How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients
Are you getting the medical care you hoped for? Perhaps you really like your doctor and feel listened to and well treated. Or maybe you’re frustrated with the lack of coordinated medical care, unconscious bias, and medical systems that don’t keep patients well-being at the center of their decisions. Most people agree that the US health care system is broken, but there is also a less talked about problem to address— “physician culture.” My guest, Dr. Robert Pearl, says, “Doctors are not heroes or villains. They produce remarkable successes and abysmal failures.” We’ll discuss what doctors do well, and how some miss the mark on compassionate, science based, high quality, and effective medicine for all.
**Listen now to About Health on KPFA.org—94.1FM, (7/12/21)**
https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=360279
ROBERT PEARL, M.D.
is the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (1999-2017), the nation’s largest medical group, and former president of The Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group (2009-2017). In these roles he led 10,000 physicians, 38,000 staff and was responsible for the nationally recognized medical care of 5 million Kaiser Permanente members. Named one of Modern Healthcare’s 50 most influential physician leaders, he is an advocate for the power of integrated, prepaid, technologically advanced and physician-led healthcare delivery. He serves as a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and is on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches courses on strategy and leadership, and lectures on information technology and health care policy. Board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery, Dr. Pearl received his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine, followed by a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University.
He is the author of “Mistreated: Why We think We’re Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We’re Usually Wrong,” and his most recent book is, Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients. All proceeds from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.
Dr. Pearl hosts the podcasts Fixing Healthcare and Coronavirus: The Truth and he publishes a newsletter, Monthly Musings on American Healthcare. He has published more than 100 articles in medical journals and contributed to numerous books. From 2012 to 2017, Dr. Pearl served as chairman of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP), which includes the nation’s largest and best multispecialty medical groups, and participated in the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Delivery System Reform and Health IT in Washington, D.C. Connect with Dr. Robert Pearl on Twitter @RobertPearlMD, LinkedIn, and at his website robertpearlmd.com.
Social Determinants of Health and Inequities
You can listen to today’s show (Oct.2, 2016)
“About Health” on KPFA radio
https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=243157
Your health and the health of your community is affected by many factors.
We know that health care is essential for all, but it is only one health determinant. There is a broad range of social, economic, racial, and environmental factors that can support or hinder healthy outcomes.
How do we get to greater health equity? Join us for this important conversation.
“The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels.–“World Health Organization”
My Guests:
Dr. Dayna Long is the Medical Director at the Center for Community Health and Engagement at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, where she is also an Attending Physician. Her career has been dedicated to addressing health inequities that affect families and young children. In addition to her role as pediatrician, she also serves as a steering committee member of First Five-Alameda County/Help Me Grow, Medical Director at the Center for Community Health and Engagement, Co-founder and Medical Director of the Family Information and Navigation Desk, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Spokeswoman for the Too Small to Fail: Talk, Read, Sing Initiative….and much more. You can find out more about her at http://www.childrenshospitaloakland.org/main/find-a-doctor/long-dayna-a-md-473.aspx
Anna Gruver, LCSW, is the Maternal, Paternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MPCAH) Coordinator and Health Care Services Administrator at Alameda County’s Public Health Department. She is a bi-lingual, bi-cultural Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked in the field of social work focusing on children and families for more than 20 years. As the MPCAH Coordinator and Alameda County Healthy Start Initiative Project Director she leads the integration of maternal child/early childhood family support services for pregnant women and families with young children; looking closely at social determinants of health and the strength of families.
MPCAH enhances access to comprehensive, quality health care and focuses on early intervention and prevention services. The goal is to reduce health disparities, protect and improve health outcomes among Alameda County families, including pregnant women, parenting women and men, and their children.