Fixing Healthcare Podcast

Fans of Coronavirus: The Truth have lauded the show’s unbiased, fact-based approach to delivering COVID-19 news and information. But finding unbiased, fact-based info isn’t easy amid today’s politically charged news environment. Says co-host Jeremy Corr, “I keep getting more and more disheartened about how politicized the pandemic has been.” In this episode, Corr and co-host Dr. Robert Pearl offer their thoughts on where to find facts that aren’t skewed by partisan media or pundits looking to score political points. In addition, Pearl and Corr provide answers and analysis for the following questions: [00:50] Update: What should listeners know about the week that was? [04:22] Where are we with the next Congressional economic package? [07:04] Presumed democratic nominee Joe Biden released his healthcare proposal: What was in it and how might it impact the post-coronavirus era? [10:50] What is happening with the economy? Is there a day of reckoning on its way? [12:04] Many people are disheartened by how politicized the pandemic has become. Where can people go for advice and facts that aren’t skewed by politics? [14:50] What’s going on with Major League Baseball and other sports leagues?  [16:41] What can go wrong with a COVID-19 vaccine fail? [21:20] Local school districts are scrambling. What’s going on with schools now? What’s the right strategy for those moving forward with in-class instruction? [25:39] Campus safety policies vs. college-student behaviors: Which will win out this fall as students return to campuses? [28:58] Hypothetical: If all of the restrictions were suddenly lifted and you could return to all of the activities of the past knowing that the virus was still circulating, what would do and what would you continue to avoid? [30:09] Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe, joined the Fixing Healthcare podcast this week. What did she have to say about genetics and COVID-19? [31:18] The airline and travel industry continue to be hit hard. What is the latest thinking on their future? This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn. *To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest. The post #18: Where to go for nonpartisan COVID-19 info? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Anne Wojcicki is a biologist, entrepreneur and the CEO of 23andMe, the leading consumer genetics and research company with more than 12 million customers worldwide.  On this episode, Wojcicki spoke with Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr about exciting developments in genetic testing, the possibility for at-home coronavirus testing, her company’s fight with the FDA and what she believes will someday replace primary care.   Here are some of the interview highlights from episode 24: On genetics and depression  Thanks to the 450,000 customers who answered our surveys, where we were able to find a number of novel mutations associated with depression. Most studies are in the hundreds or maybe a thousand individuals, but for us to have a study of 450,000 people, it shows the type of scale of research that 23andMe can do and the fact that we can make findings that no one else really can find. On a genetic basis for the human response to COVID-19 23andMe launched a COVID-19 study on April 6, and we now have over 1 million people who’ve taken this survey. We have … tens of thousands who said that they have it, thousands of people who were hospitalized. We were able to make a number of discoveries. The only one that we’ve publicly talked about is the O blood type looks like it’s protective. Roughly, anywhere from 9% to 20% protective in terms of severity as well as susceptibility. That is exciting because I think it’s been replicated a number of times.   On the next big breakthrough in genetics  The next big breakthroughs are going to be around these polygenic risk scores and really starting to break down each disease into much more specific subtypes. Look at something like Type 2 diabetes where I can see that there’s a percentage of our customers that are genetically just much more likely to have it. You can see this also with drug response that some people are going to respond well to certain kinds of medications and some people are not going to respond well to those same medications. I think that every single disease is going to start to get classified into a genetically defined set of risks.  On the medical benefits of DNA testing There’s no greater reward for me than knowing that we potentially prevented a preventable death … One of the mottos of the company is, “Change what you can, manage what you can’t,” and these cases where customers can learn that they have a potentially pathogenic mutation and there’s something that they can manage with a vasectomy or proactive screening and you can prevent a preventable death, it’s hugely rewarding.  On how money is made in healthcare   No one makes money in healthcare by keeping you healthy. Fundamentally, if I tell you, you’re diabetic, lots of people in the system, in the healthcare system as it is today, will make money, from the companies that make insulin to the needles to the testing to the doctor’s visits to all of the downstream consequences. If I tell you you’re genetically high risk for Type 2 diabetes and then you change your diet and you check in with your doctor and you’re like, “Yeah, I’ve lost weight. I’ve done this. I exercise more,” no one’s making money. On protecting consumer data online We’ve always said that we have no business if we can’t protect your privacy. We do everything we can reasonably to protect privacy … We were really lucky in that a number of our earliest engineers came from the banking industry and really came to us with a mindset of absolute privacy and choice and the highest level of security. READ: Full transcript of our discussion with Anne Wojcicki * * *  Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.  The post Episode 24: Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe talks COVID-19 testing, your genes and the future of medicine appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

“Voters look to elected officials to lead in times of war,” says co-host Dr. Robert Pearl in this episode of Coronvirus: The Truth. “In the minds of most Americans, this is war. As such, voters will gaze beyond the traditional questions of (insurance) coverage and clinical care” toward questions of leadership amid a national health crisis. In 2020, Pearl sees three pandemic-related factors influencing the elections: Overall leadership in addressing the coronavirus threat.How voters feel about the economic relief programs.How well society was informed and held together throughout the pandemic. As a result of these factors, Pearl expects voters are likely to ask the following questions this November: “When the next pandemic strikes, who do I want to be responsible for the health of the people in my state? Who do I want sitting the halls of Congress? And who do I trust to occupy the Oval Office?” In episode 17 of Coronavirus: The Truth, co-hosts Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr look at the latest news surrounding COVID-19, providing answers and analysis for the following questions: [00:50] What should listeners know about the week that was in Covid-19 news? [05:28] With multiple reports and anecdotes of Covid-19 patients getting re-infected, do scientists have any idea how long immunity lasts?   [08:23] Listener question: Is the coronavirus affecting the U.S. birthing rate? [09:41] Will the upcoming flu season exacerbate the coronavirus pandemic? [11:17] What will Congress’ next coronavirus relief package include? [14:00] On last week’s episode, co-hosts Robert Peral and Jeremy Corr talked about the winners and losers coming out of the current pandemic. Listeners wanted more details: Who’s up and who’s down? [15:53] How is the planning coming for the reopening of schools this September? [19:11] Co-host Jeremy Corr knows people who’ve been infected. How are they doing and how is Corr feeling during this time of uncertainty? [21:53] With schools reopening this fall, what do Jeremy and Robert advise for parents worried about kids? [23:15] What is Robert hearing from hospitals in places that are reportedly at risk of being overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases? Are they actually overwhelmed? [28:03] How might the coronavirus impact elections this November? This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn. *To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest. The post #17: Will Covid-19 sway the November elections? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Four months after President Trump announced a “state of emergency,” Americans are still as confused as ever about the true state of the pandemic. Our confusion starts with the news: Every morning, TV anchors around the country list off the latest numbers of newly confirmed cases. Podcast co-host Dr. Robert Pearl says, “We pretend the number of positive tests per day has significance. Don’t get me wrong, most likely, the number of cases is going up. But 60,000 per day isn’t anywhere close to the actual number of infections.” That’s just one of three big points of confusion for the general public, all of which have major consequence on American health. In episode 16 of Coronavirus: The Truth, Robert and Jeremy look at the latest news surrounding COVID-19, providing answers and analysis for the following questions: [00:51] What should listeners know about the week that was in COVID-19 news? [05:03] Any news on sports returning this summer and fall? [07:15] What was with the bruhaha between physicians and the World Health Organization over coronavirus being transmitted in small, aerosolized particles? [10:08] What are Americans still getting wrong about COVID-19 today? [14:51] Dr. Pearl was quoted recently saying, “If I had to pick a word for where we are today, it would be floundering.” What did he mean?    [20:16] All politics aside, what do we know about the Trump-touted drug hydroxychloroquine? What about other treatments? [22:45] With positive cases skyrocketing, why are death rates declining? [26:03] Thousands of small businesses have closed while several big retailers have filed for bankruptcy, yet the stock market is soaring. What’s going on? [31:42] What kinds of healthcare changes will come from changes in the economy? [33:08] How would co-host Jeremy Corr alter his day to day decisions if he knew (for certain) that a vaccine wasn’t coming for at least another two years? [37:27] At what point would it be safe to receive a Covid-19 vaccine? This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn. *To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest. The post #16: What are Americans still getting wrong about COVID-19? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Exactly what went wrong? Exactly when? Exactly how did we fail and exactly what could have been done to prevent it? Exactly which errors did U.S. healthcare officials make between the first known cases in China and the first recorded coronavirus death on U.S. soil? And, exactly what can we do to minimize the damage going forward?  This month’s episode of Fixing Healthcare offers the most thorough review of COVID-19 errors and events ever to be packed in a 45-minute podcast. Jeremy Corr, who also co-hosts Coronavirus: The Truth, joins Dr. Robert Pearl, a medical expert and former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, to discuss the following topics in vivid, fact-based detail:  The five key mistakes that kept the U.S. from containing the virus in January and February 2020Why the U.S. got bested by smaller, less-wealthy countries in testing and control measures.   The most overlooked measure of success (or failure) when it comes to containing the virus. Why the U.S. response to the virus is best described as “one-size-fits-none.” The possibility of resuming sports, school or large events safely in the near future. Which minimally invasive steps will have the greatest impact on American health and safety. How the U.S. response has produced a major mental health crisis. The actual vaccine timeline and the likelihood of an effective medical treatment. How American businesses should approach the risky process of reopening.How the economic consequences of the virus will reshape American healthcare.  READ: Full transcript of this episode * * * Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.  The post Episode 23: How the U.S. coronavirus response went wrong and how to make it right appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

“One step forward, two steps back,” is how Dr. Robert Pearl describes the recent rise in coronavirus cases throughout the country. He notes that further attempts to hurry the nation’s reopening along will produce similar setbacks. Take pro sports, for example. Major League Baseball is moving closer to locking in a 60-game schedule to start in July, despite dozens of players already testing positive. “I fear that pro sports will follow the pattern that we have seen in so many areas of society. One step forward, then two back.” In episode 15 of Coronavirus: The Truth, Robert and Jeremy look at the latest news surrounding COVID-19, providing answers and analysis for the following questions: [00:50] What should listeners know about the past week in COVID-19 news, including plans to move forward with pro sports? [08:00] As deaths passed 110,000, nearly half were patients from nursing homes. Can we protect this vulnerable population? [09:05] How are elected official prioritizing the two biggest coronavirus threats their constituents face: the health risks and the economic threats? [10:57] Dr. Robert Pearl will address the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, June 30. What message do CEOs need to hear? [16:45] How are businesses are planning for the post-coronavirus era? [18:33] What’s the latest news on COVID-19 testing and contract tracing? [20:44] What should Americans learn from the Broadstreet cholera epidemic in 1854 and other historical events that threatened human existence? [24:49] If we are at a tipping point with coronavirus, what might happen next? This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn. *To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest. The post #15: Is it too soon for sports? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Looking back on the coronavirus pandemic and the national response, Dr. Robert Pearl says, “I believe that historians will judge the American people well and nearly all of our leaders poorly.” Robert’s co-host and fellow history buff Jeremy Corr notes that past outbreaks led to significant social and political shakeups: “Epidemics are the kinds of events in history that set off a chain reaction of other events that often have very serious consequences that change things forever.” In episode 14 of Coronavirus: The Truth, Robert and Jeremy examine the available facts and historical trends to imagine what historians will see when they look back on the year 2020. Also, in this podcast, the hosts answer your coronavirus questions relating to masks, sexual transmission and more: [00:51] What were the biggest coronavirus news updates from the past week? [04:12] What can be done about the uptick in new cases as states reopen?   [08:56] The World Health Organization (WHO) caused mass confusion last week concerning asymptomatic transmission of the virus. What happened and what’s the truth? [16:02] As political debate rages over the use of masks, how can people make sense of what will or won’t keep them safe? [17:58] Listener question: Can the coronavirus spread through sexual transmission? [20:23] Are we at the beginning of another surge or a “second wave” of the pandemic? [22:03] In hindsight, did we shut down too hard for too long? [25:28] Many have compared the coronavirus to war. What are the biggest parallels and differences? [29:34] How might historians talk about our current response to this viral pandemic 25 years from now? This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn.   *To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest. The post #14: How will historians look back on our nation’s handling of the coronavirus? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

As head of the Food and Drug Administration from 1990 to 1997, Dr. David A. Kessler went to war with cigarette companies, approved life-saving HIV/AIDS medications, and introduced consumers to Nutrition Facts. He is the author of several books, including his latest, “Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs: The Simple Truth About Food, Weight, and Disease.” In this interview, Kessler comments on what it will take to end COVID-19, how he handled the pressures of the FDA, and why we shouldn’t overlook the dangers of marijuana or bagels. Here are some of Dr. Kessler’s highlights from Episode 22: On the most promising COVID-19 medications   Without a vaccine, you certainly have the hope for an antiviral before a vaccine. And then the question is what type of antiviral? Is it going to be an antiviral to treat this disease or prevent infection? It would be great to have a prophylactic antiviral. And there are certainly a lot of clinical trials underway. There’s anecdotal information right now. There’s reason to hope that there … may be an existing antiviral or a new antiviral will be able to demonstrate efficacy. On slowing the spread of COVID-19 without a vaccine  I’ve been thinking very hard about this question and the only answer that I can come up with of how to allow people to come out of their homes, out of the sheltering in place, is widespread testing. And the basics of public health, contact tracing, but either serological or virological, we’ll see where we are …  in the absence of a way to treat this virus or prevent this virus, the only thing we have is that we identify those who are infected, and we do that through widespread testing. So I think the answer is testing, testing, testing, and to do what China and South Korea and several other communities have done, identify those who are spreading the virus and protect others from that spread. On the CDC’s COVID-19 testing delays We’re still very much in the midst of this crisis. I think at certain point we will look back and try to sort that out. I certainly have questions about what happened and I don’t think we have the whole story yet, why we lost a number of crucial weeks, if not months, in fighting this virus. I don’t know the whole story, and I don’t think anybody does. I think that’s for some time in the future, once this is behind us. We have to make sure that it doesn’t occur again. On approving new drugs The way the law is written, a drug has to be both safe and effective. It doesn’t have to, under the law, be better than something on the market, right? So. you have to show that your drug works. You have to show your drug works, for example, compared to a placebo. And you have to show that the drug is safe … but generally we don’t require, Congress has never required, relative efficacy to be shown. On his advice for current FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn The job is white heat. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people who try to influence the agency’s decisions and today, or you could see it play out at the highest levels of government. The administration trying to influence, get this drug to the market, approve this drug, do it immediately. And what you have to do is be willing to put your body on the line and allow the people of the agency to look at the data and to focus on the science and make the best decisions they know how to do. And your job is to protect that decision-making process. On handling the pressures of the FDA In the same breath, reporters can write that the agency is either acting too fast and not taking safety into consideration or too slow and holding up important drugs. I think we’ve developed probably the most sophisticated drug regulatory system in the world. I think we are as fast as any country in the world and yet I have tried to maintain rigorous standards. That doesn’t mean FDA doesn’t a mess up. It does do that sometimes. READ: Full transcript of our discussion with David A. Kessler * * * Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.  The post Episode 22: Former FDA commissioner on ending the COVID-19 pandemic appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

For prestigious, peer-reviewed medical journals, the retraction of an article is an incredibly rare event. Last week, it happened twice: in The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine. Both articles examined the effects of potential COVID-19 treatments and, following publication, had both an immediate and a significant influence on healthcare delivery in the United States. The data, it turned out, was suspect at best and fraudulent at worst. With egg on their face, the editors of these journals faced a barrage of questions. Chief among them: How did this happen? In episode 13 of Coronavirus: The Truth, co-hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr examine the contentious debate over the research of possible COVID-19 cures, along with the following subjects: [00:48] What are the most important coronavirus news highlights from last week?    [06:24] Why did two of the most prestigious medical journals to retract articles tied to coronavirus treatments? [10:51] What does it mean that reports of child abuse are down during the pandemic? Will schools give in to pressures to reopen this fall? [12:12] Will protesters, many marching in close proximity without masks, suffer higher rates of  coronavirus infections? [15:08] With air travel picking up, what are risks for those choosing to fly? What’s the safest seat on an airplane? [16:32] How optimistic should we be about an effective coronavirus treatment coming soon? What do “promising findings” really mean?   [18:47] As the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement gains momentum, what is the nation learning about the populations most affected by the coronavirus? [20:55] Few people in America’s heartland are wearing masks or social distancing. Why? [23:38] As co-host of a podcast on the coronavirus, how’s Jeremy feeling about his son returning to daycare this week? [25:16] Listener question: “What do we know now about how the coronavirus is transmitted and has the risk been overrated?” [27:00] Listener question: “I can’t stand my kids not seeing their grandfather for another month. How can I minimize the risk of harming dad?” This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn.   *To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest. The post #13: Can we trust scientific research in the era of COVID-19? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Recent demonstrations and violence sparked by the death of George Floyd are “like a river,” as Dr. Robert Pearl puts it, with many streams coming together to form a powerful current. Floyd’s preventable death at the hands of Minneapolis police is the most recent stream. Others go back much farther. They include systemic racism and generations of unfair treatment by law enforcement. There is yet another source to this river, which is health-related. Though the coronavirus does not see color, it does reveal the disastrous health consequences of racial, social and economic inequality in the United States. Currently, the mortality rate for people of color is more than double that of America’s white population. Meanwhile, research has found that poverty and inequality can exacerbate rates of transmission and mortality. In episode 12 of Coronavirus: The Truth, co-hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr examine the difficult truths of racial and income inequality during the coronavirus pandemic: [00:55] What coronavirus news popped up in the past week? [07:24] Why does the coronavirus hit African-American and low-income households hardest? [13:07] Will the protests and riots result in spikes of coronavirus cases? [14:29] What’s the latest on the Moderna vaccine and Remdesivir treatment? [17:18] How can church congregants reduce the risks of worshiping together? [23:22] What might school (elementary, high school and universities) like in the fall? [26:18] What do we know about the possibility of getting re-infected after recovering from the coronavirus? [27:32] Will Americans tolerate daily testing/monitoring as a condition of coming back to work? And will employers be held accountable for public safety? [28:55] Should the public be concerned about mutations of the coronavirus? [31:50] How is the “middle game” of the U.S. coronavirus response going? This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms. If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn. *To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest.   The post #12: How does racial inequality fuel the coronavirus crisis? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.