Medical oncologist, geriatrician, and physician scientist GJ van Londen and Chief of Genetic and Genomic Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Gerald Vockley discuss the article "FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients." GJ and Gerald explore the complex regulatory impasse where the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied standard approval for elamipretide despite a positive advisory committee vote, creating a financial crisis that threatens to cut off supply for everyone. GJ shares his personal journey from treating cancer to living with primary mitochondrial myopathy, while the conversation emphasizes the critical need for the agency to use the flexibility granted by the Orphan Drug Act to save a treatment that has already proven its worth. Join us to understand the life-or-death stakes hidden behind administrative decisions.

This episode is presented by Scholar Advising, a fee-only financial advising firm specializing in providing advice for DIY investors. If you want clear, actionable strategies and confidence that your financial decisions are built on objective advice without AUM fees or commissions, Scholar is designed for you. Physicians often navigate complex compensation structures, including W-2 income, 1099 work, production bonuses, and practice ownership. Scholar's highly credentialed advisors guide high-earners through decisions like optimizing investments for long-term tax efficiency and expert strategies for financial independence. Every recommendation is tailored to the financial realities physicians face.

VISIT SPONSOR → https://scholaradvising.com/kevinmd

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RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

President and chief executive officer of the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) Leah M. Howard discusses her article "Pharmacy benefit manager reform vs. direct drug plans." Leah analyzes the recent emergence of direct-purchase drug programs and argues that while innovative thinking is welcome, it cannot replace the need for deep systemic change. She advocates for bipartisan legislative solutions such as the Safe Step Act to address the root causes of high costs in the U.S. health care system rather than relying on siloed fixes that may not help everyone. The conversation emphasizes that true relief for patients with chronic diseases requires transparent pharmacy benefit manager reform and a move away from profit-driven incentives that punish the sick. Join us to learn how we can push for lasting policies that prioritize patient health over corporate profits.

This episode is presented by Scholar Advising, a fee-only financial advising firm specializing in providing advice for DIY investors. If you want clear, actionable strategies and confidence that your financial decisions are built on objective advice without AUM fees or commissions, Scholar is designed for you. Physicians often navigate complex compensation structures, including W-2 income, 1099 work, production bonuses, and practice ownership. Scholar's highly credentialed advisors guide high-earners through decisions like optimizing investments for long-term tax efficiency and expert strategies for financial independence. Every recommendation is tailored to the financial realities physicians face.

VISIT SPONSOR → https://scholaradvising.com/kevinmd

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Premedical student Samah Khan discusses her article "The crisis of physician shortages globally." Samah draws a powerful parallel between the medical exodus in Pakistan and the doctor deserts of California's Central Valley, revealing how structural neglect drives providers away from the communities that need them most. She explores the root causes of this brain drain, from low wages to limited residency spots, and argues that health care systems must reshape their values to retain talent. The conversation highlights promising solutions like local recruitment tracks while emphasizing that without systemic change, patients will continue to suffer the cost of delayed care. Join us to understand why doctors leave and how we can anchor them back home.

This episode is presented by Scholar Advising, a fee-only financial advising firm specializing in providing advice for DIY investors. If you want clear, actionable strategies and confidence that your financial decisions are built on objective advice without AUM fees or commissions, Scholar is designed for you. Physicians often navigate complex compensation structures, including W-2 income, 1099 work, production bonuses, and practice ownership. Scholar's highly credentialed advisors guide high-earners through decisions like optimizing investments for long-term tax efficiency and expert strategies for financial independence. Every recommendation is tailored to the financial realities physicians face.

VISIT SPONSOR → https://scholaradvising.com/kevinmd

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

We have a special sponsored episode from MagMutual. We welcome William Kanich. He's an emergency physician and currently the executive chairperson of MagMutual Insurance Company. We explore how physicians can navigate unexpected medical outcomes while preserving trust with their patients. Through Dr. Kanich's clinical and leadership experience, the conversation examines common challenges, practical approaches, and the role of structured support programs like the Preserve Program. The discussion also looks ahead to how the healthcare industry can continue evolving to better support physicians in maintaining strong patient relationships.

VISIT SPONSOR → https://www.magmutual.com/

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Health care executive Jason Griffin discusses his article "The digital divide in rural health care." Jason explains how rural providers in the U.S. face critical infrastructure failures and staffing shortages that threaten their ability to serve communities. He explores why standard one-size-fits-all technological solutions often fail these hospitals and advocates for a collaborative model that prioritizes long-term strategic partnerships over temporary fixes. The conversation highlights the economic importance of keeping rural facilities open and the urgent need to listen to local leaders to bridge the digital gap effectively. Join us to learn how we can build resilient systems that ensure equitable access for everyone.

This episode is presented by Scholar Advising, a fee-only financial advising firm specializing in providing advice for DIY investors. If you want clear, actionable strategies and confidence that your financial decisions are built on objective advice without AUM fees or commissions, Scholar is designed for you. Physicians often navigate complex compensation structures, including W-2 income, 1099 work, production bonuses, and practice ownership. Scholar's highly credentialed advisors guide high-earners through decisions like optimizing investments for long-term tax efficiency and expert strategies for financial independence. Every recommendation is tailored to the financial realities physicians face.

VISIT SPONSOR → https://scholaradvising.com/kevinmd

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Physician executive Christina Johns discusses her article "Modernizing health care with AI and workflow." Christina explains how clinicians in the U.S. are facing unprecedented burnout due to administrative burdens that detract from patient care. She explores how artificial intelligence can serve as a supportive tool rather than a replacement by streamlining documentation and coding tasks to allow for more meaningful doctor-patient interactions. The conversation highlights the importance of moving away from fragmented point solutions toward a comprehensive care enablement platform that modernizes operations and restores the human connection in medicine. Join us to discover how technology can ethically revitalize the medical profession.

This episode is presented by Scholar Advising, a fee-only financial advising firm specializing in providing advice for DIY investors. If you want clear, actionable strategies and confidence that your financial decisions are built on objective advice without AUM fees or commissions, Scholar is designed for you. Physicians often navigate complex compensation structures, including W-2 income, 1099 work, production bonuses, and practice ownership. Scholar's highly credentialed advisors guide high-earners through decisions like optimizing investments for long-term tax efficiency and expert strategies for financial independence. Every recommendation is tailored to the financial realities physicians face.

VISIT SPONSOR → https://scholaradvising.com/kevinmd

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Emergency physician Kenneth Ro discusses his article "Why midlife men feel unanchored and exhausted." Kenneth explains why men between 40 and 60 often visit clinics requesting hormone testing when they are actually suffering from a profound loss of identity and purpose. He distinguishes being unanchored from clinical depression and highlights how successful professionals like executives and veterans often face a silent crisis that standard medical metrics cannot measure. The conversation explores the need for physicians to look beyond biomarkers to address the existential erosion occurring behind closed doors. Medicine must evolve to help men rewrite their stories for the second half of life rather than just managing their decline.

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Board-certified pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article "The burden of the eldest daughter." Jessie explores the unique psychological weight carried by firstborn women who are taught early on to hold everything together at the cost of their own well-being. She connects this childhood role to the high rates of burnout among women in health care where hyper-preparedness and self-sacrifice are rewarded until the body eventually breaks down. The conversation examines how the eldest daughter effect creates a cycle of over-responsibility that leads to resentment and even physical illness. Healing begins when we learn to release the need to be indispensable and start saying yes only when it aligns with our own needs.

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended