The Dr. Hyman Show

Encore: Why Our Current Healthcare System Keeps Us Sick And How To Fix It

Jan 20, 2025

Dr. Anand Parekh, a health policy expert, Bill Frist, a former Senate Majority Leader and transplant surgeon, and Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a leading cardiologist, discuss the flaws in the U.S. healthcare system that prioritize treatment over prevention. They emphasize the urgent need for policies addressing social determinants of health, nutrition, and public health funding. The conversation highlights innovative strategies like medically tailored meals and the importance of integrating community health initiatives to foster healthier populations and reduce preventable diseases.

01:09:05

Episode guests

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian

Bill Frist

Anand Parekh

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The current healthcare system prioritizes treatment over prevention, leading to ineffective responses to chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Public health policy lacks focus on preventive measures, with minimal funding allocated, resulting in missed opportunities for long-term health improvements.

Improving the food system through fiscal incentives for healthy options could significantly reduce chronic disease and promote better public health outcomes.

Deep dives

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Intro

2min

Optimizing Health Through Functional Testing and Quality Nutrition

3min

Rethinking Healthcare: From Treatment to Prevention

14min

Modernizing Healthcare and Promoting Quality Sleep

3min

Integrating Health Policy and Private Investment

6min

Navigating the Complexities of Healthcare Policy

3min

Rethinking Healthcare: A Holistic Approach

15min

Food Policy and Public Health: A Complex Relationship

15min

Financial Impact of Medically Tailored Meals

4min

10.

Navigating Food Industry Influence and Promoting Health Standards

3min

Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are the leading causes of death—and premature death at that—in the US. These diseases all have several risk factors in common, like smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet, which policy often views simply as personal choices. We need to begin looking at disease prevention beyond individual decision-making.

In this podcast, I talk with Dr. Anand Parekh, Senator Bill Frist, and Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian on the need for government policymakers to address disease prevention.

Dr. Anand Parekh is the Bipartisan Policy Center’s chief medical advisor, providing clinical and public health expertise across the organization, particularly in the areas of aging, prevention, and global health. As a US Department of Health and Human Services deputy assistant secretary for health from 2008 to 2015, he developed and implemented national initiatives focused on prevention, wellness, and care management. He is the author of Prevention First: Policymaking for a Healthier America.

Senator Bill Frist is a heart and lung transplant surgeon and former US Senate majority leader. He led passage of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act and the historic PEPFAR HIV/AIDS legislation that has saved millions of lives worldwide. As the founder and director of the Vanderbilt Multi-Organ Transplant Center, he has performed over 150 heart and lung transplants, authored over 100 peer-reviewed medical articles, and published seven books.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, Dean and Jean Mayer Professor at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and professor of medicine at Tufts Medical School. He has authored more than 400 scientific publications on dietary priorities for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases and on evidence-based policy approaches to reduce these burdens in the US and globally. He has served in numerous advisory roles, including for the US and Canadian governments.⁣⁣ ⁣

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