Difficult Conversations Podcast

Lessons I Learned as an ICU Physician

Episode 153 | August 24, 2021

Uncaring Conversations about Physician Culture

Robert Pearl, M.D.

Forbes Healthcare Contributor/ Author

Robert Pearl

Welcome to Difficult Conversations with Dr. Anthony Orsini. As I was driving from my home in Florida to New Jersey, I was listening to an audiobook called, Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients, which in my opinion is the best analysis and synopsis of the state of healthcare today that I have ever read . Today, I am so honored to have the author of this book, Robert Pearl, MD as my guest. Robert is the former CEO of the Permanente Medical Group,. Being one of modern healthcare’s 50 most influential physician leaders, Dr. Pearl is an advocate for the power of integrated, prepaid, technologically advanced and physician-led health care 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, Dr. Pearl is the author of Mistreated: Why We Think We’re Getting Good Healthcare– and Why We’re Usually Wrong, and his new book, Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients, which we’ll be discussing today. He is also a fellow podcaster and publishes a newsletter called “Monthly Musings on American Healthcare.” He has published more than 100 articles in medical journals and is a frequent keynote speaker at healthcare and medical technology conferences.

Robert describes his success story behind becoming a surgeon, the CEO of Kaiser and author as serendipitous . In his book, Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients, Robert first defines physician culture and how it’s helped and hurt medicine.. Dr. Orsini discusses how change is often hard for physicians, and one of the best thing that’s happened is the elevation of the patient experience Robert tells us why walking the line as an administrator and physician has helped him. and goes more in depth about the biggest problems with physician culture. He shares a phenomenal fact that will shock you. They discuss the importance of preventative care better and building relationships with patients. Robert shares his thoughts on what we can do about professional burnout and how we can make it better to get doctors to enjoy their work even more. If you enjoyed this podcast, please hit follow, and download all the previous episodes to find out more about what we do and how we teach communication.

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