Episode 2042: Robert Pearl MD explains how AI can regenerate the American medical system
There are few people more adept at navigating America’s labyrinthine medical system than Robert Pearl. Yale medical degree, Stanford University professor, best-selling author, former CEO of the Californian insurance network Kaiser Permanente, Pearl has explored this byzantine confusion of private enterprise monopoly and government supported bureaucracy from almost every angle. And now Dr Pearl has a way of curing its profound dysfunctionality and shoving the archaic system into the 21st century. As Robbie argues in his new book, ChatGPT, MD (which he claims he “co-authored” with ChatGPT), Robbie is unfashionably bullish about AI’s potential to improve both our health and our working lives. Let’s hope he’s right.
For 18 years, ROBERT PEARL, MD served as CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente). He is also former president of The Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. In these roles he led 10,000 physicians, 38,000 staff and was responsible for the nationally recognized medical care of 5 million Kaiser Permanente members on the west and east coasts. He is a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches courses on healthcare strategy, technology, and leadership. Pearl is board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery, receiving his medical degree from Yale, followed by a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University. He’s the author of three books: Mistreated: Why We Think We’re Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We’re Usually Wrong, a Washington Post bestseller (2017); Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors & Patients, a Kirkus star recipient (2021); and his newest book ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine (April 2024). All profits from sales of his books go to Doctors Without Borders. Dr. Pearl is a LinkedIn “Top Voice” in healthcare and host of the popular podcasts Fixing Healthcare and Medicine: The Truth. He publishes two monthly healthcare newsletters reaching 50,000+ combined subscribers. A frequent keynote speaker, Pearl has presented at The World Healthcare Congress, the Commonwealth Club, TEDx, HLTH, NCQA Quality Talks, the National Primary Care Transformation Summit, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and international conferences in Brazil, Australia, India, and beyond. Pearl’s insights on generative AI in healthcare have been featured in Associated Press, USA Today, MSN, FOX Business, Forbes, Fast Company, WIRED, Global News, Modern Healthcare, Medscape, Medpage Today, AI in Healthcare, Doximity, Becker’s Hospital Review, the Advisory Board, the Journal of AHIMA, and more.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Karen Cerulo and Janet Ruane: How We Can't Escape Social Class, Gender, or Culture in How We Dream
Jared Del Rosso: Why All We Need to Become Whistleblowers in Exposing Both Political and Personal Injustice
Deborah Cadbury: The Remarkable Story of the Quaker Teacher Who Defied Hitler and Smuggled Her Entire School From Germany to England
Toby Walsh: If Our Superpower Is Human Empathy, Then Why the Hell Are We Trying to Teach Computers To Be Empathetic?
Richard Hasen: Can American Democracy Be Fixed By Making Political Speech More Expensive?
Ken Auletta: What Does the Harvey Weinstein Story Tell Us About the Culture of Silence in Hollywood and America?
Charles Sabel: To Fix the Climate We Need to Rewire the Economy, Our Democracy, and Our Brains
Michael Fertik: On Washington Irving, John Muir, Philip Dick, Jonathan Haidt and what America Has Uniquely Got Going For It
Aviva Rahmani: Why Telling Effective Stories About the Environment Requires Not Just Words But Also Visual Images and Even Music
Daniel S. Moak: Why America's Current War on Schools Is the Result of Fifty Years of Failed Federal Educational "Reforms"
Ed Yong: Why Perceiving Animal Senses Makes Us Empathetic Not Only to Other Creatures But Also to Each Other
Daniel Silva on How to Write a Bestselling Literary Spy Novel Every Year
Elisabeth Leake on How the Soviet and American Invasions of Afghanistan Are Comparable