The Shah's Spleen, Quality Metrics, Health Insurance & the FDA

The Shah's Spleen, Quality Metrics, Health Insurance & the FDA

Author: The Doctor's Lounge March 9, 2026 Duration: 55:27
Send us Fan Mail Dr. Anish Koka and Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio open with the little-known medical story behind the death of the Shah of Iran — how Mohammed Reza Pahlavi came to be operated on in Cairo in 1980 by legendary cardiovascular surgeon Michael DeBakey, and how the "comforting explanation" bias may have contributed to his death from a post-operative abscess rather than his underlying cancer. The case, drawn from a piece by Dr. Li Zhao (NYU Langone), launches a broader conversation about an...

In The Doctor's Lounge, the white coat comes off for a conversation that moves freely from the exam room to the boardroom. This isn't a lecture hall; it's the back table where practicing physicians gather to unpack the complex systems that define modern medicine. Hosted by Dutch Rojas and Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, with regular voices like Anish Koka, MD, Dan Choi, MD, and Sanat Dixit, MD, the discussions are built on frontline experience. You'll hear unfiltered perspectives on the policy debates that shape care, the realities of navigating business and entrepreneurship within a medical practice, and the constant push for meaningful reform. The dialogue is grounded in a shared commitment to physician autonomy and, ultimately, better patient outcomes. Each episode in this podcast connects the dots between clinical fitness and the health of the medical profession itself, offering a rare look at the challenges and opportunities that exist where patient care meets the mechanics of the healthcare industry. It's a space for the nuanced, often contentious, and always real conversations happening behind the scenes.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Doctors’ Lounge
Podcast Episodes
From Addiction to Advocacy: Tom Wolf's Journey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:53
Send us Fan Mail Summary In this episode, Anthony DiGiorgio and Anish Koka engage with Tom Wolf, a recovery advocate, who shares his personal journey through addiction, homelessness, and eventual recovery. The conversati…
The Ship Has Sailed: Mike Munger on Medicare, Markets, and Debt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:08
Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary Duke political economist and podcast host Mike Munger (The Answer is Transaction Costs) joins Anthony DiGiorgio and Anish Koka to argue that what Americans call "health insurance" isn't i…
900 Regulatory Hurdles: Why AI Isn't Replacing Doctors Yet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:19
Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary With scheduled guest Dr. Geoff Manley pulled away by a medical emergency, hosts Anish Koka and Anthony DiGiorgio turn the episode into a news roundtable. They open on a JAMA op-ed by Neil…
Right-to-Try 2.0: Inside the Montana Model with Niklas Anzinger [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:52
Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary Anish Koka and Anthony DiGiorgio sit down with Niklas Anzinger, a venture capitalist and founder of Infinita VC, to unpack Montana SB535 — a new law that lets doctors administer treatment…