with a career that offers both professional fulfillment and a better quality of life. Visit ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD to learn more.
VISIT SPONSOR → https://ChenMed.com/physicians-KevinMD

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
RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended