What happens when the nurses sent to care for your medically fragile child have never even touched the equipment keeping him alive? Patient advocate Ashley Youngdale knows firsthand. As the mother of a son with Mobius syndrome who required a trach and ventilator, she became his primary nurse, trainer, and care coordinator when the pediatric home health care system fell short. In this episode, based on her KevinMD article "Pediatric home health care oversight: Why accountability is failing [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/04/pediatric-home-health-care-oversight-why-accountability-is-failing.html]," Ashley reveals how the nursing shortage does more than leave shifts unfilled. It erodes the very accountability structures meant to protect vulnerable patients. You will hear why credentials do not guarantee competence, how blurred boundaries with home care nurses can put families at risk, and why parents must learn to enforce their own standards when oversight systems fail. If you care for a medically complex child or work in home health nursing, this conversation will change how you think about who is truly responsible for patient safety.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring [https://kevinmd.com/2026/04/2026-cholesterol-guidelines-ldl-goals-lpa-and-coronary-calcium-scoring-podcast.html]," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol [https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol].

VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

No nurse is better than a bad nurse in your child's home

What happens when a physician who spent decades treating patients suddenly finds himself on the other side of the exam table, unable to get a simple answer about his own aneurysm? Jeffrey Junig, a psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist, shares how a life-saving surgery and a casually dropped diagnosis exposed the growing disconnect between clinical excellence and patient experience. Based on his KevinMD article, "Why quality of life in health care is often overlooked [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/04/why-quality-of-life-in-health-care-is-often-overlooked.html]," this conversation digs into what gets lost in 15-minute visits, why patients turn to the internet when doctors won't engage, and how even a physician with full access to medical literature struggled to advocate for his own care. You'll hear practical advice for patients who feel rushed or dismissed, honest reflection on polypharmacy and the limits of app-based communication, and a powerful case for why the doctor-patient relationship remains the most undervalued tool in medicine. If you've ever left a clinic feeling unheard, this episode will remind you that your questions deserve real answers.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring [https://kevinmd.com/2026/04/2026-cholesterol-guidelines-ldl-goals-lpa-and-coronary-calcium-scoring-podcast.html]," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol [https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol].

VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Your doctor saved your life but won't return your call

What if the biggest driver of unnecessary ER visits, malpractice claims, and patient anxiety isn't a missed diagnosis but a missed sentence? Alan P. Feren, a retired surgeon, independent physician, health care consultant, and patient advocate, returns to the show to break down why clinical reasoning that stays inside a doctor's head fails everyone involved. Based on his KevinMD article, "Clinical communication skills: the power of structured language [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/04/clinical-communication-skills-the-power-of-structured-language.html]," this conversation introduces his five disciplines of language, a practical framework that helps physicians translate their thinking into words patients can actually use. You'll learn why vague instructions like "return if symptoms worsen" leave patients guessing, how 30 to 40 percent of malpractice suits trace back to communication failures, and why naming what has been ruled out can matter just as much as naming the diagnosis. Feren also addresses treatment burden, the overlooked question of whether a patient can realistically follow the plan you just prescribed. None of this requires extra time or systemic overhaul, just a shift in how you structure what you already say. If you want one framework that improves patient satisfaction, reduces downstream costs, and restores meaning to the clinical encounter, press play.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring [https://kevinmd.com/2026/04/2026-cholesterol-guidelines-ldl-goals-lpa-and-coronary-calcium-scoring-podcast.html]," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol [https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol].

VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Patients don't need certainty, they need your reasoning out loud

What happens when patients from opposite ends of the political spectrum sit together in your waiting room and start talking like neighbors? Psychiatrist Farid Sabet-Sharghi explores why the medical office remains one of the last spaces where shared humanity overrides division. Based on his KevinMD article, "Physician neutrality: a beacon of ethics in a divided world" [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/04/physician-neutrality-a-beacon-of-ethics-in-a-divided-world.html], this conversation moves from the exam rooms of a polarized America to the prisons of Iran, where physicians and nurses risked torture and death to treat wounded protesters. Sabet-Sharghi shares the story of his father, a pediatrician arrested for his Bahai faith, who opened a clinic inside the very prison that held him. He draws a line from that radical moral courage to the quieter tests physicians face every day: speaking up when colleagues are mistreated, pushing back when systems reduce healers to "providers" and "prescribers," and refusing to let financial stratification erode the dignity of primary care. You'll hear why he now prefers "unbending moral integrity" over neutrality, how physician burnout connects to a lost sense of calling, and what younger doctors need to hear about why their work still matters. This is a conversation that will remind you why you entered medicine in the first place.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring [https://kevinmd.com/2026/04/2026-cholesterol-guidelines-ldl-goals-lpa-and-coronary-calcium-scoring-podcast.html]," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol [https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol].

VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Your waiting room does what social media cannot

What happens when a Division I athlete loses 40 pounds, can barely form sentences during practice, and keeps hearing from doctors that it might just be anxiety? Kamiah Gibson, a D1 women's volleyball player at Ohio State and psychology graduate student, shares how she had to diagnose herself after finding celiac disease information on TikTok, only to be told over the phone to "just eat gluten-free" days before a three-week road trip. Based on her KevinMD article, "Managing celiac disease: Overcoming the hidden social burden [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/04/managing-celiac-disease-overcoming-the-hidden-social-burden.html]," this conversation reveals the gap between a celiac diagnosis and actually knowing how to live with one. Gibson describes training eight hours a day on a body that could not absorb nutrients, the isolation of being afraid to eat anywhere, and how a consumer gluten detection sensor gave her the confidence to travel and share meals with friends again. You'll hear why cross-contamination is the hidden danger that most newly diagnosed patients are never warned about, how the emotional toll of chronic illness redirected her career from pre-med to mental health therapy, and what advice she offers young adults navigating a diagnosis that reshapes every social interaction around food. If you or someone you know lives with celiac disease, this is the episode to share.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring [https://kevinmd.com/2026/04/2026-cholesterol-guidelines-ldl-goals-lpa-and-coronary-calcium-scoring-podcast.html]," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol [https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol].

VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

I ate plain rice and chicken for six months because no one explained celiac

What happens when a physician searches her own name online and gets redirected to a billionaire-backed corporate clinic she has no connection to? Stephanie Waggel, a physician and founder of Improve Medical Culture, explains how vertical integration in health care is quietly suffocating independent practices while most doctors and patients have no idea it is happening. Based on her KevinMD article, "The dangers of vertical integration in health care [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/04/the-dangers-of-vertical-integration-in-health-care.html]," this conversation unpacks how a single corporate entity can own the insurance company, the pharmacy benefit manager, the drug distributor, the retail pharmacy, and the provider group all at once. Waggel breaks down why this consolidation drives up costs rather than lowering them, how private equity and venture capital firms pressure physician-owned practices into selling, and why the consumer ultimately loses when one entity controls pricing at every step. You'll hear her compare health care models across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, learn why she believes pharmacists should own pharmacies and doctors should own clinics, and discover the community-based survival strategies independent practitioners are using to stay visible. If you care about the future of the doctor-patient relationship and the survival of independent medicine, this one deserves your attention.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring [https://kevinmd.com/2026/04/2026-cholesterol-guidelines-ldl-goals-lpa-and-coronary-calcium-scoring-podcast.html]," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol [https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol].

VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

I Googled my own name and a corporate clinic I've never worked at appeared

When was the last time your dentist mentioned that artificial intelligence was scanning your X-rays before you even sat down in the chair? General dentist Sowjanya Gunukula explains how AI is quietly transforming routine dental checkups in ways most patients never hear about. Based on her KevinMD article, "How AI in dentistry is changing your next checkup [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/04/how-ai-in-dentistry-is-changing-your-next-checkup.html]," this conversation breaks down the two major applications reshaping dental care today: radiographic analysis that color-codes cavities and bone loss in real time, and predictive analytics that sort patients into risk categories for more personalized treatment plans. Gunukula describes how AI acts as a second set of eyes that never gets tired, catching early problems on busy days that the human eye might miss. You'll learn why dentistry is shifting from reactive to preventive, how AI-driven risk profiling can mean less time in the chair and lower costs, and why patients should feel empowered to ask their dentist how these tools are being used. She also addresses concerns about over-reliance and explains why responsible adoption keeps the patient relationship at the center. If you want to understand what is already happening behind the scenes at your next dental visit, this episode is worth your time.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring [https://kevinmd.com/2026/04/2026-cholesterol-guidelines-ldl-goals-lpa-and-coronary-calcium-scoring-podcast.html]," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol [https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol].

VISIT SPONSOR → https://kevinmd.com/cholesterol

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

AI is already reading your dental X-rays and you probably have no idea

In this sponsored episode from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a leading preventive cardiologist walks through the 2026 cholesterol guideline update and what it means in practice. Seth J. Baum, a Columbia-trained preventive cardiologist, founder of Flourish Research, chairman of the Family Heart Foundation, and past president of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, breaks down the major changes in the March 2026 ACC and AHA guideline release. You will hear why LDL targets are explicit again after nearly a decade, why universal lipoprotein A screening is now recommended, why a coronary calcium score above 300 places a patient in the highest-risk treatment tier, and why apolipoprotein B measurement can refine risk assessment when LDL is at goal. Baum also covers the alternatives available when a patient cannot tolerate a statin, including ezetimibe, PCSK9 inhibitors, inclisiran, and bempedoic acid, along with practical framing for the statin-hesitant patient. You will also hear his approach to discussing cholesterol with patients, from the science of lipoprotein physiology to the case for earlier and more aggressive lipid-lowering treatment.

Dr. Baum was not compensated for his participation in today's episode. The opinions expressed are his alone and do not represent the opinions of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

At Novartis, our mission is to ensure no heart is lost too soon. We envision a world where preventable CV deaths are no longer part of our lives. We're proud of the positive impact we've made over the past 40 years and remain dedicated to tackling the most challenging problems in CVD. Through cutting-edge science and technology, we are focusing on areas of high unmet need, including scaling our xRNA platform across multiple risk factors and pioneering breakthroughs for genetically driven CVD risk factors and common heart conditions, including atrial fibrillation.

We also work with patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations around the world to improve CV care beyond medicine alone. Together, we can help people with CVD enjoy longer, healthier lives and more time with their loved ones. Learn more here: https://Novartis.us/cardiovascular-disease [https://novartis.us/cardiovascular-disease]

VISIT SPONSOR → https://Novartis.us/cardiovascular-disease

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

2026 cholesterol guidelines: LDL goals, Lp(a), and coronary calcium scoring

What happens when a woman is diagnosed with a rare, estrogen-sensitive lung disease at 28, in her first week of residency, with no roadmap for whether she can safely have children? Anesthesiologist Lyndsay Hoy shares her experience navigating family planning after being diagnosed with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a rare disease that predominantly affects women of childbearing age. Her episode is based on her KevinMD article, "Reproductive care for rare diseases: the missing playbook [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/05/reproductive-care-for-rare-diseases-the-missing-playbook.html]," Even with a medical degree, institutional access, and a physician partner, Hoy found the answers incomplete, and she knows most women facing similar diagnoses have far less support. You will hear why rare disease patients so often become their own case managers, bridging pulmonology, reproductive endocrinology, and genetics with no coordinated system guiding them. Hoy draws on the oncofertility model built around hormone-sensitive breast cancer as proof that structured reproductive counseling can be developed even under uncertainty. She outlines what a minimum viable playbook for rare disease reproductive care should include and the work already underway at the LAM Foundation. If you care about closing the gaps in women's health care, this conversation will change how you see the problem.

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

She was learning to keep others breathing while losing her own air

What happens when a patient makes a reasonable, informed decision to skip a non-mandatory test and the system simply stops? Patient advocate Aaron S. Rosenberg shares how a routine dental visit became a case study in conditional care after he declined bite-wing X-rays and was told his cleaning could not proceed. His episode is based on his KevinMD article, "Informed refusal vs. denied care: a dental case study [https://www.kevinmd.com/2025/05/informed-refusal-vs-denied-care-a-dental-case-study.html]," You will hear how a recommendation quietly became a requirement, how licensure risk was invoked despite no such mandate existing in ADA guidelines, and how the visit ended with no care delivered at all. Rosenberg draws on his career spanning clinical practice, health systems, and insurance to examine how standardization, liability concerns, and billing structures can squeeze out shared decision making. He makes the case that informed refusal is a patient right that only has meaning if care remains available after a reasonable decline. He also explores where to draw the line, distinguishing non-mandatory diagnostics tied to preventive care from urgent clinical scenarios where compliance may be essential. If you have ever wondered whether health care systems are quietly replacing clinical judgment with rigid protocols, this episode will sharpen how you think about patient autonomy.

Partner with me on the KevinMD platform [https://kevinmd.com/kevinmd-influencer-opportunities]. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story.

PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

He declined routine X-rays and was denied a dental cleaning

Social media's leading physician voice, Kevin Pho, MD, shares the stories of the
many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. 15
minutes a day. 7 days a week. Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD.