Doctor Friends

Christian and Tomás interview Joshua, a medical student focused on informatics, immunology, and improving trust and communication in healthcare. Josh describes how early exposure his oncologist father's work and an interest in science led him to medicine. He shares a clinical encounter in which a patient’s narrative conflicted with her chart history, prompting discussion about why patients might o...

Tomás, Christian and Rosny interview Michael, an emergency physician and healthcare administrator who founded a major public sector physician union in California. Emphasizing the contrast between public and private legal frameworks, Michael outlines what a union is, the history of unionisation in the US and argues for the advantages of joining one as a physician. The conversation highlights how ph...

Why do people turn to chatbots when seeking medical advice? Is it due to cost, out-of-hours access or simply wanting to feel heard? Christian, Tomás and Grace discuss why patients and clinicians are increasingly using Large Language Models (LLMs) in medical contexts and what that means for the American healthcare system. The doctors examine how certain attributes of LLMs such as sycophancy and eng...

In this episode of Doctor Friends, emergency physicians Rosny, Christian, Tomás and Grace are joined by Dr. Taylor Nichols, MD – an addiction medicine specialist. The discussion covers substance use disorders and the concept of harm reduction. Taylor shares insights into the impact of drug use on medical practice, his experiences in emergency medicine and the importance of approaching substance us...

In this festive season finale, emergency physicians Grace, Christian, Tomás, and Rosny review the highs and lows of 2025 and share their “hot cakes” for the coming year. The doctors reflect on personal milestones alongside how the wider challenges of American healthcare impact their work. The episode also features their producer Ilia for a new segment, Asking for a Friend, answering listener quest...

Why is the proliferation of quick fixes such as detoxes, fad diets and weight loss injections so prevalent online? Is it really a shortcut to getting fitter and healthier? Why is the focus shifting onto these products and services when what people actually need are structural changes like access to affordable housing, child care, clean air and healthy food? In this episode of the Doctor Friends po...

“There is nothing more profitable in our society today than a sick child, because all of these entities are making money on him: the insurance companies, the hospitals, the medical cartel, the pharmaceutical companies have lifetime annuities. They don’t want to kill them, they want them sick for the rest of their lives.” – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. In this episode Christian, Grace and Tomás take on t...

Healthcare navigation is difficult. Even for doctors who are in the thick of it, certain aspects of the system can feel messy and tumultuous. In this episode of Doctor Friends, emergency physicians Tomás, Grace and Christian highlight issues like scheduling difficulties, insurance barriers and the high administrative burden on both patients and providers, while Rosny – "the Joe Rogan of the left"...

“I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about and express it in numbers you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind.” – Lord Kelvin In this episode, Christian, Rana, Carl and Michelle delve into quality measures and metrics within emergency medicine. They explore the o...

In this episode, emergency physicians Christian, Rosny and Grace discuss the pervasive issue of burnout in the medical profession. They address the history and roots of burnout, starting from its first mention in the 1970s to its institutional acknowledgment in the 2010s.  The conversation highlights the factors contributing to burnout, such as work-life imbalance, moral injury, structural in...

Welcome back to Doctor Friends, a podcast in which a group of friends, who happen to be doctors, explore issues within the American healthcare system. This week Tomás, Christian and Grace welcome the physician executive Kai, and geriatrics, palliative care and addiction medicine specialist Lauren to discuss their experiences and challenges in dealing with death and grief in medical practice. Kai a...

Welcome to the Doctor Friends podcast in which a group of friends, who happen to be doctors, discuss issues in American healthcare.  This first episode introduces Grace, Christian and Tomás who reflect on years of personal and professional experience and ask if medicine is a field worth going into. They share their backgrounds, why they’re drawn to medicine and outline their frustrations with...