Health & Veritas
Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz, two Yale physician-professors, discuss the latest news and ideas in healthcare and seek out the truth amid the noise.
Produced with the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of Public Health. New episodes are available every Thursday.
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Episodes
- PodcastEpisode 99Duration 32:45
Marc Auerbach: Getting Emergency Departments Kid-Ready
Howie and Harlan are joined by Marc Auerbach, a professor of pediatric emergency medicine at Yale, to discuss his work using standards and simulation to improve the treatment of children in emergency departments throughout the United States. Harlan reflects on the importance of simple, well-designed clinical trials to make rapid improvements to care; Howie reports on a congressional study asking whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center has succeeded in lowering costs and increasing quality.
Links:
Timely Clinical Trials
“Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19”
“Now is the time to fix the evidence generation system”
“The Clinical Trials Enterprise in the United States: A Call for Disruptive Innovation”
The Yale Paxlovid for Long COVID (PAX LC) Trial
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Connecticut Emergency Medical Services for Children: Innovation and Improvement Center
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center
CMS: About the CMS Innovation Center
“Accelerating Care Delivery Transformation—The CMS Innovation Center’s Role in the Next Decade”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. - PodcastEpisode 98Duration 29:33
An Inspiring Nobel Win and Other News
Howie and Harlan discuss the inspiring story behind the Nobel Prize in medicine, the settlement in the Cigna false billing case, and new research providing more evidence for the effectiveness of statins in reducing cardiovascular risk.
Links:
The Nobel Prize
“Press Release: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine”
The Daily: “The Unlikely Pioneer behind MRNA Vaccines”
“Halting Progress and Happy Accidents: How mRNA Vaccines Were Made”
“How Our Brutal Science System Almost Cost Us A Pioneer Of mRNA Vaccines”
“The Karikó problem: Lessons for funding basic research”
Cigna and Medicare Advantage
“Cigna Group to Pay $172 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations”
Health & Veritas: “Helen Burstin: Research with an Impact”
The Cigna Group (CI) Stock Price, News, Quote & History
Humana Inc. (HUM) Stock Price, News, Quote & History
HIV and Cardiovascular Outcomes
“Pitavastatin to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease in HIV Infection”
Health & Veritas: “Dr. Amy Justice: Unlocking the Insights in Healthcare Data”
“Shifting from “Morbid Obesity” to “Class III Obesity””
Healthcare Data
“Officials Struggle to Regulate Pop-Up Covid Testing Sites—and Warn Patients to Beware”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 97Duration 31:31
Mallika Mendu: Improving Operations
Howie and Harlan are joined by Mallika Mendu to discuss how innovations in operations can lead to improved inpatient care and her work as both a practicing nephrologist and associate chief medical officer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Harlan highlights the Lasker Award in medicine; Howie reports on a promising $650 million pilot in North Carolina to comprehensively address the social determinants of health.
Links:
US Bureau of Labor Statistics | Skilled Nursing Facilities Employment
“The Advancing American Kidney Health Initiative: The Challenge of Overcoming the Status Quo”
“A Holy Grail — The Prediction of Protein Structure”
“Lasker Award for Revolutionizing Protein Structure Predictions”
“A.I. Predicts the Shape of Nearly Every Protein Known to Science”
NC Medicaid Managed Care Healthy Opportunities Pilot Fee Schedule and Service Definitions
Meanings and Misunderstandings: A Social Determinants of Health Lexicon for Health Care Systems
NCDHHS | Healthy Opportunities Pilots
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 96Duration 36:29
Nita Ahuja: Epigenetics and Cancer
Howie and Harlan are joined by Nita Ahuja, a Yale surgeon and researcher, to discuss new methods in for detecting and treating cancers and the barriers faced by women surgeons. Harlan answers questions about an FDA panel’s finding that the decongestant phenylephrine is ineffective; Howie looks at the trends making hospital finances unsustainable.
Links:
“FDA clarifies results of recent advisory committee meeting on oral phenylephrine”
“Phenylephrine vs. Pseudoephedrine: What’s the Difference?”
“Why Has a Useless Cold Medication Been Allowed on Shelves for Years?”
“Surgeon Sex and Long-Term Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Common Surgeries”
“Age, Gender And Ability To Listen: Who Listens Best?”
“Women surgeons are punished more than men for the exact same mistakes, study finds”
“Board of Supervisors denies Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s $1 million request”
“Money and ambition split up Dana-Farber and Brigham”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 95Duration 34:52
Peter Hotez: Opposing the Anti-Science Movement
In a special episode, Howie and Harlan are joined by the virologist and advocate Peter Hotez to discuss his new book, The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning. This interview was recorded in late August.
Links:
Peter Hotez: The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning
Peter Hotez: Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism
“The Red/Blue Divide in COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Continues: An Update"
“Swiss study finds connection between watching Fox News and vaccination rates going down"
“The Paranoid Style in American Plutocrats"
“Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent"
“Peter Hotez is not alone: Online harassment of doctors is a public health issue"
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 94Duration 30:46
Ted Long: A Model for Effective Primary Care
Howie and Harlan are joined by Ted Long, senior vice president of ambulatory care and population health at New York City Health + Hospitals, to discuss New York City’s remarkable success in providing care to its most vulnerable citizens. Harlan discusses the state of research into long COVID, including his own studies; Howie reports on the first round of drug-price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Links:
“Scientists look at the progress made toward understanding—and treating—long COVID”
National Institutes of Health “NIH launches new initiative to study ‘Long COVID’”
The Yale Paxlovid for Long COVID (PAX LC) Trial
Internal tremors and vibrations in long COVID: a cross-sectional study
“Burnout threatens primary care workforce and doctors' mental health”
NYC Health and Hospitals: Housing for Health
“NYC Health + Hospitals Wins Superbowl Of Reducing Blood Pressure Awards”
“Drugmakers Are ‘Throwing the Kitchen Sink’ to Halt Medicare Price Negotiations”
“The 4 Arguments You Will Hear Against Drug Price Negotiation”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 93Duration 31:24
Zhenqiu Lin: Measuring Quality, Improving Care
Howie and Harlan are joined by Zhenqiu Lin, senior director of analytics at Yale’s Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, to discuss how quality measures can make care more consistent and effective and improve outcomes for patients. Howie provides an update on research on repetitive head trauma among young football players; Harlan reports on new findings about the benefits of semaglutide for people with heart disease.
Links:
American Academy Of Pediatrics: “Tackling in Youth Football”
“Semaglutide in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction and Obesity”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastDuration 32:48
Best of Health & Veritas, Summer 2023
Howie and Harlan look back on some of their favorite moments from the first 92 episodes of Health & Veritas.
Featured episodes:
Ania Jastreboff: The Revolution in Obesity Medication
Josh Geballe: Turning Yale Innovation into Startups
Anna Kaltenboeck: Untangling Drug Prices
Akiko Iwasaki: Is Long COVID One Disease or Many?
Perry Wilson: The Formula for Medical Misinformation
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld: The CEO Whisperer
Harlan Krumholz, This Is Your Life
Megan Ranney: What’s Next for Public Health?
Michael Alosco: The Toll of Repetitive Head Impacts
Gil Addo: Building a Model for Virtual Specialty Care
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 92Duration 39:15
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy: Building a Culture of Health
In this special episode, Howie and Harlan are joined by Vivek Murthy, the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States, and a graduate of the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of Medicine.
Links:
The Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service
CDC: Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic
“How Sleep Deprivation Impacts Mental Health”
CMS: Delivering Services in School-Based Settings
U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation
Surgeon General’s Advisory on E-cigarette Use Among Youth
Vivek Murthy: “U.S. surgeon general: I am concerned about social media and youth mental health”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.
- PodcastEpisode 91Duration 34:13
Alan Friedman: To Err Is Human
Howie and Harlan are joined by Alan Friedman, chief medical officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, to talk about the organizational and cultural changes that the hospital has made to minimize medical errors and unprofessional behavior that harm patients. Howie reports on a Yale study showing a gap in excess deaths between Republicans and Democrats after the COVID-19 vaccine was introduced; Harlan discusses the continued problem of financial toxicity for patients, and a new study casting doubt on the effectiveness of “neuroprotective” diets.
Links:
“State-Level Excess Mortality in US Adults During the Delta and Omicron Waves of COVID-19”
“To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System”
“The Safety of Inpatient Health Care”
“We’re Already Paying for Universal Health Care. Why Don’t We Have It?”
“Trial of the MIND Diet for Prevention of Cognitive Decline in Older Persons”
Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM.