43cc

The discussion about work structure in medicine can easily descend into a toxic altruism-fueled race to the bottom, but we think there's more to it.  Matt and Wendy wrestle with whether the quest for a work-life balance should have more to do with how  we work, rather than  how long we work.

One year, 30+ episodes, thousands of downloads, dozens of guests, and countless f-bombs.  We're celebrating our first anniversary in this special episode addressing listener emails, reviewing some of the most popular episodes in year one, and toasting the best part of our show: you.

The 2024 election is over.  Navigating the results has just begun.  Our advice?  Ski the gaps.   To learn more about some of the ideas mentioned in this episode, check out Jennifer Pahlka on Substack, and Ezra Klein in the New York Times.

Are our "free markets" truly free? How can we achieve a balanced healthcare economy when we privatize profits but socialize losses? Andrew Leigh, member of the Australian House of Representatives and professor of economics at Australian National University, joins us to talk about how "economics can be defined as a social science that studies how people maximize their well-being in the face of scar...

We're bringing you into the 'room where it happens' and broadcasting a panel discussion that we recorded live at the PHA leadership conference in Naples, Florida last month. Moderated by Dutch Rojas, speakers Mike Lipomi and our own Wendy Dean led a rousing conversation on what physician-led healthcare means, and what doctors and patients lose when we don't have control over care.

Successfully operating an independent hospital in a sea of large hospital systems is no easy task. How do you maintain negotiating power? How do you retain staff? How do you keep private equity at bay? Kurt Barwis, President and CEO of Bristol Health in Bristol, CT, joins us to talk about how to stand out - and stand up - for his hospital's independence, and his community.

Right now, too many of us feel helpless to change the healthcare and insurance systems.  Patients feel powerless, and physicians feel betrayed. But one proven way to instigate change is to create and facilitate the structures needed to help physicians become, and stay, independent from the corporate practice of medicine.  Recorded outside (and partially in the rain) in front of a live audience at...

To be a part of something bigger than yourself is one of life's greatest gifts, and when the daily acts of life and work are challenged by love and loss it's the community that we've build around ourselves that gets us through.

43cc is proud to share this "Turn on the Lights" episode focused on how can health care organizations align their values to support both high-quality patient care and the well-being of their staff.  Wendy Dean, MD,  Eileen Barrett, MD, and J. Corey Feist, Esq., bring personal stories and professional insights on the rise of moral injury, systemic challenges, and legislative efforts to make meaning...

Dr. Don Berwick brings decades of healthcare leadership to a conversation with Matt and Wendy about the effect of social, moral, and structural determinants of health on the physician experience. He offers a welcome reminder of the essential good at the heart of our profession and implores us to work together for the change we wish to see.

AI in medicine is here to stay.  But do we like it?  In the first of many episodes to come on this topic, Wendy and Matt discuss AI's growing influence in healthcare, and ask, "Does AI help or hurt the patient/physician experience, and what can we do about it either way?"

Dr. Pedja Stojicic, Executive Director of People Power Health, and Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has led movements that empowered clinicians and toppled governments. Now he teaches clinicians those activism skills - story-telling, community organizing, and building social movements.

"Another Round" offers short, follow-up news and commentary on stories 43cc has covered in the past. In this episode, Wendy and Matt revisit noncompetes and some spicy Steward Health Care news.

Changing healthcare can feel like an insurmountable task. But when change isn't limited to what's within an individual's control, and when the scale of change is massive and urgent, as is the case in healthcare right now, coming together is essential. Matt and Wendy talk about how to break down the process of change so it's within our grasp - starting with getting off our chairs and getting mad as...

The Surgery Center of Oklahoma opened in 1997 with one key goal: make all medical fees predictable, transparent, and complete - no surprises.  Dr. Keith Smith, co-founder of the Surgery Center, joins us to talk about his free market approach to medical service delivery, and how physicians across the country can apply his model to their practice.

Once upon a time, physicians were in charge of their profession and how they cared for their patients. Our dedication to medicine hasn't changed, so why do so many of us feel we're no longer holding the reins? If doctors aren't in charge, who is?

Physician orgs are splintering into ever narrower specialty groups. Is there one voice that can unite us and advocate for change? The American Medical Association, once the preeminent physicians organization in the US, has faced declining membership and increased criticism for years. Dr. Michael Suk, the new Chair of the AMA Board of Trustees, joins us to share the new 5 point plan for how AMA wil...

"Another Round", a new, bonus addition to 43cc, offers short, follow-up news and commentary on stories we've reported on in the past.  In this episode, Wendy and Matt give an update on Steward Health Care.

What do we lose, as physicians and as patients, when society no longer treats medicine as a profession?  What are the moral, ethical, and practical consequences of treating healthcare practitioners as shift workers?  Matt and Wendy dive into a deep, and at times emotional, conversation about what it means to be a medical professional.

Why is private equity trying to take over healthcare? And what does the law have to say about it? Erin C. Fuse Brown, an expert on private-equity investment in healthcare and Professor of Health Services, Policy & Management at Brown University, joins us to talk about the official - and unofficial - corporate practice of medicine from a legal perspective. Have a rant of your own on this topic?  Th...

Thirty million Americans are bound by noncompetes... or are they? A new FTC ruling signals a seismic shift in favor of physicians and patients, and we're all for it. Matt and Wendy break down all 500 pages of what banning noncompetes could mean for healthcare, and the contractual language doctors still need to look out for buried in the fine print.

A massive health system in the Northeast on the brink of collapse, private equity waiting (hiding?) in the wings, and hundreds of thousands of patients at risk of losing care?  We need to talk about Steward Health.

To put it bluntly, private equity is laundering their greed through the good will of healthcare. Brendan Ballou, a federal prosecutor who served as Special Counsel for Private Equity in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division and author of "Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America", joins us to talk about how PE has taken over healthcare, and what we can do about it.   Have a story to...

What happens when "Feelings Bro" and "A Guy Who's Good At Science and Can Lift 300lbs Directly Over His Head" meets Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken?  Laughs, of course, but also a deadly serious conversation about how to use humor and insight not just to entertain, but to mobilize change in the US healthcare system.

Is it a podcast?  A movement?  A random show title that Wendy came up with because she couldn't think of anything else?  What the f**k does "43cc" actually mean?!?  Matt and Wendy explain what "43cc" is, but more importantly, why  it is .