Hesham A Hassaballa - Medika Life

Every Healthcare Professional Must Listen To This Conversation

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 02:55:35 +0000

has been happening for hundreds of years. Systemic racism has been present ever since the founding of our nation, and it has been the root cause of many of the disparities underlying in our society, laid painfully bare by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthcare is no exception, and in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the national awakening to the scourge of systemic racism in our country, more and more conversations about racism in healthcare are being had, across our country, and in the medical literature. This is only a good thing, and I hope and pray they lead to rectification of the healthcare disparities faced by people of color in this country.

One such conversation was recorded in the excellent Critical Matters podcast, hosted by Dr. Sergio Zanotti — world-renown Critical Care Medicine specialist and Chief Medical Officer for Sound Critical Care, a national critical care medicine practice. He was speaking with Dr. Greg Johnson, Sound Physicians’ Chief Medical Officer for Hospital Medicine and thought leader within his field and a champion for diversity, inclusion, and belonging within medicine.

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti and Dr. Johnson have an honest conversation about healthcare, race, and racism in healthcare. It was eye-opening, and it is a must-listen for every healthcare professional in this country. You can listen to it here:

Dr. Johnson reiterated that many Black Americans must go to great lengths to let members of the healthcare team taking care of their families know the value of their loved one: what job they do; what they mean to their families; what they mean their communities.

First of all, I was shocked by this. And yet, when I thought back to my Black patients and their families, I realized that many of them did just that: go out of their way to let me know how important this patient in front of us was to them, their family, and their community.

Just the other day, I had a husband tell me, “This woman, she is the rock of our family.” Another family member of a patient with COVID-19 told me something similar. I never paid attention to this phenomenon, and I am so very grateful I heard this conversation to open my eyes to this reality.

This is wrong. This is horrific. This is terribly sad. No one should have to justify to me why their loved one is important, how prominent their loved one is in the community. It is absolutely horrible that Dr. Tyson’s had to show the healthcare professionals taking of his father that his father was a prominent lecturer in order to garner respect from them. How can this be?

Every patient we take care of has worth, has value. Black, Brown, Yellow, Red, or White, all our patients have worth, and the fact that Black Americans feel the need to describe how important their loved ones are to get respect is truly nauseating. And you know what they are saying to us? Black Lives Matter.

Painful though it may be, it is reality, and it is of absolute importance that we in healthcare are cognizant of this reality and work to rectify it. Indeed, I told that husband that his wife has worth, and I will do all that I can to care for her within her values and wishes.

Racism in healthcare is real; it is pervasive; it is indeed a pandemic. We need to acknowledge it and then work to overcome it. All of us in healthcare have a responsibility to do what we can to achieve this end. And for starters, all of us in healthcare should listen to this conversation about racism in healthcare to understand the problem and how to fix it.

The post Every Healthcare Professional Must Listen To This Conversation appeared first on Medika Life.

The Medika Life 50 – The Most Influential Voices in Health for 2022

Medika Life — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:01:06 +0000

For the 2022 Medika Life Top 50 Healthcare Influencers list, we have sought to identify voices – some expected and many new – that carry significant weight, both within their fields of expertise and across the health ecosystem. In particular, this year we sought to include the voices of patient advocates and ambassadors for those who need care and advance innovation.

All who have been selected for the 2022 Influencer List effect change and champion care and innovation. All are driven to improve people’s wellbeing and create a better, more accessible, more equitable health system. All express and share bold ideas and look to engage the health sector in conversation.

To compile our listing, Medika Life analyzed data from varied sources and used analytical tools to assess individuals’ social impact and reach. We examined numerous factors, including potential influencers’ effectiveness in engaging others and supporting healthcare improvement through original content. We have tried as much as possible to filter out the effects of Covid-19, which gave prominence to voices that were embedded in the frequent and changing news flow. We made the difficult choice to ensure new names (more than 50%) were featured on the 2022 listing. We sought to look at candidates’ overall contributions past, present, and, hopefully, future, to biomedical innovation, patient care, and wellness.

It was a challenge to select only 50 names for this listing. There are hundreds of committed and qualified individuals who were considered worthy. They work as advocates, change agents, innovators, and business leaders, and though not all could be chosen, we are eager to engage and support them and will highlight many others in the coming year.

We considered geographies – Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. We wanted to ensure that patient voice was present as partners at the table. We looked to ensure diversity and equity. Also, for the first time, media were included. We wanted to focus on people with ideas and the courage to share those thoughts and stand by ideals that include equitable and accessible care.

My thanks to my friend, mentor, and the Medika.Life Founding Editor-in-Chief Dr. Robert Turner for assisting me in this difficult process. Had he not been on the review committee, he would have most certainly appeared on this list of influentials.

[Please also refer to the list alongside, of the 2021 Most Influential Voices in Healthcare. These individuals also continue to have an impact and are important to watch, follow, amplify and engage. To that end, they retain their “Voice of Influencer” as Medika Top 50 alumni. We will also be preparing our lists of influentials in digital health, environmental health, health innovation, and mental health.]

Gil Bashe, Editor-in-Chief, Medika.Life

Download your Selection Certificate

If your name appears on the list below, we’ve prepared individual graphics for you to display on your website, blog, or social media to celebrate your selection. It’s well deserved and an acknowledgment for your efforts and dedication to better healthcare. You can download your certificate by clicking here. A sample appears below.

The Medika Life 50 – The Most Influential Voices in Healthcare for 2022

Here is our Medika Life roster of 50 people to follow – not ranked; all-important voices – to have on your radar screen for the years to come – follow their content and voices – advocates for patient care and health innovation:

John Nosta

Founder of NOSTALAB – Innovation Theorist

First and foremost, John is a thinker – never frightened to confront and exchange ideas. He is a thinker embracing the world of science, medicine, and innovation. John is the founder of NOSTALAB—a global digital health think tank recognized for its inspired vision of transformation. John is ranked as one of the leading voices in medical innovation and technology and well established as a top global strategic and creative thinker. He is also one of the most popular speakers around the globe, offering an insightful perspective on the future of innovation.

John’s focus is on guiding companies, NGOs, and governments through the dynamics of exponential change and the diffusion of innovation into complex systems. We appreciate his readiness to enter the fray and challenge the status quo. As important, he is a guide and mentor to many making him a given Medika Life Top 50 Influencer.

John is also a Medika author and you can follow his thoughts on healthcare via his dedicated column on this platform.

Jamey Edwards, MBA

COO, StartUp Health – Entrepreneur who Advocates for Start-Ups

Jamey Edwards is long known as a visionary leader in the health information and technology start-up space. His background makes him ideally suited to his new role as chief operating officer at StartUp Health. Many remember him from his past position as CEO and Co-founder of Cloudbreak Health (which merged with UpHealth and went public via SPAC in 2021). Jamey has been an active member of the health transformation community, offering his wisdom and experience – always available to help others and support their journey.

In his new role at Start-Up Health, Jamey put his 25 years of experience in healthcare, investment banking, and private equity to great use by helping entrepreneurs leverage his real-world experience to support the needed work to heal an unhealthy system of care. Continuing that mission, Jamey is now also a member of the Galien Foundation “Incubator, Accelerator and Equity” Judging Committee, where standards of excellence for the category will be set. Jamey is an advocate for many – an influencer for innovation that can improve patient care.

Michelle Longmire, MD

Physician and CEO at Medable Inc. – Making Drug Development Accessible

Dr. Longmire is mission-driven to accelerate the development of new therapies for disease. A Stanford-trained physician-scientist, Dr. Longmire has identified critical barriers to drug development and founded the pioneering company Medable to offer a new approach to drug development that harnesses clinical trial technologies to remove traditional roadblocks to participation and radically accelerate the research process. She is among the new leaders appearing in the evolving field of decentralized clinical trials.

More than a CEO and courageous business visionary, she is an advocate for diversity in drug development. Dr. Longmire is a change agent for the future of innovation and her leadership approach enables Medable to tap into the talents of some of the best and brightest from different industries – consulting, consumer marketing, bench science, and digital technologies – to advance the company’s mission. Her influence is seen through her ability to forge partnerships across the health ecosystem, most recently with pharmacy chain giant CVS. Dr. Longmire is present and always eager to listen and help others connected to the mission of making clinical trials for new therapies easily accessible.

Daniel Kraft, MD

Chair, XPRIZE Pandemic Alliance Task Force – Physician-Scientist and Inventor

A Stanford and Harvard-trained Physician-Scientist innovator and investor with more than 25 years of clinical, research, biotechnology, and entrepreneurial experience. Chair of Medicine at Singularity University and Founder and Chair of Exponential Medicine, Dr. Kraft brings needed expansive thinking to academic settings and medicine. Beyond creativity, he demonstrates the validity of his ideas in multiple publications and patents secured and shares ideas through his faculty positions at Stanford Medical School and UCSF (clinical faculty: Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation). He serves as chair of the XPRIZE Pandemic Alliance Task Force. Aspen Institute Health Innovation Fellow.

Singularity University and Exponential Medicine are unique cross-disciplinary programs that explore how rapidly advancing, convergent technologies can shape the future of healthcare and it fits Dr. Kraft’s expansive approach to health. Daniel is also an advisor to several leading biomedical and digital health startups. If academics and medicine were not enough, Dr. Kraft has put in his time in service to the nation as US Air Force National Guard Veteran having served as a unit Flight Surgeon. Inventor, teacher, advocate for patient care, and organizer, Dr. Daniel Kraft is certainly an influencer.

Amir Kalali, MD

Physician-Scientist and Convener of Communities that Advance Life Science

Dr. Kalali is a physician-scientist, recognized globally as a leading innovator at the intersection of life sciences and technology, and a convener of collaborative high-impact forums. He is a board director of both private and publicly traded companies and advises companies in the life sciences and technology sectors, universities, and investment groups. If the life-science industry had a Yoda, it would be Dr. Amir Kalali!

Dr. Kalali is the Co-Chair of the Decentralized Trials and Research Alliance (DTRA), Chairman and Founder and Chief Curator of the CNS Summit, a forum dedicated to the future of life sciences, and was the Founding Chairman, and sits on the Executive Committee of the International Society for CNS Drug Development (ISCDD), one of the first independent non-profits to bring together leaders in drug development to collaborate, and on the Executive Committee of the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM). Both a neurologist and psychiatrist, Dr. Kalali is also an author, mobilizer, board member, corporate advisor, and host to industry change agents. Consider most neurology medications today and it would not be a surprise to learn that Amir had a hand in their clinical development program. If you want to be at your best, attend one of his gatherings, your social and intellectual circle of amazing people will expand greatly. If you follow him (or will follow him) on Twitter, his short bio says it all: “I might be up to something.” Be assured Dr. Kalali is always exploring new territory.

Michael Bidu, MBA

Co-Founder and CEO of INTERFACE Health Society, Innovation Advocate

Michael Bidu is the Co-Founder and CEO of INTERFACE Health Society, a not-for-profit virtual digital health technology accelerator based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Interface Health is a platform and community that cares about innovators, the future of health, and making a difference in the world. This is where you can find the right solutions, connections, and resources, anytime, anywhere – which means faster access, reduced costs, improved experiences, and better outcomes for everybody.

Michael is also the Co-Founder and CEO of MYND Therapeutics Inc. a Vancouver-based digital health company that is disrupting the global wellness and healthcare industry by focusing on physical, mental, and behavioral conditions. The company makes science-based, immersive, socially engaging digital therapies that work virtually anytime, anywhere. The 1st product is scheduled for the market in 2022. What is more evident about Michael is his extraordinary support for entrepreneurs and ensuring their voices are heard.

Junaid Bajwa, MD

CMS at Microsoft, Patient Champion Harnessing Innovation to Improve Care

Dr. Bajwa is the Chief Medical Scientist at Microsoft Research and a practicing physician in the NHS (the UK’s National Health Service). He was previously the Global Lead for Strategic Alliances and Solutions for the Global Digital Centre of Excellence at Merck Sharp & Dohme, where he led a range of strategic initiatives to improve patient care, including the establishment of internal partnerships across the enterprise and external partnerships across the health care ecosystem.

Dr. Bajwa cofounded “VelocityHealth” as Europe’s first prevention-focused digital-health accelerator, in partnership with Telefonica, and led his team to deliver the “NHS Testbed” in partnership with Verily Life Sciences (part of Alphabet), which the Health Service Journal recognized as the “Best Pharmaceutical Partnership with the NHS” in 2018. Junaid is first and foremost a physician and dedicated to applying health innovation to ensure access to care.

Yele Aluko, MD, MBA

Chief Medical officer at EY – Voice for Equity in Healthcare

Proven MD/ MBA physician executive and corporate leader. Multiyear experience in healthcare clinical and administrative strategic planning, program growth, and development. Seasoned health equity practitioner with a focus on solution development and deployment. Prior clinical practice in interventional cardiology specializing in complex coronary and structural heart interventions, known for his empathetic and disciplined manner and his equally strong focus on consensus, team building, accountability, mentorship, and innovation.

Dr. Aluko is trained as a structural heart cardiologist and served as senior vice president of heart and vascular services at a 15-hospital integrated regional health care system in the Southeast USA. There, his responsibilities included governance of an enterprise-wide clinical strategy overseeing cardiovascular service line vision, growth, clinical integration, physician alignment, and standardization of clinical, operational, and business processes. He is an expert on what works and what doesn’t in the US health system.

He is board certified by the Canadian Board of Internal Medicine and is triple-board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Most important, Dr. Aluko is an expert in social determinants of health and addressing issues of health disparities that result in health inequities and care outcomes. Yele is one of those incredible minds that after spending a few hours talking with him, you hope he will influence the highest levels of the health ecosystem.

Stacy Hurt, MBA, MHA

Patient Engagement Consultant, Patient Ambassador

Stacy Hurt, MHA, MBA, is a leading voice for patient voice and care. She is an award-winning 20-year healthcare executive, caregiver to her intellectually and developmentally disabled son, and she is a Stage IV colorectal cancer survivor. Stacy serves as an advocate for patients around the world for the inclusion of their voice in shared clinical decision-making. Now, as a Patient Consultant, she helps pharma/tech companies and health systems shift from fee-for-service to a value-based care model by connecting to consumers through first-hand lived experience and strategic expertise.

Stacy has been a HIMSS Digital Changemaker and is on the #TelemedNow thought advisory panel for telehealth expansion. Her clients include Parexel, Red Hat, Promega, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bayer. Ultimately, Stacy makes the business case for including a patient perspective with industry/clinicians and their customers. Stacy is a powerful voice for innovation that ensures patients are engaged in the process. In fact, she is pioneering the territory to make sure that every company involved in health innovation recognizes that patient advocates must be welcomed and respected members of the process. She’s courageous and persistent in so many ways, it’s likely Stacy Hurt will succeed!

Cheryl Pegus, MD, MPH

Executive Vice President, Health and Wellness, Walmart

Cheryl Pegus, MD, MPH, is a board-certified physician with subspecialty training in cardiology and is the EVP of Health and Wellness at Walmart. Previously she was the President of Consumer Solutions and Chief Medical Officer at Cambia Health Solutions. She has held roles as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Development for other national health systems and pharmacy retailers. She has a demonstrated track record of launching innovative healthcare products that enable organizations to capture and maintain market share. Dr. Pegus has held leadership positions with Walgreens and other health giants.

She is on the board of the American Heart Association and is the past-Chair of the Association of Black Cardiologists. She has been recognized as a leader in pragmatically addressing gaps in care and cost across underserved populations utilizing data-driven, innovative solutions to improve health and care fragmentation. Dr. Pegus has an extensive background in health provider systems, public health, professional association, private equity, and more. Walmart made a wise decision tapping Dr. Pegus for this new role – a decision that may likely benefit every community near a Walmart.

Hesham A. Hassaballa, MD, FCCP, FAASM

Associate Regional Medical Director – Critical Care – The Voice of Reason

Hesham Hassaballa, MD, FCCP, FAASM is a practicing intensivist with more than 17 years of clinical practice. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. Dr. Hassaballa is a Regional Medical Director for Sound Physicians’ Critical Care practice in the Midwest. He leads and oversees clinical operations in multiple ICUs in the Midwest, and he is Medical Director of Respiratory Therapy at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, IL. At Rush-Copley, Dr. Hassaballa chairs hospital committees is part of the Medical Staff Leadership, and has delivered solid improvements in process and outcome metrics, including ICU length of stay, hospital length of stay of ICU patients, and mortality. Dr. Hassaballa is also a Regional Innovation Leader for Critical Care, and he is also a Physician Advisor and serves on the Education and Advisory Board for Advisory Services.

He’s an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Course Director for Rush University Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine for the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center College of Medicine. He serves as a peer reviewer for the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He has presented research a number of times at national meetings, and he has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed medical journals. Moreover, Dr. Hassaballa is a prolific writer, with articles appearing in newspapers and websites globally, and has published a medical thriller, “Code Blue.” Dr. Hassaballa is among the founding editors of Medika.Life. More so, his writings are a must-read and come from the heart.

Craig Lipset, MPH

Advisor, Educator, Mentor, Innovator – Decentralized Clinical Trials Pioneer

Craig Lipset leads at the forefront of innovation in clinical research and medicine development. He is an advisor to technology and biopharmaceutical companies, leading universities, and the venture community, bringing vision and driving action at the intersection of research, digital solutions, and patient engagement. Craig was the Head of Clinical Innovation and Venture Partner at Pfizer, on the founding Operations Committee for TransCelerate Biopharma, and on the founding management teams for two successful startup ventures (Perceptive Informatics and Adnexus Therapeutics). During that time, Craig designed and launched multiple industry firsts — from the first fully remote/virtual clinical trial for a new medicine to the first returning of results and data to research participants.

He now serves on the Board of Directors for the Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance where he is Founder and Co-Chair, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, and the MedStar Health Research Institute, and, as well as on the Editorial Board for Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science. In response to the statement, “Patients should have a seat at the drug development table,” Craig responds: “Have a seat at the table? It’s their table.” Craig influences the conversation every time.

Rachel Hodgdon

President and CEO, International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) – Creating a Healthier Planet

Rachel Hodgdon is President and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a public benefit corporation on a mission to improve human health and well-being through people-first places. Included in her IWBI leadership responsibilities, Rachel leads its Standard Development, Education, Research, and Credentialing divisions.

A widely sought-after expert and inspiring speaker, Rachel’s game-changing contributions to green building have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Parenting Magazine, FOX News, CNN, and in leading industry publications including Metropolis, Grist, and GreenBIZ. Rachel has also guest-edited Green Building & Design magazine. Rachel is at the forefront of raising awareness in environmental and planetary health tirelessly mobilizing leaders to create safe, welcoming healthy spaces. Uniting for-profit, not-for-profit, and academic leaders in the conversation for a healthier future makes her a must watch and follow.

Levi Shapiro, MBA

Founder, mHealth Israel – Global Health Tech Ambassador

Levi Shapiro is Head of the Digital Health Program at the Hebrew University BioMED MBA program and teaches Digital Health in prominent programs like Stanford BioDesign. As the Founder of mHealth Israel (8,000+ members), he leads Israel’s largest community of health technology innovators. His articles appear in leading industry publications. He holds Board positions with health technology startups and acts as a strategic advisor to prominent global healthcare organizations. If you have not attended one of Levi’s “Meet-Ups,” you’re missing something big! Levi makes and shares connections!

Levi also maintains the mHealth Israel LinkedIn community (12,000+ members). In a career spanning Beijing, Tokyo, Milan and Tel Aviv, Levi launched new business units (IBM), new products and services (Toyota), and a variety of technology startups. He is an investor and Board Member in Israeli health tech startups and formerly a General Partner in the venture capital firm, Veritas. Mr. Shapiro holds degrees from Tulane (BA), Cornell (Asian Studies), and MIT (MBA). Speak to him in Japanese – he’ll surprise you!

Artur Olesch

Digital Health Journalist, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of aboutDigitalHealth

Artur Olesch is a Berlin-based freelance journalist and correspondent for digital health-related topics. He is the founder of aboutDigitalHealth.com and editor-in-chief of ICT&Health International and OSOZ News. An author of 500+ articles and health-IT reports, content writer, an influential voice on social media. He mentors startups and guides healthcare organizations aiming to develop digital strategies. If anyone knows what is happening in the world of digital health, it’s Artur!

Artur is as gracious with his time as he is with his insights. If you are not following him on Twitter and reading his articles, you’re most certainly missing out!

João Bocas

CEO at Digital Salutem, DigitalHealth and Wearable Expert

João is a wearables expert and a globally recognized Top 100 Global Digital Health Influencer. His passion lies in helping others, sharing experiences, transferring knowledge, working collaboratively, and passing on the latest innovation trends from the digital health world. He is a thought leader in wearables, digital health, IoT, and healthcare innovation, including AI (artificial intelligence), robotics, and ML (machine learning ).

João explores the intersection of technology in modeling business models and shaping consumer behavior. His YouTube channel is a big hit in the digital health category and he’s now moved to sharing content in a regular LinkedIn blogpost. He also analyses the impact of disruptive innovations and shares future trends in the marketplace. His passion lies in helping others succeed.

Shazia Ahmad

Clinical Trial Engagement Expert, Rare Disease Advocacy Professional

A passionate leader with a desire to improve healthcare, clinical research practices, support strategy, and implementation on clinical programs with a special interest in rare and orphan indications, neuroscience, oncology, infectious diseases, respiratory and women’s health. A seasoned thought leader in the rare disease space and driven to ensure the patient journey and diagnostic experience is implemented in every program.

In her current role as Senior Director, Head of Patient & Physician Services at UBC, Shazia is driven to bring innovative solutions to clinical trial execution and outcome measurement. develop and support patient programs that address both disease-specific and cross-disease challenges, increase disease awareness, decrease time to diagnosis, increase access to therapy, and improve the clinical trial experience. Someone who knows the government research system, Shazia is a person to have on your side.

Allyson Ocean, MD

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Patient Ally

Dr. Allyson J. Ocean is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, medical oncologist and attending physician in gastrointestinal oncology, Solid Tumor Division, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and practices medical oncology at The Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health. Board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology, Dr. Ocean’s primary interest is in the biology and treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. She has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and abstracts and is an active member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Pancreatic Cancer Research Team.

Dr. Ocean is now leading numerous clinical trials investigating radiolabeled antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, oncolytic viruses, and targeted therapies in pancreatic cancer. Dr. Ocean is the founding Medical Advisory Board Chair of Michael’s Mission, a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life for colorectal cancer patients through research, education, and patient support. Her work with patient activist Anne Glauber, who dedicated the last years of her life to creating a “crowd-source” clinical trial community for patients with pancreatic cancer, called Let’s Win Pancreatic Cancer, reinforces that Dr. Ocean will not accept a deadly diagnosis as a given. Allyson is a champion for patient participation and someone to have on your side and follow.

Jeremy Lim, MD

CEO AMILI, Southeast Asia’s First Precision Microbiome Company

A/Prof Jeremy Lim (Fulbright 2002/3) is CEO and co-founder of AMILI, the Southeast Asian region’s first gut microbiome company centered in Singapore. A medical doctor trained in surgery and public health, Jeremy was most recently a partner in the Oliver Wyman Health and Life Sciences practice in Asia, which he founded in 2013.

He contributes back to his alma mater as Director of LIGHT, the global health institute for the NUS School of Public Health, and teaches global health systems reforms and digital health. He also writes regularly for both the scientific and popular media and in 2013 authored “Myth or Magic: The Singapore Healthcare System,” a book on the Singapore health system and the lessons for health reform efforts in other countries.

Rafael J. Grossmann, MD, FACS

Surgeon, DigitalHealth Innovator, Educator, Communicator – VR Pioneer

Throughout his career, Dr. Grossmann has focused on tapping the paradoxical power of technology to coexist with better, more humane medical care. He’s not just talking the talk, he’s certainly walking the walk!

Rafael is the world’s first doctor to use Google Glass technology during live surgery. This event catapulted him into the digital medicine ecosystem, as a disrupter of established medical paradigms and traditional ways of practicing and educating. He continues to be a powerful change agent in healthcare. He is a healthcare futurist, a full-time practicing surgeon, and a pioneer in adapting health technology to advance patient care. Dr. Grossmann is also an advisor and consultant to several companies, including Magic Leap, Animares, Nanox. Vision, Hippo Health, and other startup enterprises in the technology landscape. He’s lectured at MIT Media Lab, Stanford, Google, Deloitte, and many other pivotal digital-health industry players. When it comes to test driving tomorrow’s health tech, expect to see Rafael Grossman behind the wheel!

Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD.

President, Clinical Studies Platforms at Verily Life Sciences

Dr. Amy Abernethy is the President of Verily’s Clinical Studies Platforms, where she oversees the company’s clinical evidence generation platform product vision and related clinical research portfolio. Dr. Abernethy was recently Principal Deputy Commissioner of Food and Drugs of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agency’s acting Chief Information Officer. Prior to her role at the FDA, Dr. Abernethy was Chief Medical Officer, Chief Scientific Officer, and Senior Vice President of Oncology of Flatiron Health.

Before joining Flatiron, Dr. Abernethy was Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and directed the Center for Learning Health Care in the Duke Clinical Research Institute and Duke Cancer Care Research Program in the Duke Cancer Institute. Dr. Abernethy is a hematologist/oncologist and palliative medicine physician who has authored more than 500 publications. She holds a BA in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, an MD from Duke University School of Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Evidence-Based Medicine and Informatics from Flinders University in Australia. Amy is a physician, scientist, and advocate for innovation that can unite patients with a health system that is geared to meet their needs.

Renzo Guinto, MD

Co-Founder of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health

Renzo Guinto, MD DrPH is the Chief Planetary Health Scientist and Co-Founder of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Concurrently, he is Associate Professor of the Practice of Global Public Health and Inaugural Director of the Planetary and Global Health Program of the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine in the Philippines. He also holds appointments at the Copenhagen School of Global Health and Ateneo School of Government.

An Obama Foundation Asia-Pacific Leader and Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow, Dr. Guinto is a member of the Lancet–Chatham House Commission on Improving Population Health post-COVID-19 (University of Cambridge); Lancet One Health Commission (University of Oslo); Advisory Council of Global Health 50/50 (University College London); and Editorial Advisory Board of The Lancet Planetary Health. He advises various organizations including the World Health Organization; World Bank; USAID; International Organization for Migration; Health Care Without Harm; and Philippine Department of Health.

He obtained his Doctor of Public Health from Harvard University and Doctor of Medicine from the University of the Philippines, Manila. In 2020, he was included by Tatler Magazine in its Gen.T List of 400 leaders of tomorrow who are shaping Asia’s future. His influence – albeit quiet – is powerful.

Jen Horonjeff, Ph.D

CEO Savvy Cooperative, Ph.D., Patient Advocate for Human-Centered Design

Jen Horonjeff, PhD, is a patient advocate and Founder and CEO of Savvy Cooperative. Savvy is the first patient-owned public benefit co-op that helps companies build inclusive health innovations by gathering diverse patient insights. Dr. Horonjeff was named one of the 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs of 2018 by Entrepreneur Magazine, alongside Elon Musk, Chance the Rapper, and Reese Witherspoon. Jen is committed to human-centered design in healthcare and has firsthand knowledge as both a patient and professional.

Always thinking about the voice of the patient, Dr. Horonjeff grew up with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and survived a brain tumor as an adult. She is also a patient-centered outcomes researcher, a human factors engineer, an FDA Consumer Representative, and serves on the Board of Directors of The Sequoia Project. She earned her Master’s in Ergonomics and Biomechanics and Ph.D. in Environmental Medicine, from New York University. Jen continues to give patients a platform to ensure their voices are heard and valued. At JP Morgan in 2019, she made sure to get the attention for her POV by appearing in a hospital gown to underscore the inequity of the physician/patient relationship. She is an advocate for a health system co-designed with patients.

Michael Rosenblatt, MD

Senior Partner, Flagship Pioneering – Ambassador of the Patient in Life Science

Dr. Michael Rosenblatt joined Flagship as Chief Medical Officer from Merck, where he was executive vice president and the company’s first chief medical officer from 2009 to 2016. Drug development pioneer, hospital executive, and educator, he has held key appointments as Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine; the academic chairs as Robert H. Ebert Professor of Molecular Medicine and George R. Minot Professor of Medicine, at Harvard Medical School; senior vice president for academic programs of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Dr. Rosenblatt is the holder of 19 patents and is the author or co-author of more than 180 peer-reviewed papers and commentaries.

Born in a displaced person’s camp to Holocaust survivors, has given “Mike” a world-view that places the needs of the patient front and center. During his tenure at Merck as chief medical officer, he secured a direct connection to the Merck board to ensure patient concerns would have a voice. A leader in drug development, he is the recipient of the Fuller Albright Award for his work on parathyroid hormone, the Vincent du Vigneaud Award in peptide chemistry and biology, and the Chairman’s Award from Merck. He is a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, and the research advisory committees of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Boston. Mike is a medical Renaissance person.

Mike also serves as a Co-Chair of the Galien Foundation Prix Galien Awards Committee for his leadership work in public health and drug development. Those that know Mike can attest to his attention to the urgency of people’s needs.

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA

President and CEO, SCAN Group and Health Plan – Patient Care Innovator

Dr. Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA, is President and CEO of SCAN Group and Health Plan, where he is charged with leading the organization’s growth, diversification, and emerging efforts to reduce healthcare disparities. SCAN revenues top $3.4B and the organization serves 220,000 patients.

Dr. Jain is a respected thought leader in health care delivery. His interest in the system has led him to work in the White House, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and pharmaceutical giant Merck before going to the provider side of the industry at Caremore. He is recognized as a “Top 50 Most Influential Clinical Leader” and “100 Most Influential People in US Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare. In 2018, LinkedIn named him its top voice (#1) for healthcare. But there is more. Dr. Jain is a Forbes contributor and front-and-center advocate for putting the patient at the center of the health system. Most important, where and when change is needed to improve patient care, expect to see Dr. Sachin Jain as part of the conversation.

John Whyte, MD, MPH

Chief Medical Officer at WebMD – Shifting America from Sick Care to Self Care

WebMD Chief Medical Officer. Visionary, results-driven senior executive, physician, writer, healthcare policy expert, and innovative communicator with more than 20 years of professional experience providing healthcare leadership and policy development, Dr. Whyte blends big issue public health with personal and compassionate care.

Dr. Whyte is a board-certified internist and completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center. He earned a master of public health degree in health policy and management at Harvard University School of Public Health. Before arriving in Washington, DC, Whyte was a health services research fellow at Stanford and an attending physician in the department of medicine. He has a strong handle on the balance that must be found between public health, public education, and private enterprise as partners. Dr. Whyte continues to put patients first and takes care to work in the clinic along with his WebMD responsibilities.

At a time when people feel resigned to their genetic destiny, Dr. Whyte is using his knowledge and abilities to inspire people to self-care and wellness. He now has two consumer health bestsellers available titled Take Control of Your Cancer Risk and Take Control of Your Diabetes Risk.

Dr. Whyte is now a Medika.Life author and you can follow his ideas and counsel on healthcare via his dedicated column.

Zubin Daruwalla, MD

PwC Singapore Health Industries Leader – Giving Life-Saving Ideas Structure

With the paradigm shift toward governments introducing telemedicine worldwide, Dr. Daruwalla has been involved in numerous studies looking at how telehealth can play a greater role in improving patient care and outcomes. He dedicates his talents to serving as an advisor to a number of Med and HealthTech start-ups so that patients will have easier access to care.

His extensive cross-cultural experiences from having lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Singapore exposed him to a wide variety of cultures and life experiences. Having obtained full registration with each country’s respective medical council, he continues his clinical work and research with current interests being in healthcare consulting and as a thought leader in the digital health and medical education spaces. With strong administrative and organizational skills, he is always looking at new and exciting opportunities to put his skill set to use so that entrepreneurs are able to blend their passions with sound processes.

Jhonatan Bringas Dimitriades, MD

CEO and Co-Founder, Lapsi Health, Digital Health Executive and Educator

Dr. Jhonatan Bringas Dimitriades, MD is a Medical Doctor from the Netherlands and Peru, an expert in Digital Health he holds positions of Business Director, Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer for different Medtech and Digital Health companies in Europe and the USA. He is currently the Global Ambassador for Medical Education in Digital Health for Medscape. Dr. Jhonatan Bringas is also on the Board of Directors and sits on the Advisory Board of several companies.

Watch him in his new venture called Lapsi Health. Lapsi is a medical startup, developing novel technology that enhances the usage of data in medicine. The technology and its patient-centered application is a bold idea and can impact care for millions. Global citizen, health-tech entrepreneur, educator and patient-access advocate secured Jhonatan berth on this year’s list.

Jeff Livingston, MD

CEO MacArthur Medical Center – Medical Journalist and Blogger

A nationally recognized thought leader, speaker, writer, blogger, and practicing physician who is considered an expert in the use of social media to educate patients, using new and innovative technology to improve care outcomes and the patient experience. Jeff is the founder of BeingWell on Medium and his efforts led to the creation of Medika.Life. Through his work, he created a platform for health professionals in medicine and allied health to share ideas from the trenches.

A partner at MacArthur Medical Center, since 2003 he serves as the company CEO. He has served previously as chairman of the ObGyn Department at Baylor Scott and White in Irving, Texas. Currently, he serves on the Board at THR Harris Methodist HEB and is the medical director at Texas Health Surgery Bedford. Livingston continues to speak, consult and provide leadership strategies to physicians, practice leaders, and health IT decision-makers throughout the United States. Jeff has been profiled in USA Today, Wired, Computer World, and Physicians Practice, among others, for his innovative use of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels to communicate with patients to better meet their health needs, educate and improve the patient experience.

Dr. Livingston serves as medical director for Silicon Valley HealthTap, Inc. an interactive health 2.0 network employing mobile health technology to connect doctors with patients. He also serves as medical director for the FQHC Collins Clinic in Fort Worth.

Professor Sam Shah

Chief Medical Strategy Officer, Digital Advisor, Specialist, Public Health

Sam is Chief Medical Strategy Officer for Numan and is one of the most respected voices in the UK on the topic of digital health. He is Honorary Chair and Professor of Digital Health within the Faculty of Future Health, College of Medicine and Dentistry with Ulster University. Sam serves as Chief Clinical Digital Advisor for Orcha and board advisor within healthcare and technology. He is a clinician and previously Director of Digital Development for NHS England and has a background in primary healthcare, public health, and research.

Sam uses his leadership voice to connect technology with access to health services; optimize the consumer experience and improve system efficiency. Sam has overseen the development of NHS 111 Online in England. He always has his vision for a better health system centered around improving people’s lives and remains one of healthcare’s most affable and approachable influencers.

Mark Chataway

CEO Hyderus / Leader Baird’s Communication Consultants – Public Health Champion

Mark always works to ensure that private enterprise considers public health urgencies. Expert in communications on health and medicines, Mark is known for his fearless counsel to mega biopharmaceutical companies on topics of global public health around preventing non-communicable diseases and ensuring prompt planning and response to infectious disease.

His many years of experience in communications on developing international health issues and managing international development programs, around AIDS and reproductive health have earned him world acclaim. Through the years, he has worked with noted clients such as International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, WHO, and Worldvision. Mark is dedicated to tackling issues for a more equitable world. What is most impressive is that Mark makes collaboration to improve people’s well-being his priority and platform. That is a heartfelt skill more and more leaders must embrace.

Aman Gupta, MBA

Managing Partner: Asia-Pacific, SPAG – Bringing Health Innovation to the World

Aman Gupta, is co-founder of PR Agency SPAG, and has been recognized for his global work in the PR and communications industry. He was the first Asian leader to be named to the TED Fellow 2003 list and has been listed as one of the ‘Top 25 Innovators’ by PRovoke Media, Asia-Pacific, for shaping influence and engagement in an era of dramatic marketing and communications disruption. He was also listed in the PR Week Global Powerbook (2016-17) as one of the most influential PR professionals around the world. Aman has been honored as ‘Communicator of the Year’, by the Industry Association at the Fulcrum Awards 2017.

Based in Mumbai, Aman extends his reach to others around the world and is dedicated to building a voice for Asian-based healthcare companies outside the region. His efforts have also led to SPAG serving as the representative for major North American health companies headquartered in Asia. Aman Gupta gives voice to global health innovation and is committed to public health. As Asia becomes more and more important to the conversation of global health, expert Aman to be part of those discussions.

Christine Von Raesfeld

CEO, People with Empathy; Online Community Leader, HIMSS Future50

Few people with a cause walk the talk as boldly and graciously as Christine Von Raesfeld, founder and CEO of People with Empathy. Christine is a pillar of patient advocacy and allyship in the rare and chronic disease community. Through the lens of her lived experiences in healthcare, she has become a champion for patient voices, diversity and inclusion in clinical research, and equitable patient-sponsor partnerships.

Christine brings her unique perspective and honed expertise to countless roles as a featured speaker for numerous conferences dedicated to the rare disease community and disease awareness initiatives. Christine is a dedicated voice for progress with her patient advocacy interests and stimulates dialog on a range of topics important to patients, clinicians, and industry as moderator and host of Health.Reconsidered on Clubhouse. Christine is there for others always and unites people and ideas to improve access to care.

Rasu Shrestha MD MBA

Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Executive VP at Atrium Health

Rasu B. Shrestha, MD, MBA, leads the Atrium Health enterprise strategy, including planning and tactical direction for strategic roadmap and beyond. In addition, he spearheads a renewed focus on innovation, launching new healthcare inventions, discoveries, and ideas to benefit our patients and the communities Atrium Health serves. He also provides executive leadership for corporate communications and marketing, as well as enterprise analytics, showcasing Atrium Health as a meaningful, national brand that leverages the power of data and insights.

Dr. Shrestha is a respected thought leader and visionary in the field of healthcare information technology and was recently recognized as “Executive of the Year” by Healthcare Dive and was acknowledged as one of the “Top 20 Health IT Leaders Driving Change” and as a “Top Healthcare Innovator” by InformationWeek. In addition, he is on the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and is the Chairman of the HIMSS Innovation Committee, and Co-chair of Health Datapalooza. While he has numerous clinical and corporate credentials, he exhibits an interest in others’ efforts to improve patient care and sees himself as a constant ally in their efforts.

Lori Rose Benson

Executive Director, Hip Hop Public Health – Public Health Change Agent

With more than 25 years of experience in public health and education, Lori joined Hip Hop Public Health (HHPH) in 2017 as the organization’s inaugural Executive Director. Her experience in developing and scaling innovative health, fitness, and wellness programs is aligned with HHPH’s vision to empower youth around the globe with the knowledge and skills to make healthier choices, reducing preventable health conditions and the rising tide of childhood obesity.

Executive leader in the public health, education, wellness, and sports sectors with strong community and organizational ties within New York City, New York State, and across the country. Lori has mobilized a diverse community of educators, entertainers, and health professionals empowering youth with the transformative power of hip-hop. Together with outstanding partners and popular musicians, Lori is changing the beat on how to reach communities with life-saving messages. Watch Lori and Hip Hop Public Health continue to reach people on their terms and to their beat.

Ritesh Patel

Senior Partner, Global Digital Health, FINN Partners – Digital-Health Evangelist

When it comes to uniting people around ideas, expect to see Ritesh Patel in the center of the circle. After seven years at Ogilvy, Ritesh joined FINN Partners in July 2021 as its first global leader for digital health and continues his healthcare digital evangelism uniting academic settings, healthcare companies and industry communities. He consults with clients on digital transformation and connects their ideas and solutions to customers and consumers. Ritesh is a courageously bold spokesperson and shares ideas on numerous forums. A natural collaborator, he is passionate about sharing knowledge with peers and clients on the future of digital in healthcare. Born in Keyna, raised in the United Kingdom, and having relocated to the United States, he takes his ideas on the road speaking at a wide variety of digital and healthcare-centered events across the world.

At heart, he is always a Digital and Social Evangelist. With more than 20 years of Digital Experience, his background includes Online Marketing, Advertising, Sales, CRM, and E-Business. His focus is primarily on digital strategy, tools, platforms, and ecosystems in Healthcare. When he’s not talking digital, expect to find him at his restaurant in New Jersey that specializes in British Indian cuisine. Ritesh is the health sector’s Renaissance person.

Eugene Borukhovich, MBA

Co-Founder and COO YourCoach Health – Global Champion for Self-Care

Eugene is a serial intra- and entrepreneur, executive, venture builder, speaker, and board advisor with a focus on digital health. Eugene is Chairman & COO YourCoach. Along with being co-founder of YourCoach Health, he is the founder of Initium Impact Ventures. Prior to YourCoach, Eugene served as a Global Head of Digital Health at Bayer, and he has also co-founded and sold a doctor rating startup and a consulting company. His work is urgent and important!

By the year 2030, there is estimated that facing a myriad of illnesses resulting from poor self-care, people will look outside the traditional health system to address their needs. Perhaps as many as nine billion people in the world will seek access to global squads of health coaches to heal holistically, mind, body, and soul rather than succumb to non-communicable disease. Eugene sees self-care instead of sick-care as the needed path to sustain lives. He’s ready to engage. Watch what he says and does – it may save your life.

Jeff Ruby, JD, MBA

Co-Founder/CEO, Newtopia, Mobilizing Companies to Employee Wellness

Jeff Ruby is a health innovator and entrepreneur who is passionate about shifting the focus of health care from sick care to keeping healthy people healthy. As a health innovator and global thought leader, he is championing hyper-personalized and engaging strategies to deliver proven, scalable, and sustainable habit change and disease prevention by engaging companies to secure more benefits and outcomes for their employee community.

Prior to founding Newtopia in 2008, Jeff was co-founder and chief operating officer of Cleveland Clinic Canada, a collaboration between the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Canyon Ranch, Canada’s leading destination for preventive health and lifestyle management; co-founder and chief operating officer of Life Screening Centers Inc., a cancer screening and prevention company; and co-founder and head of operations of Genetic Diagnostics Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company commercializing a new genetic diagnostic testing platform.

Jeff is seeking to sustain and save people’s lives by getting their workplace communities to play a larger role in employee healthcare. He’s right! With companies and employees footing more and more of the health insurance burden, perhaps it’s time that employers took a more active role in their staff’s wellbeing.

Joanne Yoong, PhD

Senior Economist and Director, CESR-East

An experienced economist and interdisciplinary researcher with a past history in the finance, health, and think tank industry underwritten by a Stanford Ph.D. in economics. Joanne is a behavioral economist that has established a world-class reputation as both an outstanding academic and a practitioner. She is a Senior Economist at the University of Southern California, where she directs the Center for Economic and Social Research in Singapore. She also holds a concurrent appointment at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.

She is a recognized expert in program evaluation across sectors, bringing creative, data-driven solutions to community organizations, governments, and the private sector. Joanne is considered by many leading figures in healthcare to be integral to the wave of changes sweeping through the industry and Medika Life will explore her tireless and innovative efforts in an upcoming Voices of Healthcare feature article.

Ogan Gurel, MD

Innovation Leader, Author, Keynote Speaker, Bioelectromagnetics – Educator

Dr. Gurel is the Chief Science Officer for FLITE Material Sciences and holds academic appointments at the Solbridge International School of Business and DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology). He also serves as a Venture Partner at The Yozma Group and as Chief Marketing Officer for Eidware / SoundMind (Seoul), with previous roles at NovumWaves (Seoul), Nessa Hearing (Singapore); holds additional appointments as Honorary Fellow (University of Melbourne) and Visiting Professor (Libera Accademia Belle Arti–Italy).

Never resting on his laurels, Dr. Gurel was Chief Innovation Officer at Campus D, a Seoul-based startup incubator/Fab Lab, and served more than four years as a Director in the CTO office at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT). His business experience spans executive, marketing, clinical, and R&D domains, with expertise in medical devices, digital health, medical imaging, and biopharma while his academic research focuses on protein electrodynamics and terahertz medicine.

He doesn’t just hold onto his knowledge, he shares. Ogan is known for his amazing course called “Mini-Medical School (Mini-MD) a comprehensive, intensive overview of all of medicine, presented for marketing and sales business leaders where he covers the field of medicine – from the perspective of a physician in a few short weeks. It offers the “business side” of life science a glimpse of medicine from the healer’s perspective. Teacher and influencer, we welcome Dr. Gurel to this year’s Medika Life Top 50.

Kellie Lease Stecher, MD

OBGYN, Author, President and Co-Founder Patient Care Heroes

Physician, M.D., OBGYN, Author, Educator, Policy Consultant, Passionate, Determined, Persistent. Dr. Stecher is an advocate for justice, and a leader in the fight against institutional sexism. Her memoir, titled “Delivering” was released in October 2021. Patient Care Heroes was started as a simple social media post to tell the story of a physician hero who ultimately died as a result of caring for her patients with COVID-19, ultimately launching a national conversation about all those in healthcare who risk their lives going to work and providing care for their neighbors.

Kellie is its co-founder and president. Dr. Stecher is an advocate for reproductive rights, healthcare access, mental healthcare access, and gender and racial equity. She continues to work as an OBGYN.

Sedric Degbo, MD

CEO at REMA Medical Technologies, Collaboration that Saves Lives

Based in Benin, Dr. Degbo is engaged in building Africa’s largest medical community on REMA. The intent is to connect African healthcare professionals for better medical decisions. Its approach is to improve the quality of medical decisions by interconnecting all healthcare professionals practicing in Africa through a mobile application enabling them to share knowledge, experiences, and collaborate in real-time about patient cases, to make better decisions and save more lives. Thousands of medical cases are resolved each year via the “REMA” platform, which is used daily by doctors, midwives, and nurses from all over Africa.

Dr. Degbo has won several international awards in Africa, Europe, and America. His expertise is recognized by international health organizations and pharmaceutical groups, which he advises in their development strategies on African markets. In terms of social commitment, he devotes part of his time to promoting youth entrepreneurship and the 3rd sustainable development goal, in particular through conferences or by volunteering on the board of directors of non-profit organizations such as Bluemind Foundation for mental health.

Matthew Herper

Senior Writer, Medicine, Editorial Director Of Events at STAT – Words that Matter

It’s likely not a worthy STAT conversation unless Matt Herper is one of the event moderators. Since he came on the life science scene more than two decades ago he has reported on medical innovation — both its potential and pitfalls — writing about the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of medicine, from Avandia to Vioxx to Zytorin. Some stories left experts pondering about the science, and there are plenty of reasons to consider questions that raise the collective drug safety bar. We have seen his evolution through the years and applaud his efforts to consider all sides. Matt’s dedication to the field of biopharma reporting is exceptional.

Matthew was with Forbes for 18 years before taking the plunge and being one of the earlier top-tier health reporters to join the then-fledgling STAT staff. His decision and its impact accelerated the shift of science journalism from print to digital. We expect more great things will come from the keyboard of Matthew Herper.

Gregg Masters, MPH

Executive Producer at Healthcare Now Radio and Champion for Edgy Ideas

Recognized as a thought leader in healthcare social media and public health, known on social media by his Twitter handle @GreggMastersMPH, Gregg is a champion of voices seeking to improve the health system. He was there as a supporter during the nascent ramp-up of major social media platforms including Fierce Health, Health Information Technology by Health Data Management, and more. Gregg models best practices in digital content development, curation, distribution, and brand amplification. He mentors colleagues in both the strategic and the purposeful day-to-day application of interactive digital media tools from ‘lean’ to turnkey private-label branding.

Gregg is best known through his support for others as producers of numerous HealthcareNow Radio shows including PopUpStudio.productions, PopHealth Week, The AMCP Podcast series Powered by PopHealth Week, ACO Watch, Health Unabashed, HealthInnovationMedia.com fka HIBC.tv, JustOncology.com. He hosts (or co-hosts) several Internet radio programs including ‘This Week in Oncology’, ‘This Week in Accountable Care’ and ‘This Week in Health Innovation.” When there are people who need to be heard be assured Gregg is elevating their voices to the sector.

Todd Eury

Founder/CEO, Pharmacy Podcast Network – Giving Pharmacy Voice

Pharmacy could not have a stronger advocate for the discipline that touches almost every chapter of life – community care, hospitals, senior care and drug development. Todd is their ambassador. He has tapped podcast, digital publication, and professional development to unite the community among America’s most trusted profession – pharmacy.

As founder and executive producer of the Pharmacy Podcast Network (PPN), he has built a community of more than 100,000 monthly listeners across more than 30 podcast channels. Todd has transformed the use of audio to improve education, patient care, and professional development. Setting new quality standards in content development with the provider in mind to support evidence-based information in audio form. Building community and elevating the voice of this critical care professional isn’t just a job for Todd – it’s his passion.

Brian Wallach, JD

ALS Patient Advocate, Activist, Inventor, Lawyer

Brian is an attorney and ALS patient who conveys his humanity and as a result, calls upon us to exhibit our empathy and engage. In the aftermath of his ALS diagnosis in November 2017, he and his wife founded “I AM ALS,” a patient-led, patient-centric movement to lead the fight for a cure to the disease and Synapticure to remake the broken, disconnected care system. He is also an associate at the leading law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. From 2014 to 2018, he served as an assistant United States attorney in the Northern District of Illinois.

From 2011 to 2013, he was senior vetting counsel in the Obama White House, responsible for overseeing the vetting process for nearly all Senate-confirmed executive branch appointees and all presidential appointments as well as working on congressional oversight investigations. Brian shares his thoughts about parenting with ALS and his desire to keep pushing himself and our entire health community to press forward and imagine a cure.

Mike Rea

CEO, IDEA Pharma – Challenger of the Drug Development Status Quo

Mike Rea heads Idea Pharma and was voted one of the Top 10 Innovators in the pharmaceutical industry. He is the creator of the annual “Pharmaceutical Innovation Index” and an industry expert in drug development positioning. His thinking and approach have supported more than 25% of the 50 fastest-growing drugs during the past five years and positioned four of the 10 blockbuster launches of 2017. Mike sees the blank space between the notes – in drug development and music. Perhaps it’s his varied interests that help Mike see things differently. He owns an independent record label called Medical Records, his citation on Wikipedia is for establishing the UK college American Football league, and he loves to find some mud and watch his three (or is it four) dogs have fun.

Mike urges biopharma developers to reflect early on how their medicines might reach more people earlier. He suggests that pharma leaders should not make regulatory approval their singular goal – rather, recognize that a successful approach – smart thinking – can lead to more people being helped by medical miracles. Mike is all about making drug development more productive – for patients.

John Lynn

HITMC Founder – Ambassador for Health Information Marketing

John Lynn is the founder of the Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference community better known as HITMC. His energies and focus are centered around enabling wonderful people to connect and plan for a better future and the fragmented health ecosystem is easier for its stakeholders to navigate. John is the founding editor of the blog network HealthcareScene.com, which encompasses five blogs containing almost 11,000 articles that have been viewed more than 18 million times.

He is also co-founder of two companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com and serves as an advisor to multiple healthcare IT companies. John is an ambassador for the growing health information marketing community and in a growing sector of health, expect to see his influence expand. He influences through kindness and concern for others.

Erica (Olenski) Johansen

The Healthcare Futurist and Storyteller of the Patient Journey

Erica is a powerful storyteller, and she has much to share and we must listen. She is part of a new wave of caregiver and patient health influencers whose voices have become more sought so that the health ecosystem – the patchwork and fragmented networks that serve as economic and information gatekeepers – begins to bend to their needs. Erica’s words on “A Vignette of Life as a Pediatric Cancer Mom” or “Where Did My Hair Go,” remind us that we are all vulnerable and rely on each other for support – emotionally and as fellow patient-care advocates.

Her words and her support of the arts as part of therapy help us all image healthcare delivery as more caring and personal. Erica recognizes that people, culture, and technology must find common ground for the sake of our soul and survival. Erica is a must connect and follow – to follow her words and vision for a kinder health system.

Matthew Zachary

CEO and Co-Founder OffScrip Health

Matthew Zachary is a 25+ year cancer survivor and the CEO and Co-Founder of OffScrip Health. He also founded Stupid Cancer and created the first health podcast called The Stupid Cancer Show, which amassed a global listenership with more than four million listens and counting. People Magazine calls him “the people’s voice” in healthcare. As the Founder of the award-winning nonprofit Stupid Cancer, he is recognized as the driving force behind creating the Young Adult Cancer Movement and impacting the lives of millions of people in their teens, 20s, and 30s.

Called “The Howard Stern” and “The People’s Voice” of healthcare, Matthew is now focused on creating the first patient engagement company focused on audio as a transformational medium to improve patient outcomes. His platform hosts wonderful people sharing their ideas with millions of listeners. People like oncologists and cancer survivor Mark Lewis, MD, are part of his growing network of podcast programs that cover rare diseases, health disparities, and more. Matthew’s energy knows no boundaries and his influence is felt through his words, actions, and edgy platforms.

We hope you find this list useful and its members inspiring. More and more, seeing health disparities and the challenges facing health innovators seeking to enter the complex and fragmented health ecosystem, these Influencers seek change and use their voices to advocate for ideas that improve people’s care.

The speed and efficacy with which meaningful policy changes and practices are implemented across the healthcare sphere are influenced to a large degree by voices on this list, our 2021 list, and countless others connected to these people.

Let’s do our part to ensure they are heard. Follow and engage with these outstanding people seeking positive change. Also, follow the people they follow – those people are future candidates for the Medika Top 50 list. Again, with a roster of 50 people, it’s impossible to include everyone we considered – there were hundreds. That is why we urge everyone to visit past lists.

In April, Medika Life plans to release its Top 50 Health Companies List for 2022 featuring fearless innovators who are seeking to advance access to care and accelerate diagnosis and alternative approaches to treatment.

Spot a broken link, typo or name misspelled?

Our apologies! While due care has been taken in compiling this list and adding social media links, sometimes things go wrong or a name is misspelled. Please do get in touch to address typos, amendments, or omissions by reaching gil.bashe@medika.life or robertturner@medika.life. Thanks in advance.

The post The Medika Life 50 – The Most Influential Voices in Health for 2022 appeared first on Medika Life.

Of Sisyphus and COVID

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 13:00:00 +0000

There is character from Greek mythology named Sisyphus. This man was condemned to push a large boulder up a hill, only to have that boulder fall back down the bottom right as he reached the top. Sisyphus is then forced to go back to the bottom of the hill and push the boulder back up again. He is condemned to do this for eternity, as a punishment from Zeus for having cheated death.

This is how it has felt caring for critically ill COVID patients throughout this pandemic. Patient after patient comes to the ICU, and with each one, we have some semblance of hope that this one will be different. Maybe this one will be the one who beats the odds and survives with a good outcome. Then, more often than not, we watch them die after suffering terrible affliction. Just this past week, we lost count of the number of patients who died of COVID. And there are even more who will likely not survive.

This has happened again, and again, and again. It is absolutely exhausting. And it makes me feel like I’m Sisyphus, endlessly pushing that large and heavy boulder up the hill, only to have the boulder fall back down. In fact, a “Sisyphean task” is one that seems fruitless and absolutely impossible to complete.

It is so hard to keep going, and it is taking an enormous amount of effort to resist the urge to give up and “just swim down.” But here’s the thing: we have to keep going, because our patients need us. They are relying on us to be there for them at their most vulnerable moments.

Yet, as I think about it, the reality of the situation is different, and in this, we should take heart. When we are in the thick of things – caring for our patients – it may seem that we are alone, endlessly pushing that boulder up the hill. But we are not alone. We do not have to shoulder the burden alone.

For we physicians, we have our partners and colleagues that will help us push the boulder up the hill. The same is true with our nursing, respiratory therapy, and care technician colleagues: they are also not alone, and their colleagues and teammates will also help push that boulder up the hill. And, we all have each other, and we all will help each other push that boulder up the hill.

Yes, it is still difficult. Yes, the boulder is very heavy, and the hill is very steep. But we are not alone, and we need to lean on each other and use our collective strength to see through the pandemic together.

I truly hope and sincerely pray that we are finally at the beginning of the end of the pandemic and crisis phase of SARS CoV-2. I truly hope and sincerely pray that we will finally be over the scourge and madness and death. I truly hope and sincerely pray that the tragedy of this pandemic will finally come to an end. It cannot come soon enough.

Yet, we need to always remember that we are not Sisyphus. Sisyphus was truly alone, and he was forever punished by having to bear an impossible burden alone. We are not Sisyphus. We are not alone. We have each other, and together we will win, and we will behold the beauty at the top of the hill, gleefully watching that boulder crash down the hill into the sea of oblivion.

Photo by Daniel Dara on Unsplash

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Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Throughout this pandemic, but most especially in the very beginning, so many people expressed their gratitude for my colleagues and me on the front lines fighting COVID. My pastor called us “COVID Fighters,” and I have always loved that title.

New Yorkers, all on lockdown, would go out their windows and bang pots and pans in gratitude. In my hospital, we received tons of posters, cards, and other notes of appreciation. We were awash in food. And while we do not do what we do for the thanks, the gestures and expressions of appreciation were solidly appreciated.

As time has passed – and pandemic fatigue and weariness set in across the world – these kind gestures of appreciation have faded. As we enter the third year of this scourge, we feel more alone now that we ever did before. And still, on this Dr. Martin Luther King Day, I would be remis if I did not express my appreciation.

The struggle for civil rights in this country predated my birth. It even predated the arrival of my parents, who immigrated to the United States for a better life. Still, the struggle of Dr. King and so many countless others made life for my parents that much easier. For this, I am eternally grateful.

I know for a fact that my parents would probably had not been able to set roots where they did – in the suburbs of Chicago – had it not been for Dr. King and the civil rights movement. They could not have given us the wonderful life we had as kids.

I am pretty certain I would not have been able to enjoy the privileges and opportunities that I have enjoyed had it not been for Dr. King and the civil rights movement. My right to live where I want, eat where I want, work where I want, sit where I want on a plane or subway – rights I take for granted – would not have been possible were it not for the sacrifice and struggle of Dr. King and the civil rights movement.

The fact that I can vote without having to pay a tax, or answer a quiz, or do anything else of that sort has only been possible because of Dr. King and the civil rights movement. The fact that there is even alarm in our country over the threat to voting rights in so many states is due to Dr. King and the civil rights struggle.

As Americans, we all must do what we can to stop the eroding of the right of every eligible citizen to cast a vote and have their voice be heard. As Americans, we cannot let the good fight – and “good trouble” – of Dr. King die in vain.

All these things that I take for granted are thanks to Dr. King and the civil rights movement. And so, I must say thank you.

Thank you, Dr. King, for all you have done for the cause of justice in this country. Thank you, Dr. King, for the countless hours you spent nonviolently resisting the injustices rampant in our society. Thank you, Dr. King, for giving your life so that my children and I can live a better one in America. Thank you so much, Dr. King, and thank you to all those who have struggled and fought alongside him for the civil rights of all.

In his famous, “I Have A Dream Speech,” Dr. King said:

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

I am beneficiary of his coming to the nation’s capital to “cash [that] check.” I am beneficiary of his refusal to believe “the bank of justice is bankrupt.” I am beneficiary to his struggle – one that took his life – to “cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.”

Thank you so much, Dr. King. I – and our nation – are forever grateful to God and to you for all you have done.

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Breakthrough Infections Dramatically Enhance COVID Immunity

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 03:18:15 +0000

I don’t want anyone to get Covid after being fully vaccinated, a so-called “breakthrough infection.” I wish they would never happen. The reality is, however, breakthrough infections do happen. And, it seems, they are happening more often this Fall.

This is not totally surprising. While it would be ideal for a vaccine to prevent infection – i.e., catching the virus at all – at the very least, a good vaccine will prevent you from getting very sick from the disease. On this latter front, the vaccines continue to hold up well.

Yet, if it were to happen – if someone were to get a breakthrough infection – research shows that this person ends up with very robust immunity.

Researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University studied 26 people who were fully vaccinated against SARS CoV-2 and subsequently got COVID and compared them with 26 people who were vaccinated but did not get COVID. They found the immunity after a breakthrough infection was substantial:

Data showing substantially enhanced immunity after breakthrough infection. Source: JAMA

In fact, the immunity after a breakthrough infection helped protect against multiple variants of SARS CoV-2, including Delta (the study was conducted before Omicron was born):

Immunity after a breakthrough infection was substantial against multiple variants, including Delta. Source: JAMA

This is also not surprising, as an infection after vaccination serves as a “booster shot,” of sorts, and it therefore greatly enhances one’s immunity.

Now, of course, this is not the best way to boost your immunity against COVID if you are vaccinated. Sometimes, even mild COVID infections can have lasting long-term effects.

The best way, in fact, to boost your immunity against COVID is to get a booster shot. In the United States, everyone over the age of 16 is eligible to get a booster shot 2 months after the J&J vaccine and 6 months after the mRNA vaccines. They are safe. They are effective. And they boost your immunity to a great degree.

Again, I do not wish a breakthrough infection on anyone. This disease is horrible, and I have seen its horror up close. If one does get a breakthrough, though, the silver lining is that the immunity after such infection is very, very robust.

Reference: Bates TA, McBride SK, Winders B, et al. Antibody Response and Variant Cross-Neutralization After SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infection. JAMA. Published online December 16, 2021. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.22898

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Hope Is A Word I No Longer Use With COVID Copy

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Wed, 12 May 2021 03:17:43 +0000

With every patient we see in the Intensive Care Unit, we have hope. We have hope that they will survive their critical illness. We have hope that they will recover and walk out of the ICU alive and well. We have hope that they will survive their ICU stay intact: physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Then came the scourge of COVID-19.

In the beginning of the pandemic, we had that same hope for our COVID-19 patients. We had hope that they would survive their critical illness. We had hope that they will recover and walk out of the ICU alive and well. We had hope that they will survive their ICU stay intact: physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Some did just that.

But many, many, many others did not. And the repeated crush of death after death after death after death has taken a severe toll.

And so, now, I no longer use the word “hope” when it comes to patients with COVID-19. The repeated crush of death has become much too painful.

Now, I just live day by day with my COVID patients in the ICU. If at the end of each day, the patient has survived without death or major complication, I take it as a win. We made it through this day, and we will see what tomorrow brings. But I actively suppress using the word “hope,” because I just can’t take another death to crush that hope once again.

The fight for the patient hasn’t eased one bit. The relentless pursuit of whatever we can do to help our patient remains. We still sweat, and toil, and battle for our patients each and every day.

But for me, I have stopped using the word “hope.” The repeated crush of death has become much too painful.

The only time I will celebrate is when I physically see the patient leaving the hospital alive and well. It is then that I will finally crack a smile, sigh a breath of relief, and embrace the warm feeling that comes when seeing our patient be liberated from the prison that is critical illness.

And it is then, and only then, that I will have hope that our patient will become whole once again.

But in the depths of the ICU, as I watch COVID-19 ravage my patients day after day after day without mercy and without end, I do not use the word “hope.” I can’t use the word “hope.” The repeated crush of death has become much too painful.

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I’m Fully Vaccinated. Now What?

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 12:06:43 +0000

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has finally issued interim guidance and recommendations for those who are fully vaccinated. For the purposes of its guidance, the CDC considers an individual “fully vaccinated” after 2 weeks from their second dose of Pfizer/Moderna or their J&J single-dose vaccine.

The CDC says fully vaccinated individuals can:

Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic

Notably, the CDC did not say that fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks. In fact, they doubled down on mask-wearing, saying fully vaccinated people should still:

Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

There was no guidance as to travel for fully vaccinated people. Still, this is an important first step, and it signals the beginning of some return to normalcy after the pandemic.

COVID-19 and Your HealthInterim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People This is the first set of public health…www.cdc.gov

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The Silver Lining of Our Moral Distress with Covid

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 05:46:36 +0000

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

That is what it feels like taking care of Covid-19 patients for almost a year now. It is the same thing: they get sick, they come to the hospital, they get worse, they come to the ICU, they go on a ventilator, they stay on a ventilator for weeks, and then they die.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Sure, we have had some successes. But they are very few and very far in between. I think I can count on one hand the number of patients who actually made it alive and well after critical illness due to COVID-19.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

It’s gotten very old, the death. It’s gotten very old, the destruction. It’s gotten very old, the terrible suffering we see our patients going through.

We are tired, nay, exhausted. It is tiring to see patient after patient die a miserable death. We are so ready for this pandemic to be over, but with the slow rollout of the vaccine, the hesitancy of a substantial portion of the population (including healthcare professionals) to get the vaccine, and now these worrying SARS CoV-2 variants, Covid is going to be with us for a long time.

That is depressing, because we know that this will mean more death, more destruction, and more suffering on the part of our patients. It seems that it will be a while yet before the cycle of “Lather. Rinse. Repeat.” will finally go away. Very depressing, indeed.

It’s gotten very old, the death. It’s gotten very old, the destruction. It’s gotten very old, the terrible suffering we see our patients going through.

Yet, in this distress, in this fatigue and anguish, there is a silver lining. It means that we still care, we still have a heart that is filled with compassion.

If we really didn’t care about the suffering of our patients, then why would the scale of death and destruction bother us? If our patients were nothing more than carcasses to us, why would seeing so much suffering gnaw at our very souls? If we didn’t care at all, we would be totally fine with the pain all around us.

But, we do still care. We still have a heart that aches in pain for our patients and their families. Our hearts have not been hardened and ossified completely to the point of no return. That is very reassuring, and it brings me a modicum of peace and light in the overwhelming darkness of this pandemic.

Now, I do not make light of the moral distress that has been brought to bear on clinicians the world over. For far too many, this moral distress has hardened hearts and led to burnout. It has also led to many suicides among physicians and other clinicians. This is horrible, and we need to do all we can to help treat the moral distress which plagues far too many of those in our field.

That said, as much as I am growing tired of this pandemic and the ceaseless “Lather. Rinse. Repeat” cycle of death and destruction, there is a small part of me that is relieved. This is because it means that I still have a heart that is full of compassion and care. And I thank the Beautiful Lord for that.

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Will The Vaccine Stop Me From Catching COVID?

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 05:45:44 +0000

No time to read this article? No problem. The content is available in the video below.

The vaccine is finally here. It has been given Emergency Use Authorization, and the Pfizer mRNA vaccine has been injected into the arms of Americans. This is great news, and this should be the beginning of the end of this pandemic. The more of us get vaccinated, the fewer people the virus can sicken, and we can finally return to normal life.

How does the vaccine work?

The Pfizer (and Moderna) vaccines are mRNA (called “messenger RNA”) vaccines. The mRNA is the code for our cells to make proteins. So, the vaccine has the mRNA code for the spike protein on the virus. The spike protein is those little “antennas” on the surface of SARS CoV-2.

Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash

Our cells make the spike protein, and then the immune system develops a response. The mRNA is then degraded in the cell. The vaccine has no virus in it at all.

What does the vaccine do?

The studies of the vaccine have shown that the vaccine prevents symptomatic Covid infection. It has also been shown to prevent severe Covid infection. The efficacy is 95%, which is excellent with respect to vaccines. In comparison, the influenza vaccine is typically about 50% effective.

Will the vaccine prevent me from catching the virus?

The answer is: we don’t know. That is currently being studied, and the data are not out yet. This is critical to know, actually. We know that the vaccine prevents symptomatic Covid disease, but we don’t know if it prevents people from catching the virus and then spreading it to other people. It would be great if that was also the case, but we just don’t know at this stage.

So, should I still get the vaccine?

Absolutely. Of course, you should not have any contraindications to getting the vaccine (such as allergies to any of its components). Still, even if the vaccine doesn’t prevent infection and spread of the virus, if enough people are vaccinated, they will be protected from getting sick from the virus. That can only be a good thing, and that will be the best way we can finally get out from under the cloud of this pandemic.

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No, Mr. President, We Doctors Are Not Faking Covid Deaths

Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 02:47:34 +0000

Last week, in the final days of the campaign, and making his closing argument for a second term, President Donald Trump said this at one of his rallies:

You know our doctors get more money if somebody dies from Covid. With us, when in doubt, choose Covid.

How dare you, Sir?

Over these past eight months, we on the front lines have witnessed truly horrible things. We have seen death and destruction on a scale like nothing else we have seen in our careers. We have placed our own lives — and those of our families — on the line taking care of the myriad patients who have been afflicted by this disease (including, by the way, the doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center).

How dare you accuse us of faking Covid deaths for “more money”? That is not what we do. I have signed dozens of death certificates after patients died of Covid-19, and I have also signed death certificates of patients who did not have Covid. Never — not even once — did I think about putting down Covid-19 as a cause of death when the patient was free of Covid. Never even once.

We don’t have time to worry about inflating deaths from Covid to “make the President look bad.” We don’t have time to think about “faking a death certificate” for political reasons. We are too focused on doing all that we can to help our patients survive Covid-19. And if they can’t survive, then we are focused on making sure they have a good death.

After everything we have gone through in this pandemic, this baseless accusation was particularly infuriating. The staggering number of deaths from Covid-19 in this country — over 230,000 — is due to a staggering failure by our leadership to control this pandemic. It has absolutely nothing to do with doctors “faking Covid deaths.”

How dare you, Sir? How dare you?

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