Heart of Medicine

Obesity is a disease that patients “wear” on the outside of their bodies, making it unlike most other medical conditions. And…Physicians could never have imagined a time when patients came into the office asking them for medications. Shockingly... the era of weight loss medications (GLP1s, semaglutide, tirzepatide) has ushered in one of the biggest philosophical shifts in medicine, with both patie...

We go to medical school and learn the science of illnesses. We learn how to diagnose and treat diseases, how to take a clinical history and do a physical examination on our patients. But no one teaches doctors and healthcare providers about how the environment in which we practice medicine is so heavily influenced by health policy and politicians, and how it could change overnight!   The Big Beaut...

As doctors, we feel we are omnipotent. We bring people back from cardiac arrests, car accidents, we stop their heart for open heart surgery and then start it again. We play God. And yet, there is one disease that always humbles us… stroke. It’s an outcome that some fear worse than death. Yet, it’s something that is rising in prevalence yet the science is not keeping up as fast as it should. In thi...

In this episode of HeART of Medicine, hear Dr. Kohli and Dr. Jazaeri both discuss their own struggles with being patients recently and even joke about how doctors are hypocrites when it comes to following doctor’s orders. This heartfelt episode explores how the “role reversal” of doctors becoming patients impacts both physicians and their patients.  Does it make them better doctors? Should being a...

What if a single infusion could result in lifelong lowering of your cholesterol and reduction of heart disease? What if this infusion could “turn off” a single cholesterol gene through gene editing that didn’t affect any other functions? Sounds like a good sci-fi movie, doesn’t it? Well… it’s the future of medicine and we are a LOT closer than you think. In this incredibly inspiring episode of HeA...

Can you believe that the  election is under 2 months away? Have you thought about what the most controversial healthcare related topics will be and where you stand on them?  In this election-focused episode of HeART of Medicine, Cardiologist and TV personality Dr. Payal Kohli and Vascular Surgeon Dr. Omid Jazaeri discuss the hottest and most polarizing public health topics in the upcoming election...

The whole world has an opinion on whether President Biden (or any older Presidential candidate) should be required to have mandatory cognitive testing… what’s yours? In this episode of HeART of Medicine, Dr. Payal Kohli and special guest Dr. Scott Humphreys, who is a psychiatrist and a medical director at Colorado Physician Health Program, debate whether doctors should have mandatory, scheduled co...

You won’t want to miss the extra “spicy” episode of HeART of Medicine, where Dr. Payal Kohli and Dr. Omid Jazaeri discuss “cancel culture” and “feedback ninjas” in medicine. Has fear of “cancel culture” created an environment where doctors are afraid to speak up when trainees need feedback to grow and most people just end up looking the other way? Is the feedback process being “weaponized” by medi...

The last time you went to the emergency room or to a doctor’s office, were you surprised to be seen by a Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistants/Associate only rather than a physician or a team of people? Does it seem like there are more and more of these types of encounters in medicine, where the doctor isn’t even part of the visit? Historically, the role of a NP and PA had been developed to i...

In this emotionally-charged episode, Dr. Payal Kohli discusses the latest medical-legal-political decisions with her recurring guest Dr. Jazaeri.  Whether it is banning abortions, classifying embryos as children or the safety and efficacy of masking and the COVID vaccines, a series of recent health policy issues have changed the way physicians practice at the bedside. These stones have been thrown...

HeART of Medicine host Dr. Kohli kicks off the new year with an episode about something nearly every patient and healthcare provider will struggle with (if he/she hasn't already) - navigating the complex world of health insurance! This is especially relevant in January, when it is the most expensive time to consume healthcare, and ironically - many of us consume more healthcare, especially pre...

In this special holiday edition of HeART of Medicine, Dr. Payal Kohli and guest Dr. Jazaeri discuss how a doctor can never really be “out of office”?  And should they be? Or does the profession have a higher calling that requires this type of dedication?  Is this constant sacrifice of being away from our family and friends and working on holidays an expected part of the job or is it a recipe for b...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has infiltrated almost all aspects of our lives, from how we shop to who we follow on social media to the television shows we watch. But how will this AI technology impact the practice and delivery of medicine?   In this thought-provoking episode of HeART of Medicine, host Dr. Payal Kohli sits down with Vascular Surgeon Dr. Omid Jazaeri to ask some difficult questions...

In this emotional episode of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli, Baron and Naidu open up about death and their grief. They share stories of the patients they have lost and how they have coped with the pain. They reflect on how such conversations are taboo in medicine… how doctors don’t talk about death of patients and the expectation is for stoicism and moving on. The hosts discuss how death can shake...

In this episode of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli, Baron and Naidu talk about current physician compensation and its impact on health care costs.  They discuss how training, medical school debt as well as the demands of the job all play into how much they feel is fair for a physician to make. As physicians, they address how they deal with the criticism that doctors make too much and that is the mai...

In this episode of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli, Baron and Naidu talk about how finding the right job is similar to dating and why so many physicians change their job within the first few years of training. They delve into why a physician’s  job transition has implications not just for him/her but also for family and importantly, for hundreds of thousands of patients. Do physicians leave jobs bec...

Have you ever noticed what your doctor is wearing? Is it scrubs with a fleece Jacket? Or, is it a white coat with professional attire? Does it change your perception or perception of others of your physician if your doctor has a white coat on? Is the white coat the ultimate symbol of a doctor or is it an antiquated remnant of the past?   There has been a shift in healthcare away from the white coa...

Have you ever felt that twinge of competitive jealousy? Or have you been a victim of someone else’s professional envy?  Are frenemies more common in medicine? And is there something about Medicine and especially Cardiology that selects people who are inherently more competitive?  In this episode of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli, Baron and Naidu have a frank conversation about professional jealousy...

Should doctors unionize or is this another manifestation of the “cancel culture”? Does having a union hurt or help their patients? Should medical trainees be considered students, who can’t legally unionize or should they have the same rights as employees? How has COVID impacted the doctors’ decisions to unionize?  In Episode 5 of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli, Naidu and Baron share their differing...

Most doctors are “on call” from the day they graduate medical school for the entire duration of their medical careers. So, what actually happens on call and what are some of the craziest or funniest “on call” stories that aren’t just on TV but happen in the real-world? Do doctors actually “hook up” while they are on call?   Download Episode 4 of HeART of Medicine to get a peek into what being “on...

Physicians struggle with infertility. Is it because of the long medical training, which delays family planning and for women, makes them less likely to get pregnant? Is it the psychological toll and the physical demands of the profession that leave very little time for family planning? Or, is it the physical demands of the job, with sleepless nights, stress and exposure to radiation? In this episo...

In this Valentine’s Day special episode of HeART of Medicine, Drs. Kohli, Naidu and Baron discuss why doctors face so many challenges in maintaining successful personal relationships and address the question of whether Medicine is a Toxic Mistress in every relationship. Does Medicine change the person? Or is it the long hours and logistical demands on a physician’s time that set up relationships f...

In this episode, you meet Drs Kohli, Baron and Naidu. They have a spirited and captivating discussion on the role of social media in medicine. Should physicians on social media be held to a different standard and be more responsible? Does it reduce or increase a doctor’s credibility and how does it reflect on the profession? Do patients relate better (and listen better) to doctor’s on social media...