Patients at Risk

In part 2 of our discussion, Dr. Alyson Maloy and Dr. Phil Shaffer break down the mistruths  in AANP president April Kapu's article, 'Full practice authority for nurse practitioners needed to address physician shortage.'  Get the book, now available on Audible! https://www.amazon.com/Patients-Risk-Practitioner-Physician-Healthcare/dp/1627343164/ Watch the video on our YouTube channe...

On September 29, 2021, the journal Medical Economics published an interview with Dr. Alyson Maloy entitled “Covid exacerbates physician shortage.” In the article, Dr. Maloy discussed the effects of covid19 including a push to increase practice authority for nurse practitioners.  A week later, Medical Economics posted a rebuttal written by April Kapu, the president of the AANP, called “Full practic...

In part 2 of this discussion with plaintiff's attorney Travis Dunn, we analyze the tragic case of Alexus Ochoa, who died because a multi-billion dollar corporation elected to replace physician with unprepared NPs. Mr. Dunn discusses the role of the expert witness in NP malpractice cases and what he has learned about the limited scope of practice of nurse practitioners.  Get the book! https://...

In the book Patients at Risk, we discuss the tragic case of Alexus Ochoa, a 19-year-old woman who died when a nurse practitioner failed to diagnose the blood clot in her lungs. The nurse practitioner was unprepared to treat emergency room patients and there was no physician on-site, even though the hospital advertised that physicians were available 24/7. Today we are joined with attorney Travis Du...

There are so many challenges in healthcare today, and it’s becoming ever more difficult to practice medicine. In fact, many physicians that could continue to work well into their golden years are retiring as soon as they can because the struggle of practicing medicine is just no longer worth it to them. Today we are joined by an amazing physician who has experienced his share of heartache within o...

Today, we discuss a topic that is near and dear to my heart as a family physician: the role of primary care. We’re going to focus especially on the misconception often held by legislators that primary care is somehow ‘easy,’ and can therefore be relegated to allied health professionals, especially nurse practitioners. Today, I am joined by two special guests who are experts in the role of primary...

In our book, we outline the tragic case of Alexus Ochoa, a 19-year-old woman who died when a nurse practitioner failed to properly diagnose and treat the blood clot in her lungs.  The only reason that the details of this case became public was because of a lawsuit filed by the patient’s family. Court records reveal not only a lack of appropriate medical care, but more importantly, the incredible e...

One of the biggest challenges in healthcare today is a lack of transparency when it comes to the training and licensure of healthcare professionals. As members of the healthcare team have taken an increased role in providing medical care, patients may be treated by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare practitioners, and understanding who is who can be difficu...

There is an increasing double standard in the practice of medicine and the practice of advanced nursing, and one of these is the difference in ‘board certification.’  Nurse practitioners take just one board examination in the course of their career, which is 3 hours long and 200 questions. Nurse practitioners never have to take another exam – they just have to submit their work hours, which can ev...

Seven-year-old Betty died just 15 hours after she was evaluated by a pediatric nurse practitioner in a pediatric urgent care without any physician on site.  Betty's father, Jeremy Wattenbarger discusses the efforts he has made to seek accountability and ensure that other children receive physician-led care. Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Patients-Risk-Practitioner-Physician-Healthcare/d...

Many of our critics accuse us of exaggerating the risks that patients face when physicians are replaced by lesser trained members of the healthcare team.  We are often told that we are engaging in a ‘turf war’ with nurse practitioners and physician assistants and that we should support these nonphysicians practicing ‘to the full extent of their license and training. ’  Today we are going to explai...

In part 2 of our discussion about healthcare politics,  Dr. Kermit Jones, a California internal medicine physician, attorney, and military veteran discusses his run for California's 4th Congressional District. Learn more about Dr. Jones at his website - https://kermitjonesmdjd.com/ Donate to Dr. Jones' political campaign here - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/kermitjonesforcongress2 Ge...

More than ever, healthcare and politics are intertwined. Decisions made by politicians and have a major impact on not only healthcare policy, but on the day-to-day practice of medicine by physicians. Today we are excited to be talking about healthcare politics with Dr. Kermit Jones, a California internal medicine physician, attorney, and military veteran who is working to bring his medical experti...

In part 2 of this discussion with Dr. Marion Mass, a pediatrician and the co-founder of Practicing Physicians of America, we learn about the impact of group purchasing organizations (GPOs) on the high cost of healthcare.  In 1987, the federal legislature granted GPOs safe harbor from anti-kickback statutes, allowing them to reap millions of dollars. Dr Mass also explains how these GPOs have create...

We all know that the health care system in the United States is expensive, with the U.S. spending more than any other developed nation. Although it’s convenient to scapegoat doctors as the reason for high medical costs, the truth is that physician compensation makes up just 20% of total health spending.  So, who is really responsible for the astronomical cost of health care today? To get some answ...

On our last podcast, advocacy experts Dr. Purvi Parikh and Linda Lambert discussed steps that physicians can take to advocate for their patients and for the profession of medicine. In part 2, we learn from the legislative successes of the nursing profession.   We discuss how to write a resolution for your medical society to help influence policy, and how advocacy can be a solution to burnout. Get...

Physicians are usually so busy taking care of patients that we sometimes ignore the political aspects of healthcare, leaving the decisions to legislators and policymakers, many of whom do not truly understand what it is like to deliver medical trenches in the trenches. Unfortunately, the old adage, “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the table,” is nowhere truer than in the healthcare legislati...

When it comes to discussing the differences between physician assistants (PAs) and physicians, there is no one better to address the issues than someone who has trained and worked in both professions.  Christin Giordano MD was a PA before deciding to return to medical school to become a physician. She has since completed residency training and a fellowship to become a nephrologist.  We are also jo...

One of the biggest issues in medicine today is physician burnout, with almost 50% of all physicians reporting making active plans to leave the practice of medicine. We are joined by an expert on the subject of physician wellness, psychiatrist Wendy Dean. Dr. Dean and her co-author have singlehandedly changed the dialogue away from ‘burnout’ and towards the concept of ‘moral injury.’  We asked Dr....

We are joined by Eric Starkman , an investigative journalist who works to shed light on dangerous corporate practices in healthcare. Mr. Starkman is relentless in exposing the work of bad actors in the medical-industrial complex and discusses how the replacement of physicians by nonphysician practitioners is contributing to the decline of the U.S. healthcare system. Read Eric Starkman's artic...

About 42% of physicians report feeling burned out, and about half of all doctors are making active plans to leave the practice of medicine. Unfortunately, some doctors turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the stressors of medicine, which may result in the loss of their professional licenses. Today, we are talking with Dr. Daniel Hochman, a psychiatrist, and an online professional recovery progra...

On May 24, 2021, JAMA, or the Journal of the American Medical Association, published a viewpoint entitled:  “Advanced Practice Clinicians—Neurology’s Underused Resource.” The article was authored by nurse practitioner Calli Cook and Dr Heidi Schwarz, a neurologist with the University of Rochester and argued that due to a shortage of neurologists across the country, non-physician practitioners shou...

One of the ways that corporations have been successful in replacing physicians with lesser-trained medical practitioners is by creating a sense of equivalence so that patients think that the care they will receive is “the same.” For example, both physicians and nurse practitioners and physician assistants wear white coats, have similar-appearing badges, and may be referred to as “doctor” even if t...

One of the differences between physicians and nurse practitioners is that physicians are regulated by a state Board of Medicine, while in most states, nurse practitioners are regulated by a state Board of Nursing.  This distinction is important, because while nurse practitioners are functioning in the same capacity as physicians—ordering and interpreting tests, making medical diagnoses, and writin...

In our book, we dedicate several chapters to discussing the differences in training between physicians and non-physician practitioners. One of the most important elements of physician training is learning how to create a differential diagnosis, which is a list of all the possible causes of a patient’s symptoms.  Today we are joined by Dr. Mercy Hylton, a pediatric emergency medicine physician and...