The Podcast by KevinMD

Kevin Pho, MD

Social media's leading physician voice, Kevin Pho, MD, shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. 15 minutes a day. 7 days a week. Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD.

  1. 2d ago

    Your leaky gut tests aren't fixing you

    A teacher came in for migraines and weight loss with a stack of leaky gut test results and a diagnosis that never fixed her. Shiv K. Goel is a board-certified internal medicine and functional medicine physician who argues that leaky gut is not a diagnosis but a physiological response, and that the upstream driver is often chronic stress and a dysregulated cortisol rhythm. This episode is based on his article "Why your leaky gut tests aren't fixing your symptoms," published on KevinMD. You will hear why a normal scope and an IBS label can still leave a patient uncured, why no single permeability test is reliable on its own, and why objective results still matter because they drive patient adherence. He explains why he reaches for sleep, stress reduction, and targeted support over a generic supplement stack, and why you should neither dismiss patients with normal labs nor over-order unvalidated panels. Press play to hear why the fix starts with the story behind the symptoms, not the next panel. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

  2. 3d ago

    A back procedure that can weaken a young spine

    A young patient walks in with ordinary back pain and leaves on a path that can quietly weaken the muscle holding the spine together. Francisco M. Torres is an interventional physiatrist who noticed these patients coming back to him sooner, and traced it to radiofrequency ablation denervating the multifidus, the back's most important stabilizer, until the muscle atrophies and fills with fat. This episode is based on his article "Radiofrequency ablation and the young back pain patient," published on KevinMD. You will hear why insurers began steering these patients toward the procedure, why most of the evidence comes from older patients with degeneration rather than people in their twenties, and why he believes the muscle damage should be spelled out in the consent form. He explains why generic core exercises fall short, how facet injections and targeted rehabilitation offer a lower-risk path, and the exact questions to ask before you agree. Press play to hear the questions worth asking before you let anyone burn a nerve in your back. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

  3. 4d ago

    A wrong diagnosis that almost killed a doctor

    For years, doctors told this pediatrician her pain was fibromyalgia and depression. It was quietly starving her aorta. Victoria Rundus is a board-certified pediatrician who spent four years being misdiagnosed before an ER physician finally listened to her abdomen and heard what everyone else had missed. This episode is based on her article "Diagnostic bias almost cost me my life," published on KevinMD. You will hear how a single label can close the door on everything else, both for the physician treating you and for the patient who starts writing off new symptoms as just the old diagnosis. She explains why the physical exam still matters when labs come back normal, why she felt she was not being heard, and why curiosity and humility belong next to medical knowledge, not beneath it. We usually see horses, but the zebras are real. Press play to hear how a diagnosis can close a door that should stay open, and what it takes to keep looking. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

  4. 5d ago

    Who should own the AI that doctors built

    A tech founder used one pediatrician's public advice to train her own AI. Sonal Patel decided doctors should own the tools built on their knowledge instead. Patel is a pediatrician and neonatologist who built and controls her own AI for the fourth trimester. This episode is based on her article "Physicians must shape AI in medicine, not watch it," published on KevinMD. You will hear why she believes the doctor who uses AI, not AI itself, is the real threat to the one who ignores it. She explains how insurers already use AI to deny claims, and how she keeps patients from being sold products they do not need. You will learn why a paid subscription model matters before you experiment, why physician critical thinking cannot be automated away, and why the human connection at the center of medicine is the one thing a machine can never replace. Press play to hear why the doctor who ignores AI is more at risk than the one who uses it, and where to start. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

  5. 6d ago

    Why your doctor never asks if intimacy still matters to you

    Your doctor may help you live longer, but has likely never asked if intimacy still matters to you. In this episode, Michael Reed, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, certified menopause practitioner, and fellowship-trained cosmetic gynecologic surgeon, explains why so many women are never given the chance to raise sexual health concerns with their physician. You will hear why medicine taught women that these topics are off limits, why doctors trained to fix what is broken often miss what a patient actually wants, and the plain-language questions any clinician can start asking. You will also hear the small, concrete steps Reed recommends, from handing a patient a mirror to understand her own anatomy, to prescribing vaginal estradiol for dryness and recurrent infections, to knowing when to refer. This episode is based on his article "The exam question OB/GYNs were never taught to ask," published on KevinMD. Press play to hear the one question physicians were never taught to ask, and the simple changes that can help women live well, not just longer. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

  6. Aug 14

    When your labs are normal but you still feel sick

    Your blood pressure is fine. Your cholesterol looks great. So why do you still feel exhausted, wired, and unwell? Internal medicine and functional medicine physician Shiv K. Goel returns to explain what standard lab panels miss when chronic stress quietly reshapes the body. This episode is based on his article "Normal labs miss what most patients are living through," published on KevinMD. You will hear how sustained stress ripples through your hormones, gut, and immune system, and why a patient can be genuinely sick while every routine result comes back normal. Shiv walks through the targeted tests he uses, from salivary cortisol to the Dutch test, and is candid that not all of it is covered by insurance or backed by the usual evidence. He also makes the case for listening longer and treating the root cause, with real ways to do it inside a packed schedule. You will come away with practical ways to hear more in a short visit and follow the clues standard labs leave behind. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

  7. Aug 13

    Medical students aren't cheating on their essays: They're afraid

    A medical student offered a professor $1,000 to write their residency essay, and the reason why was not laziness. In this episode, Kathleen Muldoon, a certified coach and medical education professor, shares what she learned when she sat that student down for an honest conversation. You will hear why so many students freeze on the personal statement, why the fear is less about writing and more about who they think they are allowed to be on the page, and how this connects to a kind of burnout that looks less like exhaustion and more like identity erosion. You will also hear why AI cannot solve this, since it blends every applicant into the same voice, and what Muldoon does instead to help students find their own story. This episode is based on her article "The residency personal statement is an identity problem," published on KevinMD. Press play to hear why the essay that decides so many residency spots is really a question about identity, and what students can do about it. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

  8. Aug 12

    Why soldiers are athletes and their bodies pay for it

    A 30-year-old soldier can have the knees of a 60-year-old. Not from one bad injury, but from carrying a load every single day for years. Family medicine and sports medicine physician Ann Lebeck returns to explain why she came to see soldiers as tactical athletes, and what that means for their bodies. This episode is based on her article "Military sports medicine and the cost of readiness," published on KevinMD. You will hear why young recruits who never played sports kept saying the Army broke them, how early joint damage shows up predictably with years of service, and why a soldier is a year-round athlete for two decades, not a four-year career. Ann shares the program she built that taught running mechanics, strengthening, and even the right shoes, and the results after 1,200 soldiers came through. You will come away seeing soldiers, and every physically demanding job, through the eyes of the doctor who learned to treat the body that carries the load. Partner with me on the KevinMD platform. With over three million monthly readers and half a million social media followers, I give you direct access to the doctors and patients who matter most. Whether you need a sponsored article, email campaign, video interview, or a spot right here on the podcast, I offer the trusted space your brand deserves to be heard. Let's work together to tell your story. PARTNER WITH KEVINMD → https://kevinmd.com/influencer SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast

4.8
out of 5
260 Ratings

About

Social media's leading physician voice, Kevin Pho, MD, shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. 15 minutes a day. 7 days a week. Welcome to The Podcast by KevinMD.