Healthy Skeptic, MD
The purpose of the Healthy Skeptic MD podcast is to take a deeper dive into health issues through interviews with experts and patients. Hosted by Dr. Michael Hochman, a primary care doctor, a key theme of Healthy Skeptic MD is that although modern medicine has much to offer there's also plenty of room for improvement. We will delve into those issues with other medical professionals from all spectrums of practice. We hope you'll learn along with us!
Episodes
53 episodes
An Epidemic of Unhoused Older Adults with Jean Galiana
We often think of homelessness as a problem of the young. But recent projections suggest that the number of unhoused older adults will triple over the next decade. Today's guest is Ms. Jean Galiana, the Coordinator for Older Adult Services with...
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32:01
Do Children Get Too Much Medical Care? With Dr. Samantha House
In the Healthy Skeptic, MD we've covered the harms of overuse of medical services in adults. But what about children? According to Dr. Samantha House, unnecessary care is a problem in Pediatrics too. In today's episode, she describes a recent J...
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34:15
Meaningful Advances in Diabetes Treatment with Dr. Nihar Desai
Until recently -- and to the surprise of many -- there were no diabetes treatments definitively proven to lower cardiovascular risk. Over the last 5 years, that has changed. There are now two new classes of medications that not only prevent hea...
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39:20
Thoughtful Plastic Surgery with Dr. Elliot Hirsch
Plastic surgery is often associated with high end cosmetic procedures, but it is much more than this, as we discuss today with Dr. Elliot Hirsch, the Chairman of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Cen...
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37:56
Rethinking Care for Older Adults with Jennie Chin Hansen
If you've done any work in the fields of Geriatrics Medicine or Healthy Aging, you've almost certainly come across Jennie Chin Hansen, my guest on today's episode. Jennie is the former President of AARP, the former CEO of the American Geriatric...
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49:52
What to Know about the Omicron Surge with Dr. Pieter Cohen
Since the last Covid-19 surge, many things are different. More Americans are vaccinated; there's an important new pill to prevent Covid-19 complications; and there are new public health guidelines recommending a shortened isolation period after...
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26:48
Welcome Health: Better Care for Older Adults
If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us one thing about healthcare it was that American consumers are open to new ways of receiving care. But is this also true for older adults -- who are accustomed to the traditional medical office setting? The ans...
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36:24
The Skid Row Running Club
In 2012, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell decided he wanted to improve public safety from a new angle. He always loved running, and suspected the discipline it taught him might help others -- particularly those struggling with ad...
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32:49
How Clinicians and Patients Co-Produce Health with Dr. Maren Batalden
When one thinks about healthcare quality, technical issues come to mind. Was the right treatment given? What percentage of patients developed a complication from the procedure? But that is not the entire story, according to Dr. Maren Batalden, ...
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42:02
Why Do Some Americans Get So Much Healthcare? With Dr. Elliott Fisher
In 2003, Dr. Elliott Fisher published a seminal series of articles. It found that patients living in certain regions of the country receive about 60% more medical care than those in other regions, and these differences do not appear to be expla...
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47:14
Statistics 101 for the Healthcare Consumer
A basic understanding of statistics is essential for being a savvy medical consumer. But for many, thinking about statistics brings back painful high school memories. In today's episode, primary care physician Dr. Steven Hochman -- my brother -...
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31:04
Helping Patients Die Peacefully with Dr. Chandana Banerjee
Over the last several years, a handful of states have passed legislation authorizing physicians to provide medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. This typically comes in the form of a prescription to relieve discomfort and promote a pe...
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39:26
"Slow Medicine" with Dr. Elena Hill
American medicine is fast-paced, high tech and aggressive, but it does not consistently produce excellent outcomes. In the U.S., life expectancy, maternal mortality and patient satisfaction, among other indicators, compare poorly to those in ma...
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39:36
The Latest COVID-19 Surge and Children
Anyone following the news has probably seen the alarming headlines about the recent COVID-19 surge and children. Pediatric hospitals – particularly in southern states – have been filling up. Could this mean that the delta strain is more aggress...
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30:17
Dr. Drew's Take on COVID-19 and Caring for the Homeless
Dr. Drew Pinksy -- better known simply as "Dr. Drew" -- is one of the best known media doctors in the nation. But unlike some other "TV doctors", he has spent decades working on the front lines with patients. In fact, he has dedicated his medic...
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49:49
Unpacking the Homeless Crisis with John Maceri
John Maceri has spent his career working with those experiencing homelessness. He now leads "The People Concern", one of the largest social services agencies in the western United States. In today's episode, he makes the case that homelessness ...
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43:16
Dr. Pedro “Joe” Greer on his “Forrest Gump” Career Serving the Poor
Growing up in the deep south and facing the challenges of discrimination, Joe Greer’s journey to medical school – and ultimately to the inner health policy circles of the George H. Bush and Clinton administrations – might have seemed unlikely. ...
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46:26
Preparing Doctors for the Future with Dr. Mark Schuster
In 2020, Kaiser Permanente launched a new medical school in Southern California – the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. Dr. Mark Schuster was charged with leading this new school, in his role as the Founding Dean and CEO. I...
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33:28
Loneliness and its Health Effects
Loneliness correlates more strongly with health outcomes than many other traditional risk factors, such as tobacco use and high cholesterol. In today’s episode, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, a Professor Psychology at Brigham Young University and ...
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40:58
What’s on the Horizon for Dementia Care? (And the FDA’s Decision on aducanumab) with Dr. Jason Karlawish
In his new book The Problem of Alzheimer’s, Dr. Jason Karlawish from the Penn Memory Center traces the history of a condition that impacts nearly 6 million Americans at a cost of more than $225 billion annually. These numbers may triple over th...
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42:05
The Joys of Caring for Older Adults with Dr. Laura Mosqueda
Older adults often have a more holistic perspective on the world than younger people. In today’s episode, Geriatrician Dr. Laura Mosqueda – a Professor of Family Medicine and the former Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC – talks about w...
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47:14
Announcing a New Partnership with SCAN Health Plan!
Dr. Michael Hochman gives a rundown of the week's medical news and announces an exciting new partnership with Scan Health Plan!**Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Skeptic MD on your favorite podcast app and on Youtube!Link for...
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6:57
Can We Effectively House those Experiencing Homelessness without Addressing their Health?
Policymakers across the nation have recently pledged billions to fund housing for the homeless. In Los Angeles, a federal judge even ordered city and county officials to offer all homeless individuals in the Skid Row neighborhood shelter by Oct...
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47:13
Editing the DNA of Real Patients with Dr. Mark Walters
This year, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to two scientists – Jeniffer Doudna at Berkley and French Scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier – who played key roles in developing a gene editing tool known as CRISPR. Just a few years later, gene editi...
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33:26
Children and the Pesky COVID Variants with Dr. Jessica Hochman
Just when we thought the end was in sight, there are signs that COVID-19 variants – such as the B117 strain first found in the UK – are popping up across the U.S. Worryingly, this B117 strain appears to be more contagious among children. But ac...
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36:59