Episodes

Welcome to the 100th episode of Fixing Healthcare. To kick things off, hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr are taking the opportunity to examine what has improved (and, notably, hasn’t improved) in healthcare since this podcast began five years ago. Leading off, Dr. Pearl shares: Three things that are better now in healthcare, during episode 100, than during episode 1 (which aired in August 2018) Three aspects of healthcare that have become worse Three things that remain the same That di...

This “Unfiltered” episode of Fixing Healthcare welcomes back Dr. Jonathan Fisher, a respected cardiologist and renowned advocate for physician well-being. Alongside cohost Jeremy Corr, Dr. Robert Pearl kicks off the conversation by noting that a growing number of healthcare conferences focus on clinician burnout, including several events hosted by Dr. Fisher, which strive to relievie the pain doctors and nurses experience daily. And, simultaneously, Pearl cites the pain of patients who are, inc...

Returning to the Fixing Healthcare podcast for a third time is Dr. Don Berwick, here to talk about the dire need for leadership to address our nation’s many healthcare crises. Returning to the Fixing Healthcare podcast is Dr. Don Berwick. He offers frank words about the dire need for medical leadership to address our nation’s many healthcare crises. Don is the former president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and led the organization’s 100,000 Lives Campaign. He’s the ...

As Americans everywhere gather around their BBQ grills and gaze up at fireworks, Fixing Healthcare hosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl revisit an important episode from the show’s current season, featuring the brilliant author and observer Malcolm Gladwell. July 4th is a celebration of independence, but it also is a day to recognize the vital role leadership plays. Without courageous and skilled leaders, the Declaration of Independence and the founding of our nation would not have been possi...

The FDA moved forward this month with a recommendation to change the composition of Covid-19 boosters in time for fall. Whereas the current vaxx, a cocktail designed to target the original coronavirus and the Omicron strain, will soon give way to a shot aimed at the XBB.1.5 subvariant. The question on the minds of public-health experts (and likely, soon to be on the minds of patients): Will it make any difference? On this episode of “Medicine: The Truth,” cohost Dr. Robert Pearl poses two more...

U.S. healthcare is in financial crisis. Patients are feeling the pain, acutely. Nearly 90 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid at a time when medical bills have become the leading cause of bankruptcy. As a whole, the U.S. 18% of its GDP on healthcare, nearly twice as much per citizen as any other country. All this, while achieving the worst health outcomes among its 12 richest peers. As patients grapple with the cost of care, major health systems are fighting their own battles for surviva...

This Unfiltered episode of Fixing Healthcare welcomes back Dr. Jonathan Fisher, a respected cardiologist and renowned advocate for physician well-being. He joins cohosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl to discuss hard-earned lessons from his upcoming book “Just One Heart: A Cardiologist’s Guide to Healing, Health, and Happiness.” In this interview, Fisher explains the “Seven Timeless Traits of the Heart”: steadiness, wisdom, openness, wholeness, courage, lightness and warmth. Each comprises a...

Abraham Verghese is an American physician and Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine and Vice Chair of Education at Stanford University Medical School. He is also the author of four best-selling books, two memoirs and two novels. In his first Fixing Healthcare interview, Verghese talks about his newest work of fiction, “The Covenant of Water,” which sits at No. 4 on the New York Times list and is an Oprah book-club selection. The discussion takes listeners on a journey into the mind o...

Dr. Zeev Neuwirth, Clinical Chief of Care Transformation for Atrium Health, returns to the Fixing Healthcare podcast for a tell-all talk about leadership in healthcare: the good, the bad and the nonexistent. Neuwirth is the author of “Reframing Healthcare” and host of the podcast “Creating A New Healthcare.” His upcoming book “Beyond The Walls: Megatrends, Movements And Market Disruptors Transforming American Healthcare” will hit bookshelves this fall. It is, in many ways, a collection of insig...

Today’s episode of “Medicine: The Truth” (formerly “Coronavirus: The Truth”) looks at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic on the same day that the Twitter hashtag #CovidIsNotOver is trending. This month, both the U.S. government and the World Health Organization made decisive statements on the transition out of a global crisis. “It is time for countries to transition from emergency mode to managing Covid-19 alongside other infectious diseases,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus...

Since ChatGPT burst onto the tech scene in November 2022, the generative AI application has become one of the hottest topics in the world—and in the world of medicine, especially. Fixing Healthcare cohost Dr. Robert Pearl is a recognized med-tech leader whose insights and perspectives on generative AI have appeared in USA Today, MSN, Wired, Global News, MedPage Today, Modern Healthcare, Becker’s Hospital Review and on SiriusXM. In this episode of ‘Diving Deep,’ Pearl tackles your questions abo...

This Unfiltered episode of Fixing Healthcare welcomes back Dr. Jonathan Fisher, a respected cardiologist and renowned advocate for physician well-being. He joins cohosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl to discuss the lines between human and machine. ChatGPT is constantly challenging our understanding of what generative AI can accomplish. From acing medical-licensing tests to coding entire websites from simple prompts and even simulating talented musicians like Drake and Weeknd, the question n...

Malcolm Gladwell—author of “Outliers: The Story Of Success” and “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants”—knows a thing or two about good leaders and bad ones. His insights on leadership blanket his popular books, articles and speeches. He also knows a thing or two about navigating the American healthcare system. As a relatively new father and the son of a woman in her 90s, Gladwell says, “Observing people at those ends of life, you realize that what you really wan...

On today’s episode of “Medicine: The Truth” (formerly “Coronavirus: The Truth”), hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr tackle more of healthcare’s hottest issues and biggest problems. Today’s show begins with the “end” of the Covid-19 pandemic. This month, the Biden administration signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to end the national emergency declaration that began in March 2020 under then-president Trump. Pearl points out that the official White House notice brought the pandemic t...

Healthcare regulations have played an essential role in our nation’s health and safety. The FDA has, historically, protected the public from harmful food and medications. The DEA has prevented and investigated illicit drugs. CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, has regulated the healthcare system for seniors and people in need. Fixing Healthcare cohosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr discuss the role of regulators in the context of modern-day healthcare. They find that these regulatory...

The Fixing Healthcare podcast welcomes back Ian Morrison. He is a globalist, futurist and popular returning guest who, in Season 1, taught us that “every healthcare system sucks in its own unique way.” Now in Season 8, podcast cohosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl ask Ian to focus on leadership—how doctors, government officials and others can bring about meaningful change in the U.S. healthcare system. He highlights leaders who have driven healthcare improvement and ones who have stood in th...

This Unfiltered episode of Fixing Healthcare features Dr. Jonathan Fisher, a respected cardiologist and renowned advocate for physician well-being. He joins cohosts Jeremy Corr and Dr. Robert Pearl to discuss a pair of difficult topics in medicine: death and love. To begin, Dr. Pearl asks Dr. Fisher to elaborate on why physicians find it so difficult to accept death as a natural part of life. Later, Pearl describes a patient who suffered greatly as a result of physicians continuing to provide t...

On today’s episode of “Medicine: The Truth” (formerly “Coronavirus: The Truth”), hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr tackle more of healthcare’s hottest issues and biggest problems. In this show, the hosts discuss the promise (and pitfalls) of generative AI and its future applications in medicine. Are patients ready to get their diagnoses and treatment plans from something (like ChatGPT) rather than someone (their doctor)? The conversation then shifts to the monopolistic controls of drug ma...

Fixing Healthcare cohost Dr. Robert Pearl has long been a go-to resource on all-things AI in medicine. His recent insights and perspectives on ChatGPT have appeared in USA Today, MedPage Today, Forbes and other outlets. In this episode of Diving Deep, Jeremy Corr asks Pearl about this new and highly controversial technology. How might it improve hospital care, medical education and patient health – and what are the potential pitfalls? That conversation is immediately followed by a familiar topi...

In this episode, Dr. Robert Pearl fields questions from Fixing Healthcare co-host Jeremy Corr about Pearl’s experiences as a healthcare leader, educator, author and columnist. This season’s focus: How better, bolder leadership can fix American healthcare. Few know better than Pearl how to turn a struggling healthcare enterprise into a category frontrunner. Under his leadership, Pearl turned Kaiser Permanente into a leader in healthcare technology, quality and patient satisfaction—all while red...

About 15 years ago, Dr. James Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant, was diagnosed with cancer. Throughout his treatment, he experienced the kind of fragmented, low-tech care that too many Americans accept as normal. After his recovery, Chen set out to create a new, better primary care system. Today, his sons Christopher and Gordon Chen carry forth their father’s mission, providing underserved patients (primarily low-income seniors managing multiple chronic conditions) with a level of concierge-style car...

On today’s episode of “Medicine: The Truth” (formerly “Coronavirus: The Truth”), hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr tackle healthcare’s hottest issues and biggest problems. The show begins with a question: Why, according to the Commonwealth Fund, is American healthcare once again in last place, lagging its global peers? For the answer, Dr. Pearl borrows from the world of sports. Whether it’s “blocking and tackling” in football or “the plays you should make” in baseball, American healthcare ...

In any industry, too much market consolidation limits competition, choice and access to goods and services, all of which drives up prices. But there’s another—often overlooked—consequence. Market leaders that grow too powerful become complacent. And, when that happens, innovation dies. Healthcare is a prime example. Welcome to Diving Deep. Each month, this show probes some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems, delivering thoughtful analysis and solutions. Today, hosts ...

Valentine’s Day is here—a time to celebrate the heart. In this episode, Drs. Robert Pearl and Zubin Damania (aka ZDoggMD) discuss a series of studies confirming that interpersonal relationships (with friends, family, etc.) have the biggest impact on life expectancy and overall wellness. This raises the question: Is there a role for medicine in addressing this most vital component of health? At Turntable Health, the primary-care venture Dr. Z founded in Las Vegas, the traditional “waiting room”...