Healthcare Unfiltered

Samer Al Hadidi (@HadidiSamer), MD, assistant professor in the multiple myeloma program, University of Arkansas, shares his own human experience of receiving an unfortunate diagnosis as an immigrant going through residency and through fellowship, all while dealing with the loss of a close relative. Dr. Al Hadidi recounts the dilemma he had as an immigrant in the US on a visa and deciding whether to prioritize his health or his medical training, the way things escalated while progressing through his fellowship, how the pandemic further complicated travel opportunities for immigrant trainees and HCPs, and many more unfortunate details in his story to date. There is much to be learned and lessons to be taken from Dr. Al Hadidi’s story, and at the very least, it’s an emotional interview that reminds us to count our blessings during this holiday season. Read Dr. Al Hadidi’s published commentary in ASCO Connection https://connection.asco.org/blogs/vacation Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

To debate the utility and appropriateness of real-world evidence against clinical trials for treating patients with hematologic malignancies, Chadi welcomes back Aaron Goodman (@AaronGoodman33), MD, hematologist, University of California San Diego, and Alan Skarbnik (@ASkarbnik), MD, director of the lymphoma and CLL program, Novant Health (Charlotte, NC), as well as invites first-time guest Liz Brem (@DrLizBrem), MD, assistant clinical professor of hematology, UC Irvine. Can RCT designers ever escape inherent bias? Will we ever enroll a more diverse, higher volume patient population in clinical trials? Who has the right to criticize a clinical trial design? The group uses a phase I study published in Lancet Hematology to frame their arguments in this riveting, hotly contested discussion. Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Chadi hosts Graham Collins (@graham74GC), MBBS, MA, MRCP, FRCPath, DPhil, hematology consultant in the UK, for a broad discussion aimed to simplify an often complicated disease: Hodgkin lymphoma. The duo talk about early-stage disease categorizing, treatment considerations for each stage, reasonable clinical trial endpoints of practice-changing potential, adverse effects resulting from intensive treatments, notable clinical trials and novel treatment approaches, and programs for young adult survivors. This episode is a perfect refresher to get you in the spirit for the ASH Annual Meeting – just a few weeks away! Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Chadi re-invites Dave Feldman (@DaveKeto), senior software engineer and entrepreneur, and Ethan Weiss (@ethanjweiss), MD, cardiologist at UC San Francisco, to rehash a Twitter argument on secondary prevention for heart attacks for patients with high LDL. Should patients receive statins or should they not? What does the data show and where is the controversy, if any? How does diet play a role? What about the infamous KETO diet? The guests discuss a couple of realistic hypothetical scenarios with different LDL receptor and metabolism variables. Dave shares an IRB-approved trial that he is leading to better understand high LDL that emerges from Keto and its impact on cardiac atherosclerotic disease. This was a high-spirited debate where the host said so little and the guests were arguing respectfully about various views. Will there be a common ground? You must listen to find out. Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, Anheuser Busch Endowed Chair in Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, provides the condensed oral history of thoracic oncology – dating from the late 1990s to the present day. Chadi and Dr. Govindan discuss how stage III chemoradiation and PET scans were new strategies before the turn of the century, the introduction of gefitinib as a pivotal moment in the treatment paradigm, the doors opening for EGFR inhibitors, the discovery of ALK as a targetable mutation, how genome sequencing in the 2010s opened additional targets, PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibition, and so much more. Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Adam Stern (@AdamPhilipStern), MD, neuropsychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, joins the show to discuss his book “Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training” and the struggles that psychiatry trainees face today. Dr. Stern hits on an unexpected diagnosis he was given three years ago, dealing with imposter syndrome, the cruelty of survival rates when given to individual patients, anecdotes in the book that highlight the nuances of psychiatry training, the need for human connection while practicing, advice for coming out of training successfully, and so much more in this invigorating conversation. Order Dr. Stern’s book “Committed.” https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/committed/9780358434733 Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Leah Houston (@LeahHoustonMD), MD, an emergency physician and founder of HPEC (@HPECid) as well as Evercred, explains blockchain as a decentralizer of physician and patient data and how it will be applied ubiquitously across the healthcare system. Dr. Houston shares and makes the case for how blockchain stores medical data and keeps the ownership in the hands of physicians, offers a solution to issuing and maintaining digital credentials for healthcare professionals, and highlights how physician interest and involvement are crucial to “reclaiming ownership of the profession and our individual identities.” Visit the HPEC website to receive your invitation. https://www.hpec.io/ Visit Dr. Houston’s Evercred website. https://www.evercred.com/ Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Ben Mazer (@BenMazer), MD, anatomic and clinical pathologist at Yale New Haven Hospital, joins Chadi to recap the rise and fall of the now infamous Theranos – a private lifestyle and healthcare startup company that claimed to have innovative, revolutionary blood testing technology that was ultimately proven ineffective. Dr. Mazer explains how Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the company, allegedly engaged in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors, doctors, and patients. Fast forward to the present day and the Theranos trial is well underway. This episode provides all of the background information and context as the trial continues to unfold. You won’t want to miss it. Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Marion Mass (@mass_marion), MD, practicing pediatrician and co-founder of Practicing Physicians of America, joins the show to share her unique ideas about how to reduce healthcare costs while simultaneously improving access to care. She describes her “sentinel moment” in which she realized that physicians are no longer the primary medical advocates for their patients and how this led her to founding a grassroots physician organization dedicated to patient advocacy. The conversation takes interesting turns into hospital fines for price transparency, patient copays and premiums, Medicare, direct primary care, pharmacy benefit managers, and so much more. Read the Practicing Physicians of America’s position paper on their discussed legislative requests. https://www.physiciansforreform.org/files/5015/5406/4369/Reducing_Cost_and_Waste_in_American_Medicine.pdf Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA

Fadlo Khouri (@DrFadloKhuri), MD, hematologist and medical oncologist, and president of the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), is asked to join the show after a recent announcement from the University regarding a fuel shortage at its hospital. Dr. Khouri explains how Lebanon’s economic downturn is affecting hospitals – from the inability to supply hospitals with air conditioning to cancer therapies. He also gives a glimpse of a day in the life of the AUB president, how he approaches politics as a University president in the Middle East, the state of affairs of the University, and how the faculty and student body has changed and continues to change to this day. Check out Chadi’s website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA