Podcast
The Pursuit of Health Podcast
Hosted by Dr. Eric Fethke · EN
The Pursuit of Health is a weekly podcast dedicated to a thorough exploration of the American Healthcare System at a critical time in our nation’s history. The podcast’s creator and host, Dr. Eric Fethke, is a pediatric cardiologist and educator trained at Columbia University, with over 25 years of experience practicing medicine. Students, professionals, and everyday people alike are invited to learn from guest experts who are pursuing groundbreaking work to improve America's health. Join us on our journey towards a better healthcare!
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep97: When Doctors Organize: Non-Partisan Advocacy and the Future of Healthcare w/Dr. Christine Petrin: in collaboration with Doctors For America
Feb 1200:47:18Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Christine PetrinHealthcare is not a partisan issue.No better organization demonstrates this fact than Doctors for America, a national collective of 40,000 members: doctors, medical students, healthcare workers, patients, and retired physicians.And who better to talk us through their mission, than Past President Dr. Christine Petrin.In her own words, “Every time I join a DFA call or meeting or talk, it really energizes me. It keeps me optimistic. There's so many people out there that are facing the same fight as you.”— We spoke about the history, structure, and advocacy efforts of Doctors for America (DFA), how they transitioned from advocating for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to broader healthcare issues, their non-partisan nature and inclusive structure, and the importance of collective action amid widespread policy changes.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep96: Transparency, Prevention, and The Battle For Affordable Healthcare w/Dr. Erica Urquhart
Jan 2900:51:56Tap to summarizeWe don’t need to hide.Our guest this week shares this message loud and clear: as providers, we have nothing to hide from our patients.Dr. Erica Urquhart knows a thing or two about our healthcare system - having trained at Harvard as a biomedical engineer, she received a MD-PhD in Molecular and Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins and is now a practising orthopedic surgeon.She joins today to talk through her outlook on a broken system, as told in her upcoming book ‘Invisible Hand Wielding the Scalpel: Paying the Price in America’s Fractured Healthcare System’.—We spoke about the value of transparency in healthcare, her constant battle with massive insurance companies, the capitalist emphasis in the system, the influence of commercial insurers in driving the cost and accessibility of care, and the fundamental importance of sickness prevention.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep95: The Vaccination Crisis, Eroding Public Trust and Safeguarding Children's Health w/Dr. Paul Offit
Jan 1900:49:02Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Paul OffitWe didn’t just eradicate measles through vaccines, we eradicated all memory of it - that’s why vaccine hesitancy is on the rise.Today’s guest Dr. Paul Offit is angry. He’s an undisputed authority in the vaccination field, professor of vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania, co-inventor of life-saving vaccine RotaTeq, author… in short, Offit has been in the room for the creation of policies that affected hundreds of millions of people.That’s why he stands in disbelief as health secretary RFK Jr. continues to share disinformation, shred the CDC of its ability to monitor the population, and cause real-world health crises in our communities.In defiance, he’s sharing his message loud and clear, and this episode shines as our most comprehensive guide yet on the vaccination crisis. It’s time to make a collective effort, to safeguard our children's health.—We spoke about RFK Jr.'s long-standing anti-vaccine stance, historical perspectives on vaccination's successes and controversies, the evolution and impacts of vaccines on diseases like polio, measles, and hepatitis B, and the erosion of public trust in vaccines.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep94: The Broken Incentives of Primary Care - Past, Present and Future w/ Dr. Troyen Brennan
Jan 600:51:31Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Troyen BrennanOur primary care sector is dysfunctional.Enter Dr. Troyen Brennan: author, adjunct professor at Harvard, former CMO for CVS Health and Aetna, and a national voice on the issues facing our healthcare system.He explains how the primary care/specialty care balance led America to adopt a profit-driven model, highlighting the repercussions this has had for primary care access across the country.The current projections are stark, so we need to push for fundamental change.—We spoke about the contrast between the Affordable Care Act and a single-payer system, the importance of primary care as a foundation for a functional healthcare system, the viability of value-based care models, and the potential pathways to achieve equitable access to primary care in spite of current political and financial challenges.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep93: When Healthcare Is Decided in the Supreme Court: w/ Katie Keith
Dec 900:53:02Tap to summarizeA conversation with Katie KeithWe need to make healthcare more resilient. Here to guide us through the policy issues affecting modern healthcare is Katie Keith, J.D., M.P.H., director of the Health Policy and the Law Initiative at Georgetown’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and Principal at Keith Policy Solutions.With an impressive resume that includes a stint at the White House under the Biden administration, Katy is an expert on federal and state healthcare priorities, with a focus on the ACA and underserved populations.In talking us through two key Supreme Court cases, Katy demystifies a fundamental problem in American healthcare, before shining a light on what individuals and communities can do to ensure healthcare is accessible for all.——We spoke about the increasing role of courts in shaping health policy, the impact on this has on marginalized communities, the Medina vs. Planned Parenthood and Kennedy vs. Braidwood Management cases, and the importance of informed, bipartisan legislative action to make healthcare resilient against ideological and policy shifts. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep92: The Great Obesity Myth w/Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford
Nov 2400:49:28Tap to summarizeObesity is a chronic disease. So why are we still not treating it as such?Enter Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.Dr. Stanford is a global voice on obesity - redefining it as a chronic disease, not a personal failure.In taking us through the science behind it, Dr. Stanford guides us to the heart of several patient stories, highlighting the need for treating patients with dignity, improving access to care, and eliminating biases in global healthcare.——We spoke about genetic, environmental, and systemic factors that contribute to obesity, the efficacy of treatments like GLP-1 receptor agonists, real-life examples, the emotional and practical aspects of this chronic disease, and the need to involve healthcare professionals, government, and the community to tackle the global obesity epidemic.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep91: Pulling Up The Curtain: Patient Data Access, Health Literacy and Democratizing Information w/Brent Dial
Nov 1400:54:26Tap to summarizeA conversation with Brent DialTo Brent Dial, the pursuit of health is about three things: agency, education, and collaboration.And that’s exactly what Beek Health, the start-up he co-founded earlier this year, are all about.Beek are on a mission to revolutionize the bloated patient data process: reducing wasted time, resources and patient stress. Gone are repeated scans, poor communication and unnecessary surgeries.By putting the power into the patient's hands, their innovative combination of health literacy, technology, and patient empowerment raises hope for solving the issues of healthcare equity in the United States. —We spoke about how the current healthcare system often leaves patients feeling disconnected and uninformed, biomarkers, the role of technology in democratizing health information, and the need for a paradigm shift from a clinician-centric to a patient-centric approach.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep90: Rebuilding Medical Trust: Storytelling, Community and Health Equity w/ Dr. Katherine Gergen-Barnett and Cheryl Harding
Nov 500:57:40Tap to summarizeA conversation with Dr. Katherine Gergen-Barnett and Cheryl HardingHealthcare is a matter of trust.Pouring their efforts into rebuilding the critical tenet of medical trust are family physician and prominent voice on health equity Dr. Katherine Gergen-Barnett and community champion and strategic advisor Ms. Cheryl Harding.Our two guests forged a bond when Dr. Gergen-Barnett assured an unwell Cheryl experiencing the worst of our healthcare system, “I’ll be your quarterback.”This message of advocacy and team spirit forms the foundation for our conversation today, as they share their mission to educate, learn from the public, and grow community trust in medical care settings, five years after the pandemic exposed just how broken and divided our system truly is.—We spoke about their work leading conversations in communities across Boston; why medical mistrust is an often forgotten social determinant of health; how storytelling, group visits, and community-led initiatives can rebuild trust and advance equity in healthcare; and why health must never be political.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep89: A Much Overdue Revolution in Primary Care: Now or Never w/Dr Marla McLaughlin
Oct 1600:51:43Tap to summarizeOur primary care system needs an Overhaul.Leading the discussion is Dr. Marla McLaughlin, a national leader in care delivery innovation and CMO of apree Health.As a family medicine physician with decades of frontline experience, Dr. McLaughlin knows the value of primary care firsthand. As she says, its value lies in the strength and depth of the relationship between patient and physician.With a growing shortage of primary care physicians, weeks-long wait times for appointments, and worse outcomes - something is wrong. But Dr. McLaughlin is here to tell us her hope, and vision, for the future.—We spoke about her journey, how she arrived here in this leadership position, why many patients see urgent care as a faster and easier, why skipping primary care leads to higher costs, fragmented care, and sub-optimal outcomes, and how apree Health are innovating in how patients interact with primary care.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
Transcribe →Ep83: A New Reality? 4th July, Feds Gutting Medicaid - What Comes Next (In Collaboration with Doctors For America)
Aug 12, 202501:01:12Tap to summarizeThis episode is a collaboration with Doctors for America. “ It's our turn to step up and speak out.”In another special episode of the Pursuit of Health podcast, Dr. Eric Fethke collaborates with Doctors for America to reflect on the impact of the 4th July tax bill, and the extent of its threat to our healthcare system.Calling on former guests to contribute, and through resharing pertinent snippets from previous episodes of the show, Dr. Fethke presents the stark reality of the impact these cuts will have on patients, communities, hospitals, employers - the entire ecosystem of people in America.It’s time for action, to fight back, raise the alarm and demand better from our government.Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @ericfethkemd and checkout my website at www.EricFethkeMD.com. My brand new book, The Privilege of Caring, is out now on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP6H6QN4
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