Health & Veritas

Howie and Harlan discuss health and healthcare headlines, including generational shifts in doctors' approach to work, a promising vaccine for norovirus, the latest on the bird flu outbreak, and the struggles of corporate-backed primary care companies. Links: Norovirus CDC: Norovirus "Bivalent norovirus mRNA vaccine elicits cellular and humoral responses protecting human enteroids from GII.4 infection" "Doctors trial world's first mRNA vaccine against vomiting bug norovirus" "Who Didn't Get a Second Shingrix Shot? Implications for Multidose COVID-19 Vaccines" Work-Life Balance "Young Doctors Want Work-Life Balance. Older Doctors Say That's Not the Job." "State of Women in Medicine: History, Challenges, and the Benefits of a Diverse Workforce" Bird Flu "CDC Confirms Human H5 Bird Flu Case in Missouri" STAT: H5N1 Bird Flu Primary Care Goes Corporate "Why Large Corporations Are Entering Primary Care" "Cigna Turns $739 Million Profit Despite $1 Billion Loss On VillageMD" Prescription for the Future: The Twelve Transformational Practices of Highly Effective Medical Organizations E. coli "E. coli Outbreak Linked to Onions Served at McDonald's" "How disease detectives' quick work traced deadly E. coli outbreak to McDonald's Quarter Pounders" CDC: Outbreaks of E. coli infections Elon Musk's Grok AI Platform "Elon Musk wants you to submit medical data to his AI chatbot" Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Stephen Knight, president and managing partner of the healthcare and technology venture capital firm F-Prime Capital, to discuss his varied career and the breakthroughs he has helped enable. Howie and Harlan discuss AI in medicine and what a second Trump administration could mean for healthcare. Links: Respiratory Illnesses, AI, and the Physician Shortage CDC: Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel "Capabilities of Gemini Models in Medicine" "Yale New Haven Health partners with AI company on ambient listening tech" Stephen Knight F-Prime Capital Genentech F-Prime Capital: Stories and Ideas "How AIDS Activists Fought for Patients' Rights" VC: An American History Bluebird Bio F-Prime Capital: Orchard Therapeutics Severe Combined Immunodeficiency "Pfizer to Acquire FoldRx Pharmaceuticals" Beam Therapeutics Trump and Healthcare Project 2025: Policy Agenda "Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' Draws Wellness Influencers to MAGA" Video: Trump on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on X Video: the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Michael Sherling, a dermatologist and a founder of Modernizing Medicine, which aims to save doctors time with an intelligent, specialty-specific electronic health record. Harlan provides updates on COVID-19 variants and vaccines, and on the acquisition of CareBridge, which provides value-based home care for Medicaid patients. Howie explains why cases of pertussis—whooping cough—are increasing. Links: COVID-19 and CareBridge Akiko Iwasaki, PhD CareBridge Health "The Accidental Entrepreneur: Brad Smith's Journey From Politics to Business" "America's Fastest-Growing Company Is Tackling the Greatest Challenge in Health Care | Inc.com" "Elevance unit plans to buy CareBridge" Michael Sherling and Modernizing Medicine Modernizing Medicine Dan Cane, CEO of Modernizing Medicine: "I sold my start-up for $1.6 billion. Here's what I did next" "Alumni team crafts electronic medical record that cuts down paperwork and saves time" "Ambient AI Is Having Its 'Moment' In Healthcare" Dawn Harris Sherling: Eat Everything Pertussis CDC: Whooping Cough "Whooping Cough Is on the Rise, Returning to Pre-Pandemic Trends" "Whooping cough spikes, especially among unvaccinated teens" "Falling Vaccinations Contribute to Rising Pertussis Numbers" Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss health and healthcare issues in the headlines, including a powerful—but dangerous—new gene therapy, racial disparities in excess deaths during the COVID pandemic, and the limited insurance coverage for highly effective new obesity drugs. Links: The Physician Shortage "Opening the Door Wider to International Medical Graduates—The Significance of a New Tennessee Law" "New Licensure Pathway for Some Internationally Trained Physicians" "Brain-drain and health care delivery in developing countries" "Talk of an Immigrant 'Invasion' Grows in Republican Ads and Speech" Subspecialty Expertise from AI "Towards Democratization of Subspeciality Medical Expertise" Gene Therapy "7 children developed blood cancer after Bluebird Bio gene therapy for rare neurological disease" National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Adrenoleukodystrophy An AI Warning from a Nobel Laureate Nobel Prize: Nobel Prize in Physics "Why the Godfather of A.I. Fears What He's Built" "Unions Give Workers a Voice Over How AI Affects Their Jobs" Conflicts of Interest and the Role of Peer Reviewers "Medical journal peer reviewers are paid millions by industry, study finds" "Does industry funding equal conflict of interest? Often it does, Yale authors claim" COVID, Race, and Excess Deaths "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Age-Specific All-Cause Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic" Insurance Coverage for GLP-1 Drugs KFF: 2024 Employer Health Benefits Survey "The Miracle Weight-Loss Drug Is Also a Major Budgetary Threat" CDC: Adult Obesity Facts Mothers in Medicine "So Visibly a Mother" Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan are joined by Max Laurans, a Yale neurosurgeon and hospital administrator, and a founder of the healthcare staffing company Nomad Health. Harlan discusses the problem of doctors giving too much weight to suggestions from AI; Howie celebrates a milestone in the campaign to eliminate trachoma, a common cause of preventable blindness in the developing world. Links: Automation Bias "Some doctors are using public AI chatbots like ChatGPT in clinical decisions. Is it safe?" "Measuring the Impact of AI in the Diagnosis of Hospitalized Patients: A Randomized Clinical Vignette Survey Study" "Automation Bias and Assistive AI: Risk of Harm From AI-Driven Clinical Decision Support" "Combining Human Expertise with Artificial Intelligence: Experimental Evidence from Radiology" Max Laurans Maxwell Laurans, MD, MBA, FAANS Nomad Health: Travel Nurse and Travel Allied Health Jobs 2003 residency placements for Yale medical students "Yale New Haven Hospital breaks ground on $838 million, 505,000 square foot Neurosciences Center" "Hospitals across the U.S. face IV fluid shortage after Hurricane Helene" Trachoma Mayo Clinic: Trachoma "Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in India" The Carter Center: Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan welcome Vivek Murthy, the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States and a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale School of Management. They talk about his campaigns to tackle parental stress, gun violence, and the dangers of social media, and the importance of communicating across political divides. Links: Parents Under Pressure: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents Youth Mental Health: The Surgeon General's Advisory Yale School of Medicine | Auguste Fortin VI, MD, MPH, MACP Vivek Murthy: "Surgeon General: Why I'm Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms" Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America: The Surgeon General's Advisory The Surgeon General's 1964 report on smoking and health Vivek Murthy at Yale College Class Day Exercises Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The Surgeon General's Advisory Log Off Movement "Fetterman, Britt Introduce Bill to Require Mental Health Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms" "The Outrage Industrial Complex" Instagram: Vivek Murthy and his family at his swearing-in Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Howie and Harlan discuss recent headlines, including the latest round of COVID and flu vaccines, a lousy report card for the U.S. healthcare system, and a rare case of swine flu. Plus: Howie investigates a mysteriously escalating pharmacy bill. Links: COVID and Flu Vaccines CDC FluView: Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 36, ending September 7, 2024 CDC: Staying Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines "Florida discourages use of mRNA Covid vaccines in older adults" "Florida's New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation" CDC: COVID Data Tracker A Failing Grade "Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System" CMS Health Equity Conference "What is Driving Widening Racial Disparities in Life Expectancy?" Swine Flu "Minnesota reports 2 H3N2v flu infections in fairgoers" Shohei Ohtani "Shohei Ohtani reaches 50-50 in spectacular style as Dodgers clinch postseason berth" "The Shohei Ohtani Goal Matrix" Baseball Almanac: A Definition of 50-50 Club Drug Prices Mayo Clinic: Flecainide "Column: Less choice, higher prices feared in CVS' takeover of health insurer Aetna" "How to Save Money on Your Prescription Drugs" Brain Age "Brain clocks capture diversity and disparities in aging and dementia across geographically diverse populations" "Brain aging patterns in a large and diverse cohort of 49,482 individuals" "Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank" "Environmental Cardiology: Studying Mechanistic Links Between Pollution and Heart Disease" AirPods as Hearing Aids "FDA Authorizes First Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Software" Oak Street Health Department of Justice: Oak Street Health Agrees to Pay $60M to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act Liability for Paying Kickbacks to Insurance Agents in Medicare Advantage Patient Recruitment Scheme "CVS Reaches $10.6 Billion Deal to Buy Clinic Owner Oak Street Health"

Howie and Harlan are joined by Ania Jastreboff, a Yale endocrinologist and an expert on obesity medication, to talk about the remarkable range of diseases treated by drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy. Harlan discusses new Apple devices with the ability to detect sleep apnea and aid in hearing; Howie reports on outbreaks of polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Gaza. Links: Apple and Health "FDA clears Apple's sleep apnea detection feature for use. Here's how it works" FDA: "FDA Authorizes First Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Software" "FDA approves some Apple AirPods to be used as hearing aids" National Council on Aging: Reasons for Low Hearing Loss Treatment Obesity Drugs "Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide for Weight Loss in Adults With Overweight or Obesity" "An Obesity Drug Prevents Covid Deaths, Study Suggests" "Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes" "The New Anti-Obesity Drugs: What You Should Know" Video: Oprah Winfrey and Ania Jastreboff, "What Exactly Is Obesity? A Yale Doctor Explains" "Obesogenic environments and obesity: a comment on 'Are environmental area characteristics at birth associated with overweight and obesity in school-aged children? Findings from the SLOPE (Studying Lifecourse Obesity PrEdictors) population-based cohort in the south of England'" "Oprah Takes on Weight Stigma in the Ozempic Era" "Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity" Ania Jastreboff: "Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity" Ania Jastreboff: "Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity—A Phase 2 Trial" "Daily Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Orforglipron for Adults with Obesity" "Obesity drug black market thrives online in S. Korea" "Novo Nordisk's Wegovy Weight-Loss Drug Gets Approval in China" "A Popular Weight Loss Drug Is Getting a Price Cut" Polio Poliovirus outbreak in New York State, August 2022: qualitative assessment of immediate public health responses and priorities for improving vaccine coverage CDC: Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus WHO: "Humanitarian pauses vital for critical polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip" Howard Forman Discusses Polio in Gaza on TikTok CDC: Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication—Pakistan, January 2023–June 2024 "Afghanistan risks polio outbreak as Taliban restricts women from delivering vaccines" "Polio eradication: the CIA and their unintended victims" Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Margaret McGovern, Deputy Dean for Clinical Affairs at Yale School of Medicine and CEO of Yale Medicine, shares her journey from PhD researcher to healthcare leader. She discusses the importance of clinical alignment for improving patient care and introduces the Access 365 initiative aimed at streamlining patient access. McGovern also tackles challenges in recruiting clinicians and compensation disparities across specialties, emphasizing collaboration with community physicians. Her vision for a clinically integrated network focuses on quality and patient engagement.

Lee Schwamm, Associate Dean for Digital Strategy and Transformation at Yale School of Medicine, discusses innovative healthcare solutions. He highlights the transformative potential of generative AI in patient triage and reducing clinician workloads. Lee also shares insights on the future of telehealth, emphasizing the need for system redesign and reimbursement strategies. Additionally, he explores ambient AI's role in improving documentation and patient interactions, while balancing a demanding medical career with family life. The conversation is a mix of tech innovation and personal anecdotes.