PLUGS Podcast

Summary. In this episode of the PLUGS podcast, Mike Astion interviews Dr. Geoff Baird about AI in the Lab. Over the last year, Geoff and a few other University of Washington faculty members have been intensely studying and implementing AI in daily work. Geoff is on a quest to integrate AI into the UW Dept of Laboratory and Pathology. In this podcast, we discuss key aspects of this work. We first f...

In this 11th edition of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Jane Dickerson, Mike Astion and Geoff Baird work through cases of conflict management and apology related to laboratory stewardship. The cases come from PLUGS members and add depth to our recent PLUGS National Webinar on the same topic. The cases cover disruptive physicians, structured apologies, overly large test panels, special test requests, point...

In this 10th edition of the PLUGS podcast Dr. Mike Astion interviews Paige Haas and Darci Sternen, who are Laboratory Genetic Counselors in the Dept of Laboratories at Seattle Childrens Hospital. Paige and Darci are active in our clinical laboratory practice and in our PLUGS program where they are involved in helping clients, providing education, and in policy making. The conversation with Darci a...

In this holiday edition of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Jane Dickerson, Mike Astion and Geoff Baird reflect on the history and learnings from PLUGS, as well as from the stewardship practices at the University of Washington, Seattle Childrens and PLUGS members around the country. We also give PLUGS its first official mascot, and draw analogies between PLUGS, TV Shows and Sports. Enjoy and thanks for bei...

In this episode of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Mike Astion and Geoff Baird discuss the massive testing panels associated with the belief that the environment –through its many metals, biotoxins, microbes, and allergens—is a significant source of unresolved signs and symptoms.  The time stamped highlights are listed below. 00: 00 Defining the quest for purity. 07:00 Are the providers true believers, or...

In this episode of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Mike Astion and Geoff Baird discuss some foundational principles in lab stewardship and management. Give a listen. 05:30 Dunning-Kruger effect: dealing with incompetence through feedback from annoying logical contrarians. 09:15: The impostor syndrome: Helping lab workers who are experts but afraid to speak up. 14:30: Lampshades: Would Mike wear one? A dis...

In this episode, Dr. Geoff Baird and I interview Elizabeth Pendo, the Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and the Kell-eye Y Testy Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law. Our topic is medical legal collaboration to improve laboratory stewardship. Dean Pendo has a broad experience in health care law that includes years of legal practice in the private and public secto...

This version of the podcast was recorded live at the PLUGS Summit in Seattle Washington on April 4, 2025.  As part of the Summit, we invited attendees to a PLUGS podcast recording on the second day of the Summit.  The goal was to discuss issues raised at the Summit and answer questions from attendees. Our discussion covered a range of topics including fraud and other causes of egregious overutiliz...

In this episode of the PLUGS Podcast, Dr. Mike Astion and Dr. Geoff Baird interview Dr. Brody Foy, a mathematician and computer scientist who researches practical improvements in interpreting clinical lab data. Dr. Foy discusses the practical use of personal reference ranges, the potential overemphasis on omics vs common testing, why Mike should not hate the future, AI in lab medicine, AI safety,...

Using every academic trick in the book, including the invocation of “my mother medicine” and an analogy to flying cars, Drs. Mike Astion and Geoff Baird interview Bridget Wegner, Director of Partnerships at Clarivate about the commercialization of lab data .  Bridget, a seasoned lab and IT professional, emphasizes the importance of lab data in advancing drug development and making drugs more avail...

Summary: In this episode of the Plugs podcast, Dr. Mike Astion interviews Dr. Allison Chambliss, Director of Laboratory Stewardship at UCLA Health, which recently won PLUGS Member of the Year. Dr. Chambliss discusses her role in enhancing laboratory stewardship including optimizing reference lab testing, distinguishing experimental testing from medically necessary testing, reducing duplicate order...

Dr. Mike Astion from Seattle Children's Hospital and the University of Washington (UW) hosts a podcast about the root causes of bad ideas in lab stewardship, featuring Dr. Geoffrey Baird, the Chair of the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. They discuss such root causes as the Halo effect and other forms of false expertise;  financial conflicts of interest; and "truthines...