Translate Your Doctor: Recent Episodes
Patrick Figures & Trey Sertich
If we have the most sophisticated healthcare system in the world, why is it so bad at supporting the average person? Patrick Figures and Dr. Trey Sertich explore the challenges experienced by patients and physicians in navigating the US healthcare system.
Trey and Patrick discuss integrative medicine with Dr. Keith Eppich. What is it? How is it used in medical practice?
Referenced in this episode:
- Auricular Acupuncture
- How Healing Works by Wayne Jonas
This week Trey and Patrick discuss the hospital at home movement and Trey's work in exploring how more patients can get hospital-level care without needing to be in a hospital
Patrick and Trey discuss the recent release of The Commonwealth Fund's report on how the US healthcare system compares to its peers. You can find a copy of the report here.
In a Trey-less episode, Patrick follows up with Maggie Teliska, the co-moderator of a heart failure support group and a very active participant in the healthcare advocacy movement. Maggie talks a little about her recent healthcare experiences, what she's seeing in her support group, and her thoughts on the future.
This week Trey and Patrick discuss the impact of rising COVID hospitalizations on Trey and his perspective on the recent uptick. They also discuss the viral story of the Alabama doctor dealing with COVID-sick patients requesting vaccinations while hospitalized.
In the current events section, Patrick and Trey discuss surprise medical bills, where they come from, and the reason legislation limiting the impact of surprise medical bills.
Trey and Patrick are on a quick break this week given Trey's work schedule and Patrick's baby-moon with his wife. They'll be back next week!
This week, Trey and Patrick reflect on the transition going on in Medical Education across the country as Residency program welcome their new learners and say goodbye to their senior residents.
For a reflection on current healthcare news, Trey and Patrick discuss the recent Biden Executive Order focused on monopolies and increasing competition and how it applies to healthcare.
Trey and Patrick invite Dr. Michelle McClelland onto the show for a rehashing of some of the topics she covered with them in season 1. They discuss her thoughts on life after COVID, changes she's seen in her day to day practice, and discuss physician burnout.
The article discussed in this episode:
The doctors are not all right
Trey and Patrick reflect on returning to the podcast for another 12 episode season.
Topics covered:
- Thoughts on pivoting the podcast to be more upbeat and focusing on "what's right with" healthcare
- Reflecting on the shift that seems to have occured with COVID and the world opening back up
- The strange situation involving United Healthcare's ER policy
In a recap of the first season, Trey and Patrick discuss the broad themes they've covered during their discussion of what's wrong with healthcare.
In a continuation of last week's episode, Trey and Patrick discuss physician training and the role it plays on patient education and how physicians think about treating and empowering their patients.
Trey and Patrick discuss patient education and the barriers that providers from focusing more on educating patients when they get a new diagnosis.
Trey and Patrick discuss disease stigma and why patients are hesitant to bring certain problems to doctors. They also discuss physician compassion fatigue and the mindset that leads some physicians to be callous or lack compassion with patients.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Woman treated poorly by doctor regarding weight
Trey and Patrick discuss how chronic disease patients are managed inside of hospitals and how doctors try to manage illnesses between care environments. They also discuss the notion of a "physician advocate" and why that might matter to someone with an ongoing illness.
Trey and Patrick speak with Maggie Teleska, who runs the largest Congestive Heart Failure Support Group on patients (over 13,000 members). They discuss the value of active support with life-altering illnesses and the barriers that prevent patients from getting the support they need.
Taking a brief break from the "What's Wrong With Healthcare" series, Trey and Patrick reflect on Translate Your Doctor's first live patient seminar and what it taught them about the value and need for patient-focused educational content. They also reflect on the mission of Translate Your Doctor and what they hope to accomplish in the future.
Trey and Patrick talk about the difficulty with doctor visits and how both patients and physicians are setup for failure. They breakdown three key strategies for getting more out of your doctor visits:
- Being upfront with what you want to cover in the visit
- Being clear about the outcomes your looking for
- Setting boundaries (if applicable)
In a continuation of last week's discussion of fee-for-service medicine and the barriers facing physicians in treating patients, Trey and Patrick sit down with Dr. Michelle McClelland, a family medicine physician practicing in Longview, Wa. Dr. McClelland shares her thoughts on the unique challenges faced in her environment and the emotional challenges many physicians face when maintaining a busy practice.
Terms you'll hear this episode:
RCT - Randomized Control Trial
HMO - generally a plan with a more narrow network
Trey and Patrick explore the fee-for-service reimbursement system and the challenges that creates for physicians and patients. Patrick discusses alternative payment systems that are being explored in different areas.
Referenced this episode:
Direct Primary Care (DPC)
Capitated payments
Value-based care
One Medical
Medicare Advantage
Trey and Patrick once again explore the idea of a "good" doctor from Trey's perspective. How does Trey think about taking "good" care of patients? Trey explains why some patients aren't looking for "solutions". Patrick and Trey also explore the dangers of medical providers taking a "break/fix" approach to medicine.
Referenced in this episode:
- Physician, heal thyself
In a continuation of their series on "What's Wrong With Healthcare?", Trey and Patrick explore what makes a "good" doctor and why it's so hard for Trey to give a definitive recommendation to patients on how to go about finding a physician.
Trey and Patrick talk about what's wrong with healthcare from the perspective of the average patient and physician. They also discuss the goal of the podcast and set the foundation for future discussions.