The Pursuit of Health Podcast

A conversation with Dr. Yousuf Zafar Each patient has a 'sphere of life'. And according to Dr. Yousuf Zafar, it’s critical we do everything we can to understand it. As a gastrointestinal medical oncologist, Adjunct Professor at Duke University, and Chief Medical Officer at cancer data innovators AccessHope, he knows exactly what it takes to strive for the best patient outcomes. Through d...

A conversation with Rob Andrews “A rising tide lifts all boats.” - President Kennedy Channelling the heart of this message in his words, actions, and distinguished career, is former Congressman and CEO of the Health Transformation Alliance (HTA), Rob Andrews. As one of the original authors of the Affordable Care Act, Rob has set his sights on driving value-based healthcare reform through data, ana...

A conversation with Dr. Megan Morris How do we define quality of life? And how do we provide quality healthcare? These are key questions in the work of Dr. Megan Morris, a health services researcher, speech-language pathologist, and Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Langone Health. Dr. Morris is focused on addressing structural and interpersonal ableism in the...

A conversation with Dr. Yoona Kim Medication mismanagement is a massive issue in American healthcare. Setting her sights on solving this problem is health economist, pharmacist, and CEO/co-founder of Arine - Dr. Yoona Kim. Dr. Kim realized that identifying problematic medication plans can move the needle on clinical and economic outcomes, and her AI-enabled company is proof - cutting costs and sav...

A conversation with Vinay Patel There are too many barriers in the pursuit of health: financial, infrastructural, systematic… American healthcare is set up to fail the patients it needs to prioritize. Welcome Vinay Patel, a forward thinking pharmacist and healthcare entrepreneur who founded MakoRx, a company focused on disrupting traditional drug pricing models and improving pharmacy access. He sa...

A conversation with Charles Gaba “We need to find a way to make improvements to the system without hurting people in the process.” In our second collaborative episode with Doctors For America, Dr. Fethke is joined by healthcare policy and data analyst Charles Gaba.  His work highlighting the numbers surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been influential, with citations by major publication...

A conversation with Wendell Potter “We need to get Wall Street out of control of our healthcare system.” This is the opinion of Wendell Potter, a former health insurance exec for Humana and Cigna turned whistleblower - exposing the practices of his former industry and choosing to seek change. Wendell knows first-hand how these insurers operate, how they incentivize profit, how they use their finan...

A conversation with Linda Macomber We need a healthcare renaissance. AI could lead us there. Here to share her optimism and enthusiasm for AI as a new frontier in healthcare, is Linda Macomber. As a digital health expert with over 30 years of experience in health informatics and technology-driven healthcare solutions, Linda is best placed for informing us on the potential AI holds for improving pa...

A conversation with Joanne Kenen It’s time to help inform the public on what’s happening in healthcare today. With changes coming to the ACA's subsidies in 2025 and debates about Medicaid expansion, veteran journalist Joanne Kenen is here to help us understand what's at stake. She takes us through a history of health policy, so that we can make sense of recent instabilities, understand w...

A conversation with Hugo Campos “AI can help patients make better choices about their life and about their healthcare.” Renowned patient advocate and White House Champion of Change, our guest Hugo Campos shares his personal journey into healthcare advocacy - revealing why he believes we are entering an era with huge potential for patients, clinicians, and the healthcare system as a whole. But he n...

A conversation with Rosie Bartel Nurturing the patient-physician partnership is the only way to heal healthcare. Sharing her lived experience with openness and honesty is Rosie Bartel, a patient advocate and survivor of preventable medical error. Since contracting MRSA after a routine knee replacement surgery, Rosie has channelled a hugely difficult and prolonged healthcare experience into a missi...

This episode is a collaboration with Doctors for America. "This issue has been affecting my sleep. I'm not sleeping and I'm a pretty good sleeper, so this must be bothering me." In this powerful special episode of the Pursuit of Health podcast, Dr. Eric Fethke collaborates with Doctors for America to sound the alarm about the proposed $880 billion in Medicaid cuts over ten year...

Ep68: Understanding the Interplay of Healthcare & Politics in America- w/ Dr. Abdul El-Sayed “Politics are like a kaleidoscope. If you don't like where you are, just keep turning it.” This week we are delighted to welcome physician, epidemiologist, author, and Director of Wayne County's Department of Health, Abdul El-Sayed. He shares his opinion that our healthcare system is broken b...

A conversation with Dr. Jordi Piera Jiménez Our money comes with us wherever we go, so why doesn’t our health data? Sharing his innovative vision for transforming the way we use electronic health records and investing in prevention and patient empowerment, is Dr. Jordi Piera Jiménez. As Director of the Digital Health Strategy at the Catalan Health Service in Spain, Dr. Jiménez shares a blueprint f...

A panel with Dr. Don Berwick, Tanya Sanderson and Ron Howrigon Today, Dr. Fethke calls on three previous guests to share their thoughts, insights, and solutions in the light of the UHC incident, a tragic murder that highlighted the scale of public anger at the state of our healthcare system. With our panel drawing from their vast collective experience at clinical, administrative and federal level,...

A conversation with Dr. Robert Pearl Put a system in place that rewards value. Sounds simple, right?  Sharing a vision for seismic healthcare reform is renowned healthcare leader, award-winning author, and plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Pearl. Dr. Pearl originally believed healthcare was a non-political space. How could medicine be political?  Yet our healthcare system is on its knees, drug companies...

A conversation with Anjana Sreedhar We need to understand the past, to shape the future. Join us for an eye-opening discussion with the author of acclaimed health disparities book Health Care of a Thousand Slights , Anjana Sreedhar. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the extent of health inequalities here in America, but Anjana has chosen to seek a solution. Via a comprehensive study of policy, struc...

A conversation with Dr. Lauren Ramsey It’s time to tackle healthcare problems through innovation and invention. Bringing energy and initiative to the Pursuit of Health table this week is none other than  leading breast cancer surgeon and healthcare pioneer, Dr. Lauren Ramsey. Dr. Ramsey joins to share the lowdown on her invention of BAT, a wearable accessory  that protect healthcare professionals...

American medicine has a LOT to be proud of, but too many doctors are getting burnt out and thinking of quitting healthcare. Dr. Gregory Charlop, AKA Dr. Greg, is a celebrated physician and author renowned for his innovative approach to physician wellness. Having experienced burnout firsthand whilst completing years of high intensity work as a pediatric  anesthesiologist, Dr. Greg has shifted his f...

How can we practice preventative healthcare? Joining from Canada this week is Lidia Molinara, a seasoned clinical pharmacist, CEO, patient safety officer, and fervent advocate for patient safety and effective communication within the healthcare system.  Recalling her earliest experiences visiting pharmacies and the influence that has held on her clinical approach, Lidia encourages a deepening of t...

“Together as a community, we share just one heart.” This week’s episode is a treat - a deep dive into the philosophy of Dr. Jonathan Fisher, cardiologist, clinician advocate, and author of the fantastic book Just One Heart: A Cardiologist's Guide to Healing, Health, and Happiness . Jonathan shares how he drew on his own experiences, of medical school burnout and inspirational parents, to enco...

In this episode of The Pursuit of Health , Dr. Eric Fethke delves into the concept of anger as a significant medical and health issue, exploring how it can harm individual and societal wellness or be transformed into a positive force. Through powerful patient stories, he highlights the impact of anger on our health and stresses the importance of choosing leaders who promote unity over division—an...

It’s time to change the way we look at medical necessity and payment policies. According to Tanya Sanderson, using AI could just be our best option. Her work with human-centred tech company Xsolis is shaking up healthcare, improving outcomes for patients, saving money, and doing away with the excess of waste in our current system.  ————— We spoke about the value of combining diverse experiences fr...

Like so many other aspects of our healthcare system, obesity is a health equity issue. Today we welcome Dr. Kara Mayes, Chief Medical Officer of Ilant Health, a company focused on value-based obesity management and cardiometabolic health.  Dr. Mayes joins us to cast a lens on obesity in America, during a time that weight loss drugs have gained notoriety. But why do we so often fail to treat obesit...

“Medical consumerism figures more as a problem than progress.” Today’s guest is the award-winning historian, American public health expert, and author, Professor Nancy Tomes. In a discussion encompassing past, present, and future, Professor Tomes provides a unique historical lens to better understand the healthcare challenges of today, in hope of sparking solutions for an equitable system for ever...