Healthcare Musings
This is the official podcast of Hesham A. Hassaballa, MD, a NY Times-featured Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician, Author, and Healthcare Executive. Healthcare Musings discusses healthcare delivery and policy. Healthcare Musings Substack: http://healthcaremusings.substack.com
Recent Episodes
112
Aug. 11, 2026
Is Health Insurance Actually Insurance?: My Conversation with Dr. Reinier Schuur
Is health insurance actually insurance? Is this why costs are so high? Are there other ways to pay for healthcare? I asked this and many more questions of Dr. Reinier Schuur, health policy analyst with the Center for Modern Health, a health policy think tank. Our conversation was thought-provoking. Center for Modern Health: https://substack.com/@reinierschuur Article: https://open.substack.com/pub/centerformodernhealth/p/break-up-big-coverage-not-big-medicine?r=2d9b5g&utm_medium=ios
111
Aug. 4, 2026
Voltaire In The ICU - La Deuxième Partie
Continuing in the mini-series “Voltaire in the ICU,” Dr. Hassaballa discusses end-of-life care and how best to frame the question of what people want done to themselves at the end of life.
110
July 28, 2026
Voltaire in the ICU
"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." These words were written by Voltaire, and it is popularly rendered as "The perfect is the enemy of the good." In the ICU, I have to make decisions every day on critically ill patients, and frequently, I have to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Sometimes, doing something is worse than doing nothing at all. In this latest episode of the podcast, Dr. Hassaballa discusses how he heeds the advice of Voltaire when he works in the ICU.
109
July 21, 2026
Yes, This Sleep Doctor Wants Permanent Daylight Savings Time
The US House passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2026 on July 14. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine “condemned” the bill. For me, as a sleep physician, I also want DST to be permanent. I don’t buy the circadian misalignment arguments. Sleep Research Society position statement: https://sleepresearchsociety.org/sleep-research-society-position-statement-supports-adoption-permanent-standard-time/
108
July 14, 2026
Gratitude: The Physician Leader’s Superpower
I was blessed to be a guest on the Healthcare Leadership Show by Marion Spears Karr. We had a wonderful conversation about gratitude, and how it is the physician leader’s superpower. Marion Spears Karr on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionspearskarr
107
July 7, 2026
The Vindication of Dr. Hassabolus III
Once again, randomized control trial data show that aggressive fluid strategies in septic shock are not harmful. Dr. Hassabolus is vindicated, yet again. Many thanks to the PulmCCM Substack for its excellent analysis of the critical care literature: https://open.substack.com/pub/pulmccm/p/early-vasopressors-are-superior-to?r=2d9b5g&utm_medium=ios
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