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
Jamie Susskind: How the Digital Republic Could Deepen Democracy and Compound Freedom in the 21st Century
Bernhard Poerksen: Can an "Editorial Society" Heal Our Digital Fever of Misinformation and Lies?
Max Holleran on NIMBYism vs YIMBYism: How to Reinvent the City to Solve the Homelessness Pandemic
Jonathan Rauch Contemplates (and Fears) a Post-Democratic America
Ian Buruma: What to Make of America On Its 246th Birthday
Daniel Birnbaum: Wassily Kandinsky and the Uncannily Contemporary Origins of 20th Century Abstract Art
George Monbiot on How to Feed the World Without Devouring the Planet
Verlyn Klinkenborg on How to Write Well About Nature: Simplify Language, Empathize With Other Creatures, and Use Your Eyes Like a Hawk
Elizabeth Sandifer: Why a Bloody End to Democracy in America Is Not Only Likely But Maybe Even Inevitable
Andrew Hodges on Alan Turing and Why One of the 20th Century's Most Iconic Figures Remains So Relevant in the 21st Century
Chris Miller: Is It Possible That the Russians Are Now Winning the War in Ukraine?
Margaret Mitchell: Can Big Tech Be Reformed to Make It More Ethically Responsible In Its Development of Artificial Intelligence?
Robert Pearl: How the Seemingly Parallel Pandemics of Covid, Anxiety, and Gun Violence Are All Part of the Same Existential Crisis of American Healthcare