The Doctor’s Financial Playbook: Building Wealth Through Practice Ownership and Entrepreneurship

In this episode of The Medicine and Money Show, Dr. Joseph Ryan Smolarz sits down with Dr. Michael Jerkins, physician and co-founder of Panacea Financial, a nationwide fintech built specifically for doctors.

Dr. Jerkins shares the story behind Panacea Financial—how a frustrating experience during residency, when banks refused to lend to a physician caring for critically ill patients, sparked the idea to create a financial platform designed around the realities of medical careers.

The conversation dives deep into topics most physicians were never taught in training, including:

• Why traditional banks misunderstand doctors’ financial profiles
• How physicians can access capital to start or buy medical practices
• The growing role of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and physician ownership
• Practical steps residents and young doctors should take to prepare for entrepreneurship
• The biggest financial mistakes new physicians make after training
• Why doctors may actually be uniquely suited to become entrepreneurs and investors

Dr. Smolarz and Dr. Jerkins also explore the mindset shift from consumer to investor, the risks and rewards of building a company while practicing medicine, and why solving real problems—not buying status symbols—is the path to long-term financial freedom.

If you’re a physician who has ever wondered whether you should own your practice, invest in healthcare ventures, or build something bigger than yourself, this conversation provides a roadmap.

Key Themes:

• Physician entrepreneurship
• Practice ownership and financing
• Financial literacy for doctors
• Building businesses in healthcare
• The future of physician-led innovation

Learn more at medmoneyshow.com and discover resources designed to help physicians think—and act—like investors.