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As 2025 comes to a close, we’re flashing back to one of the year’s most listened-to episodes of Fixing Healthcare. This week, a special reading from Dr. Robert Pearl’s bestselling book “ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine.”
This encore episode includes audio from Chapter 11, titled “The Road to AI-Empowered Healthcare,” followed by Chapter 11.5, a bold and thought-provoking response written by ChatGPT itself. Together, these chapters offer a vision of the future that, as Jeremy Corr notes, is “analogous to looking at a baby and trying to describe the adult who will follow.”
Looking back, it’s striking how prescient both the human author and large language model turned out to be. Their commentary on the economic, political and cultural roadblocks to AI adoption feels more timely than ever, especially amid today’s headlines.
In Chapter 11, Pearl lays out the promise of Healthcare 4.0, a future in which generative AI empowers patients and doctors alike to reduce inefficiencies, improve care and reclaim the human side of medicine. Chapter 11.5, penned by ChatGPT, offers a clear-eyed critique, cautioning against overreliance on tech and warning that change requires more than just innovation. It demands leadership.
This flashback offers listeners a rare opportunity to hear a dialogue (human and machine) on what it will take to transform American medicine.
HELPFUL LINKS
- ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine (Amazon)
- A list of Malcolm Gladwell’s 25 book recommendations (link)
- Robert Pearl’s Monthly Musings on American Healthcare newsletter (link)
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Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.