

The Podcast by KevinMD
Kevin Pho, MD
Social media's leading physician voice, Kevin Pho, MD, shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. 15 minutes a day. 7 days a week. Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 14, 2025 • 15min
Why clinicians must lead the health care tech revolution
Health care executive Kimberly Smith discusses her article "Why clinicians must lead health care tech innovation." Kimberly explains why clinicians, who are on the front lines of patient care, are in the unique position to solve health care's most complex challenges. As a registered wound care nurse, Kimberly has seen how technology like AI and advanced EHRs can both help and hinder clinical workflows. She argues that for health care tech to be effective, it must be developed with clinicians, not just for them, to ensure new tools ease administrative burdens and enhance patient care. This conversation explores how to bridge the gap between tech developers and frontline staff, ensuring the next wave of health care innovation is built from a clinical lens first. Learn why the future of health tech depends on the invaluable insight of clinical innovators. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Want to streamline your clinical documentation and take advantage of customizations that put you in control? What about the ability to surface information right at the point of care or automate tasks with just a click? Now, you can. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Offering an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform, Dragon Copilot can help you unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, built on a foundation of trust. Ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 13, 2025 • 17min
A question about maternal health and the rise in autism
Patient advocate and author Irene Tanzman discusses her article "A mother's question about PCOS and her son's autism." Irene shares her personal journey as a mother to a son with severe autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), exploring the challenging but necessary questions about the link between maternal PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), the modern metabolic crisis, and fetal neurodevelopment. Irene advocates for looking "upstream" at maternal health before conception, questioning if fertility treatments are addressing the underlying hormonal environment needed for optimal development. This episode dives into the realities of caregiving for severe autism, the need for better pre-conception support for women with PCOS, and the urgent call for a broader, more honest public health conversation. Learn why exploring maternal metabolic health is a critical, compassionate step toward understanding autism. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Want to streamline your clinical documentation and take advantage of customizations that put you in control? What about the ability to surface information right at the point of care or automate tasks with just a click? Now, you can. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Offering an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform, Dragon Copilot can help you unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, built on a foundation of trust. Ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 12, 2025 • 17min
Why physicians must lead the vetting of medical AI
Saurabh Gupta, an interventional cardiologist and health innovation executive, dives into why physicians must take charge of vetting medical AI. He discusses the risks of unvetted algorithms and highlights that AI should be held to the same standards as medical devices. Transparency and understanding AI's limitations are crucial, along with fostering clinician involvement in tech development. Saurabh also emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations and metrics in driving responsible AI integration into healthcare.

Nov 11, 2025 • 15min
Fixing the system that fails psychiatric patients
Psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article "The crisis in inpatient psychiatric care." In this episode, Muhamad examines the growing dysfunction within the nation's psychiatric hospital system, where patients in crisis are too often turned away or kept too long because of policy failures, financial pressures, and insurance algorithms that override clinical judgment. Drawing from two decades on the front lines, he describes the moral tension faced by psychiatrists navigating laws that punish both over- and under-admission, and insurers that cut coverage precisely when patients begin to improve. Muhamad calls for a new social contract for crisis care grounded in fairness, transparency, and dignity, where hospitals, insurers, and clinicians are all accountable to the patients they serve. Viewers will gain a clear and compassionate understanding of how reform can make psychiatric care humane, accessible, and just. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 10, 2025 • 19min
Redefining health care through agency and partnership
Patient advocates Alan P. Feren and Joyce Griggs discuss the article "Why agency and partnership are vital in modern health care." In this episode, Alan and Joyce explore how collaboration, advocacy, and shared responsibility create stronger, more effective care. Together, they unpack the four pillars of good medicine—agency, advocacy, responsibility, and partnership—and highlight how each empowers patients to play an active role in their health. Through Alan's personal story about a missed follow-up that could have had serious consequences and Joyce's perspective on navigating the system as an advocate, they reveal why mutual trust and communication are essential to safe, humane care. Viewers will learn how patients and physicians can work together to strengthen agency, support advocacy, and build the partnerships that restore confidence in modern health care. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 9, 2025 • 20min
Rebuilding the backbone of health care
Family physician Grace Yu discusses her article "The backbone of health care is breaking." In this episode, Grace reflects on the urgent decline of the primary care workforce and the growing crisis facing family medicine. She shares personal stories from more than two decades of practice—delivering babies, guiding families, and caring for patients across generations—to illustrate why strong, relationship-based primary care remains essential for equitable and effective medicine. Grace explores how debt, burnout, and institutional culture drive medical students away from primary care and calls for reforms in education, payment, and technology that honor its value. Viewers will learn how revitalizing primary care can restore trust, sustainability, and humanity in health care. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 8, 2025 • 15min
Escaping the trap of false urgency
Psychiatrist Yekaterina Angelova discusses her article "Are you addicted to false urgency?" In this episode, Yekaterina explores how modern professionals, including physicians, get caught in a cycle of constant busyness and fabricated emergencies that drain focus, health, and joy. She explains the neuroscience behind the "mere urgency effect," where our brains prioritize quick tasks over meaningful ones, and how this addiction to urgency fuels burnout and anxiety. Drawing on both research and clinical experience, Yekaterina offers practical strategies to pause, regain perspective, and break the reward cycles that keep us trapped in stress. Viewers will learn how to reclaim calm, redefine productivity, and rediscover balance in a world obsessed with doing more. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 7, 2025 • 21min
Reimagining medical education for the 21st century
Internal medicine physician Robert C. Smith discusses his article "Why medicine needs a second Flexner Report." In this episode, Robert explores how modern medical education has fallen behind the science it was built on, leaving today's physicians unprepared to address mental health, chronic disease, and prevention. He examines how the historical "mind-body split" continues to shape curricula and care delivery, calling for a new nationwide investigation—akin to Abraham Flexner's 1910 report—to ensure medicine once again aligns with the most current scientific understanding. Viewers will gain insight into how reforming physician training could restore medicine's scientific integrity, improve health outcomes, and reduce the staggering costs of inefficiency. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 6, 2025 • 18min
Why physicians must not suffer in silence
Neurologist Scott Abramson discusses his article "Why 'the best physicians' risk burnout and isolation." In this YouTube-optimized episode, Scott reflects on the ancient Talmudic teaching that warns how pride and perfectionism can become a physician's downfall. He explores how the culture of grit, self-sacrifice, and fear of vulnerability leads many doctors to burnout and emotional isolation. Drawing on decades of medical experience, Scott emphasizes humility, connection, and the courage to seek help when the weight of responsibility becomes too heavy. Viewers will gain insight into how physicians can protect their well-being, sustain empathy, and rediscover meaning in medicine by supporting one another. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Nov 5, 2025 • 21min
Understanding post-vaccination syndrome in real-world medicine
Internal medicine physician Harry Oken discusses his article "mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?" In this episode, Harry explores the science, uncertainty, and human stories surrounding post-vaccination syndrome (PVS) linked to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Drawing on clinical data and personal experience, he explains how lingering immune reactions may affect patients and why research is urgently needed to clarify causes and treatments. Harry emphasizes compassion, scientific rigor, and the importance of investigating rare outcomes without undermining public trust in vaccines. Viewers will gain a deeper understanding of PVS, ongoing studies like Yale's LISTEN project, and how medicine continues to balance innovation with safety. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise, and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended


