Episodes

Today on the show, I proudly welcome New York Times bestselling author Dr. Theresa Brown, RN. Her new book, "Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient," is now available in hardcover, and what read it is. Theresa has a phenomenal sense of humor and an inherently advantageous perspective on the inner workings of healthcare. Yet, when the coin flipped, she found herself a fish out of water while still swimming in the fishbowl. So, brace yourself for the usual 80s nostalgia train combined with some horrible Dad jokes, a smidgen of survivor guilt, and a wild ride through the "cancer is a contest" theater of the absurd. Fun fact: This episode may be the first show I've ever done that channels Fast times at Ridgemont High and Ferris Bueller through the lens of nursing while throwing tons of shade at Grey's Anatomy. Oh, one last thing. We had a couple of sound glitches during the show, and my editor Kyle did his best to compensate for it. So please forgive any blips, bleeps, and weird stuff. S…

Matthew Zachary and Guest host Stephanie Santoriello break down this week's Covid-19 news. Visit offscrip.com/shows for more podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the show today, I'm thrilled to welcome in-studio Michelle Juhanson, VP, Chief of Staff II at Magellan Rx Management. First off, unlike Lethal Weapon 2 and Godfather 2, her role as "Chief Of Staff II" is not a sequel. Second, her company is a PBM, which, for the cheap seats in the back, stands for "Pharmacy Benefit Management Company." What does that mean? These folks work tirelessly behind the scenes, trench-warfare-style, to make sure the right medication gets to the right patient at the right time while dealing with bureaucratic nonsense from health systems, insurance companies, and related dumbfuckery. What's super cool about Michelle is that she's a multilingual, multicultural, global citizen, which means she has a perspective on the over/under of health systems outside the US. As par for the course, prepare yourself for all the 80s pop culture references you can muster and a trip down IMDB lane. Oh, and did I also mention she's a young adult cancer survivor? Enjoy the show. …

SCOTUS rules against hospitals, covid testing is precarious, and mice deliver an important message. Visit offscrip.com/shows for more podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the show, I welcome Karen Haberberg, a New York-based photographer and the author of several books, one of which is called An Ordinary Day: Kids with Rare Genetic Conditions. Karen's father was himself a photographer who taught her how to shoot when she was in middle school. Like father, like daughter, she was quickly drawn to the art of storytelling through the camera lens and found her voice in capturing the humanity within children of rare disease. Our conversation took us in many directions, not the least of which included the careful craftsmanship and interpersonal disciple it requires to embrace these children as if they were her own to represent humanity and dignity rather than pity. Karen's images have been showcased in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Good Morning America, New York 1, and others. Lastly, as fellow Gen-X'ers, we channel the love/hate relationship we had with Fotomat back in the 1990s and the over/under of running out of fl…

Vax On host and lawyer Elura Nanos explains what legally happened when the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Listeners will learn what the justices decided and what it all means for abortion and other areas of law as we move forward into a post-Roe world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The CDC overhauled its Covid-19 risk rating system. A WHO official says the more you're re-infected with COVID-19, the more likely the person is to be "unlucky" and contract long-Covid. Free COVID-19 testing is now in insurers' hands.  SHOW NOTES: Check out "The Dabble Co." from OffScrip Health Visit offscrip.com/shows for more podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, I speak with actor turned thought leader and coach Amelia Randolph Campbell.   Amelia has crisscrossed the country, from her childhood in New Mexico to college in New England and an acting career in New York City. She made her way from the stage to sales and now back to the stage as an inspirational speaker. And that’s just her point — to live is to take on different roles. In her forthcoming book, “The Conscious Actor,” Amelia talks about how the actor’s mindset can serve as an effective personal growth tool. It can also help one cope with health crises. Amelia’s here today to tell how, take on life's big questions, and share her recipe for hope. For more information, visit https://OffScrip.com and follow @MatthewZachary, @VaxOnPod, and @OffScripHealth on Twitter.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tik Tok, immunity, misinformation, and more! SHOW NOTES: Check out "The Heart of Healthcare" from OffScrip Health Visit offscrip.com/shows for more podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, I welcome Dr. Maulik Majmudar, a cardiologist, Chief Medical Officer, and Co-Founder at Biofourmis, a rapidly growing virtual care delivery and digital therapeutics company. He dropped by the studio to bond over fathering boy/girl twins like me and to dive further down the rabbit hole of the modern-day train wreck that is America's fabulous healthcare system. Before his current position, Maulik was Medical Officer for a small, relatively unknown company named Amazon, where he led the development and launch of Amazon's first health membership service. As an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, he was responsible for the identification, validation, and implementation of digital health solutions to improve care delivery and the patient and provider experience. That sounds like mumbo-jumbo, but we really do get into what this means in our conversation. Follow Maulik on Twitter @mdmajmudar and enjoy the show. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California …

Novavax delays, Ramsay Hunt syndrome 101, and unexpected Covid excuses. Visit offscrip.com/shows for more podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember that time I was on the cover of Newsweek? Great. If not, well, you do. Several people were responsible for taking the risk of bringing the young adult cancer movement's cause to the national spotlight, and Jessica Firger sits on that "Mount Rushmore." At the time, Jess was a senior health writer at Newsweek, but this award-winning health journalist has a storied career, having held posts at CBS News, CNN, Everyday Health, and others. On today's show, Jess joins me live in-studio for a g...

Florida's COVID data audit, long COVID disabilities, and overstocked shelves. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a belated episode channeling March being Autoimmune Awareness Month, my dear friend Erin Moriarty Wade drops by the show today to talk about channeling her inner parental beast mode as a caregiver to her incredible daughter Ansley who lives with a rare autoimmune disease. Erin is also a long-standing freelance healthcare writer, journalist, on-air reporter, and weekend anchor. Our conversations break down the insanity of healthcare communications, how stupid they can be, what works, what's broken, and what you can do about it. Follow Erin on Twitter at @EMoriartyWade and Enjoy the show. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So my buddy Marty Keiser happened to be in NYC and dropped by OffScrip Health Studios, and we decided to turn on the mics and bromance out since we hadn't seen each other in person in over a year. #ThanksPandemic. Consider this "Very Special Episode of Family Ties" a mental exercise in friendship, camaraderie, purpose, frustration, intent, and belief that the good in the world far outweighs the bad in the world. Yogi Bera said, "If life were easy, we'd all do it." Truer words were never spoken. So that about sums up the episode. I hope you enjoy it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From dysgeusia to Y10K... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I chat with Annie Brewster, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a practicing internist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. She’s also a patient, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001 at age 32. In response to the problems she experienced in healthcare, both as a patient and a provider, Dr. Brewster founded Health Story Collaborative in 2013. It’s a nonprofit organization committed to empowering patients and their loved ones, building community, strengthening patient-provider connections, and transforming healthcare through storytelling. Dr. Brewster recently published The Healing Power of Storytelling: Using Personal Narrative to Navigate Illness, Trauma, and Loss, which tells her own story as a physician and MS patient, the science behind narrative medicine, and tips on how to heal and manage health issues through storytelling.  For more information, visit https://OffScrip.com and follow @MatthewZachary, @VaxOnPod, and @OffScripHealth on Twitter.…

Bar Mitzvahs, Death penalties, and monkeypox. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's ad-free episode of Out Of Patients is made possible by our friends at Exact Sciences, changing lives together through earlier detection and smarter answers. You know, I always love being the dumbest guy in the room because it bodes well that our discussions will be of the highest caliber of authenticity, trust, and the occasional 80s reference. I am grateful to welcome two genius humans who have uniquely accomplished insanely great things that have changed the world for the better. Dr. Paul Limburg is the Chief Medical Officer at Exact Sciences, and Dr. Nickolas Papadopoulos is a Professor of Oncology and Pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Our conversation ranges from "meditainment" and a poor Sean Connery impression to a future where it may be possible for there to be something called MCED, or "Multi-Cancer Early Detection." We've been talking about cancer prevention for decades, but soon it may be possible to nip it in the bud before it gets awful—…

Shortages of everything everywhere all at once! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, I speak with board-certified patient advocate and thyroid cancer survivor Vanessa Steil. In 2014, Vanessa founded her company Living in Steil to help coach people through health crises and share what she learned during her experience with thyroid cancer at age 26. She also shares her perspective as a caregiver to someone living with cancer. Vanessa talks about the need to change how we talk about cancer, scan-xiety, antithyroglobulin levels, and other syllables. For more information, visit https://OffScrip.com and follow @MatthewZachary and @OffScripHealth on Twitter.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pardon me for interrupting today's regularly scheduled episode of VAX ON here on the Out of Patients podcast feed. I promise it's for a good reason, namely, a rebroadcast — for those who may have missed it — of Episode One of The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship, our acclaimed 8-part narrative history series from 2021. Over 300,000 listeners can't be wrong, and it'd be a disservice not to ensure all of my incredible listeners were made aware of this highly ambitious passion project. 2021 was the 50th Anniversary of The National Cancer Act of 1971, passed by President Richard Nixon, that kicked off "The War on Cancer." What you're going to hear in this inaugural episode lays the fundamental groundwork for what has become the very idea of cancer advocacy in the modern era. This series has made a huge dent in society and culture, further demonstrating a most important key takeaway: Advocacy matters. Your voice matters, for it is the only thing that's ever changed anything. Enj…

Today I talk to Dr. Mark Lewis and Dr. Jean Luc Neptune, two brilliant physicians and hosts of the new Offscrip Health podcast, Is It Serious? Mark is also a patient living with a hereditary tumor syndrome and brings his unique point of view from both sides of the exam table. JL is an entrepreneur and practices addiction medicine at his own company Suntra Modern Recovery. Through their conversations, they pull back the curtain on the American Healthcare system and share their doctor knowledge without all the complex doctor talk. Today, JL and I realize that we may or may not have been on the same flight that had to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City and Mark breaks into his Scottish brogue and recreates the opening scene from the movie Trainspotting. They’re smart. They’re funny. They’re passionate and they are coming to you weekly through their podcast, Is It Serious? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv…

Testing kit murals, boosters, and PPE. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.