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Beyond the PrescriptionStraight talk & evidence-based guidance to manage mental & physical health in tandem Author: Lucy McBride MD
Each week, Dr. Lucy McBride talks with her guests like she does her patients pulling the curtain back on what it means to be healthy, connecting the dots between mental and physical health. To Dr. McBride, health is about more than the absence of disease. Health is a process, not an outcome. It's about having awareness of our medical facts, acceptance of the things we cannot control, and agency over what we can change. To learn more about Dr. McBride, visit: https://www.lucymcbride.substack.com/about To sign up for her weekly newsletter, visit www.lucymcbride.substack.com/welcome lucymcbride.substack.com Language: en Genres: Health & Fitness, Medicine, Mental Health Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Can AI Fix Healthcare? A Conversation Dr. Bob Wachter, Chair of Medicine at UCSF & Author of A Giant Leap
Friday, 20 February, 2026
Subscribe to Dr. McBride's Substack: lucymcbride.substack.com.Episode SummaryDr. Lucy McBride sits down with Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF and bestselling author of A Giant Leap to discuss artificial intelligence in healthcare. They explore the current frustrations with electronic health records that don't communicate with each other, the unprecedented rapid adoption of AI scribes and tools among clinicians, and how AI can free doctors from documentation burden to focus on patient relationships. The conversation addresses the promise of democratizing healthcare access through AI, but also the critical need for oversight of tech companies whose profit motives may not align with patient welfare.The Electronic Health Record ProblemBoth patients and doctors are frustrated with fragmented EHRs—multiple patient portals that don’t communicate with each other create disparate care and wasted timeDoctors spend huge amounts of time documenting in EHRs but get very little useful intelligence out of themAI as Documentation Solution, Not Relationship ReplacementThe act of caring for another human being is relationship-based, rooted in trust, rapport, and understanding the whole person AI can make the paperwork and documentation side more efficient, giving doctors more time to care for the person, not just their lab data The Rapid Adoption of AI Tools in MedicineThe uptake curve of AI scribes and knowledge tools among clinicians has been astoundingThis rapid adoption reflects the superpowers of the tools and the desperation clinicians feel to better manage administrative burdens of care Patient Access to Information vs. UnderstandingFederal statute now requires patients to see doctors’ notes, lab results, and x-ray results through patient portalsPatients see abnormal results but the portal gives them absolutely no assistance understanding what it meansPortal access has created an average of three hours of after-hours work for physiciansThe Promise of Scalable Healthcare AccessAI offers potential for patients to get fast, fact-based information The scalability and access to information that AI provides could democratize healthcare beyond just those who can afford to pay for a doctorThis accessibility represents a significant opportunity to expand quality medical guidance to more peopleThe Perils of Profit-Driven AI in HealthcareAI companies building healthcare tools didn’t take the Hippocratic Oath and will be trying to maximize revenueAI without physician oversight, training, and guidance is unlikely to prioritize patient welfare over economic advantage If stewarded by physicians who understand the human elements of care, AI holds promise to help elevate, not eliminate, the patient-doctor relationship (read Dr. McBride’s article about why AI won’t be able to replace doctors here)UpshotThe question isn't whether to adopt AI tools (doctors already do), but how to shape them so they serve patients and preserve the human elements of care. Doctors and patients alike must be part of the solution—ensuring AI becomes a tool for democratizing quality healthcare rather than creating new barriers driven by profit motives disconnected from the Hippocratic duty to put patients first. Get full access to Are You Okay? at lucymcbride.substack.com/subscribe
