CareTalk: Healthcare. Unfiltered.

Send us Fan Mail The behavioral health crisis is in full swing.  It’s well known that there’s a shortage of providers. But that’s just the first step. We also need to make sure people are getting the right care for them, that quality is measured and tracked, and that patients have long term support on their care journeys. Christina Mainelli (CEO, Quartet Health) joins us to discuss how Quartet is...

Send us Fan Mail The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute rocked the cancer world this month by dropping its long standing partner, Brigham and Women’s in favor of building a new cancer hospital with Beth Israel. What does it mean for patients, physicians and health care costs? Is this just a local Boston story or is there broader meaning for the US healthcare system? ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly p...

Send us Fan Mail Affordability, access, and quality are often referred to as the Iron Triangle of healthcare. There are tradeoffs among them and you can improve one or two, but not all three. Seth Rainford (Co-Founder & President, Digital Diagnostics) joins us to discuss how artificial intelligence can break that tradeoff and lead to a new and golden era of medical diagnosis and treatment. ABO...

Send us Fan Mail Opioid overdoses killed more than 100,000 people in the US last year, more than traffic accidents and suicides combined. Fentanyl is a major culprit, often turning a planned recreational high into sudden death. Now Naloxone –the generic name for Narcan—is available over the counter. Will the good drug stop the bad drug from killing people? And should you carry Narcan yourself? We’...

Send us Fan Mail Misinformation has always plagued healthcare, but it’s gotten worse recently.  Dr. Geeta Nayyar (author, Dead Wrong: Diagnosing and Treating Healthcare’s Misinformation Illness) joins the show discuss the impact of healthcare's misinformation problem and what steps can be taken to treat it. ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of...

Send us Fan Mail Prior authorization. It’s a dreaded phrase for patients and providers alike. Now some health plans like Cigna say they’re cutting back on the practice, and the feds are contemplating restrictions, too. What is prior authorization in healthcare? And can the US healthcare system live without it? ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of t...

Send us Fan Mail After incredible growth during the pandemic, digital health is adjusting to its own kind of new normal. Interest remains strong, deals are flowing and artificial intelligence is making its mark.  But the market is less frothy –or maybe it has even overreacted.  Friend of the show, Jessica DaMassa, (Host, WTF Health),  joins us again to talk about the digital health trends and chal...

Send us Fan Mail Anupam B. Jena (Host of Freakonomics MD) joins CareTalk to talk about the hidden side of medicine and how unexpected—but predictable—events can profoundly affect our health. ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and...

Send us Fan Mail Sarcomas are cancers of the connective tissues, with more than 15,000 new cases and 7000 deaths in the US every year. Sarcomas are often diagnosed when they’re too late to treat effectively, leading to poor outcomes. As Sarcoma Awareness Month 2023 concludes, Dr. James C. Wittig (Medical Director, Orthopedic Oncology, Atlantic Health System) joins CareTalk to discuss the importanc...

Send us Fan Mail Stacey Richter (Host, Relentless Health Value podcast) joins CareTalk to discuss how the healthcare industry can put patients over profits by balancing doing well vs. doing good. ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance)...

Send us Fan Mail We made some bold and not so bold predictions about healthcare at the start of the year.  Now that we're halfway through 2023, it’s a good time for a mid-year reality check to see what’s come true, where we missed the mark, and what we just plain didn’t think about.  ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare indus...

Send us Fan Mail Access to the birth control pill is becoming easier, now that FDA has approved an over the counter version of a product that’s been available by prescription since 1973.  On this episode of CareTalk, John and David discuss why this move is so significant and why it took so long to get here. Dive deeper into this episode and read our report, OTC Birth Control in the US: What to Kno...

Send us Fan Mail FDA just approved Leqembi, a drug to slow the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s patients, and Medicare has agreed to pay for it. Is it time for patients, families and physicians to be excited? Or do we need to temper our hopes? Dive deeper into this episode and read our report, Leqembi: What to Know About the New Alzheimer's Drug. https://www.caretalkpodcast.com/post/leqembi-w...

Send us Fan Mail Google has been making a lot of noise in the healthcare space lately. In this episode of CareTalk, John and David take a look at all of Google’s healthcare moves: What’s working? What’s not? And what’s next? Dive deeper into this episode and read our report, Google’s Healthcare Revolution. https://www.caretalkpodcast.com/post/google-s-healthcare-revolution ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk...

Send us Fan Mail Will the healthcare staffing crisis ever end? We were talking about shortages five years ago and then things really went crazy during the pandemic. But even as a lot of the economy has returned to normal, healthcare workers are still in very short supply.  Do we just have to wait a little longer, or is the shortage of healthcare workers going to be with us forever? ABOUT CARETALK...

Send us Fan Mail More than a million people –including hundreds of thousands of children-- lost Medicaid coverage in the last few weeks as the pandemic-era continuous coverage policy ended. In this episode of CareTalk, John Driscoll and David Williams unpack what's going on with Medicaid redetermination in the US. ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S....

Send us Fan Mail Medical residents and fellows at Mass General Brigham just voted overwhelmingly to form a union. Apparently these new physicians aren’t going to put up with the low pay and tough working conditions that their predecessors went through. Unionization is happening all over the place. But what does it mean for patient care, hospital finances, physician training, and relationships betw...

Send us Fan Mail Independent physician practices are facing an uphill battle in an era where hospitals are growing increasingly larger. With their vast resources and extensive networks, hospitals often hold a considerable advantage when it comes to negotiating contracts with insurance companies and leveraging economies of scale. This discrepancy can lead to a significant disadvantage for independe...

Send us Fan Mail Congress’s failure to raise the debt limit has brought the US perilously close to default. Republicans have insisted on major cuts to federal spending –including in healthcare—in exchange for their votes. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked out an agreement in principle, which gives in, at least partially, to the GOP demands while preserving Democratic prio...

Send us Fan Mail Violent attacks against healthcare workers are rising, leading some hospitals to launch their own police forces. Enhanced security and faster response times sound great. But what about patient rights, potential abuses, and the financial burden at a time when hospital finances are strained? In this episode of CareTalk, John and David examine the rise of hospital police forces and d...

Send us Fan Mail The Adderall shortage is causing hardships for patients and families relying on the medication to manage ADHD. The surge in ADHD diagnoses and telemedicine prescriptions during the public health emergency, along with manufacturing disruptions, contribute to the problem. Initially, the federal government planned to reduce controlled substance availability through telemedicine. Howe...

Send us Fan Mail Surgeon General Vivek Murphy recently issued an advisory calling it an epidemic. Things were bad enough before the pandemic but they got worse, with more than half of people reporting loneliness according to some surveys. There are solutions out there, but it’s a mixed bag. Social media might help make connections but too often it has the opposite effect. And we’re just getting st...

Send us Fan Mail As healthcare increasingly relies on technology, it has become even more susceptible to cyber threats, making cybersecurity a major area of concern for the industry. In this episode of CareTalk, John and David examine the major cybersecurity risks in healthcare and what businesses can do to protect themselves and their customers. TOPICS (0:46) How do we navigate in a world where a...

Send us Fan Mail It finally happened! CareTalk and Dr. Eric Bricker (AHealthcareZ), two titans of healthcare YouTube, join forces to take on some of the juiciest topics in healthcare finance and more. 🎙️Providers taking on risk: who’s getting it right? 🎙️Are digital health startups able to make a difference? 🎙️Health insurers decreasing prior authorization - is it for real or for show? 🎙️Is it pra...

Send us Fan Mail Rural communities have fewer doctors, nurses and medical facilities per person than the country as a whole. Some rural hospitals have closed, leaving large geographic areas without local services. And the population is older, sicker, more likely to have unhealthy habits like tobacco use and less likely to have access to reliable transportation to get to their appointments. Rural h...