How I Doctor with Dr. Graham Walker

Dr. Eric Topol is one of the most influential voices in modern medicine. Founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and author of Deep Medicine and Super Agers, Eric has spent decades interrogating medical dogma, calling out hype, and pushing the profession toward evidence, prevention, and humanity.Dr. Graham Walker sits down with Eric for a candid conversation about why physicians shouldn’t fear AI and why when used correctly, it may be one of the most powerful tools we’ve ever had to reduce errors, restore trust, and shift medicine from late-stage treatment to true prevention. From diagnostic error and physician burnout to immune aging, GLP-1s, personalized risk prediction, and the limits of randomized trials, this episode is both a reality check and a roadmap. Eric makes the case that AI’s greatest promise isn’t automation, but rather it’s the ability to see what humans never could, identify risk earlier, and finally decouple aging from chronic disease.This isn’t a hype cycle conversation. It’s a grounded, evidence-based look at how AI could help fix what’s broken in medicine if physicians lead the way.Explore the Data📊 Want to see how your peers are actually using AI today? Download Offcall’s 2025 Physicians AI Report, featuring insights from over 1,000 physicians on daily AI use, adoption gaps, and what doctors really want from these tools:👉 https://2025-physicians-ai-report.offcall.com/What You’ll LearnWhy Eric Topol believes doctors shouldn’t fear AI and why holding it to an impossible standard may be harming patientsHow AI could dramatically reduce diagnostic error and support better clinical judgmentWhy prevention has failed historically and how AI finally makes it possible at scaleThe difference between AI hype and evidence-backed breakthroughs physicians should actually care aboutHow personalized, data-rich medicine may reshape trials, training, and the future role of the physician🩺 Offcall is more than a platform — it’s a community. Join today!📝 For a full transcript of this episode click HERE🎧 Subscribe to receive new How I Doctor episodes directly in your feed here: https://episodes.fm/1767429315👨‍⚕️Follow Dr. Graham Walker onLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/graham-walker-md/ IG https://www.instagram.com/ubergraham/ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/drgrahamwalker.com ✉️ Join our newsletter On/Offcall here https://offcall.beehiiv.com/subscribe 🟧 Follow Offcall on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinoffcall/ IG https://www.instagram.com/offcalldotcom/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@offcalldotcom Mentioned in this episode:This Episode is Sponsored by AbridgeAbridge is the leading AI platform that drafts structured, clinically useful notes at the point of conversationAbridge Sponsor

AI is already shaping how physicians practice. And for the release of The 2025 Physicians AI Report, Graham is taking a different kind of episode: a deep-dive mailbag where he answers the questions doctors are actually asking about AI, grounded in one of the largest physician surveys of its kind.More than 1,000 physicians were polled in this project, and their answers paint a far more nuanced picture than the headlines suggest. 📊 Yes, two-thirds of physicians already use AI every day. ✅ Yes, the majority believe AI can meaningfully reduce administrative burden. ⚠️ And yes, 81% are frustrated with how their organizations are deploying it. In this episode, Graham walks through those realities one by one.He breaks down why doctors trust AI for documentation but hesitate when it comes to decision support. Why the #1 fear isn’t “AI will replace me,” but rather who will control it. How payers, administrators, and mixed incentives shape the way AI enters clinical workflows. And why physicians may quietly be years ahead of their institutions in actually using the technology day-to-day.He also shares the moments from the report that surprised him most and the “dream tools” physicians wish someone would build already. And he offers a roadmap for healthcare leaders, AI companies, and clinicians about how to prevent AI from becoming the next EHR rollout: deployed to doctors instead of with them.👉 If you want to go deeper, you can download the full dataset and insights in The 2025 Physicians AI Report at https://2025-physicians-ai-report.offcall.com/Whether you’re experimenting with AI every shift or still cautiously watching from the sidelines, this episode offers clarity on where physicians actually stand  and where medicine is headed next.What You’ll LearnWhat doctors are really doing with AI right now Two-thirds of physicians already use AI daily, but what exactly are they using it for, and how are they integrating it into their clinical workflows?Why organizational deployment is failing physicians From restrictive policies to unclear guidelines, Graham explains why 81% of doctors are frustrated and what leaders must fix to avoid repeating the mistakes of the EHR era.The #1 fear doctors have about AI and it’s not job loss Physicians overwhelmingly worry about AI falling under payer and administrative control. Graham breaks down the incentives behind that fear.What physicians want from AI companies A clear message to builders: specialty matters. Physicians don’t want “AI for doctors”; they want tools that understand their specific workflows.Why AI adoption is happening with or without institutions Graham explains how grassroots physician use is outpacing formal hospital adoption and what that means for the future of medical practice.Access all findings from The 2025 Physicians AI Report Download the full report, charts, and analysis at  https://2025-physicians-ai-report.offcall.com/🩺 Offcall is more than a platform — it’s a community. Join today!📝 For a full transcript of this episode click HERE🎧 Subscribe to receive new How I Doctor episodes directly in your feed here: https://episodes.fm/1767429315👨‍⚕️Follow Dr. Graham Walker onLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/graham-walker-md/ IG https://www.instagram.com/ubergraham/ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/drgrahamwalker.com ✉️ Join our newsletter On/Offcall here https://offcall.beehiiv.com/subscribe 🟧 Follow Offcall on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinoffcall/ IG https://www.instagram.com/offcalldotcom/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@offcalldotcom Mentioned in this episode:This Episode is Sponsored by AbridgeAbridge is the leading AI platform that drafts structured, clinically useful notes at the point of conversationAbridge Sponsor

Independent primary care isn’t a relic of the past — it’s becoming the future of American medicine. In this episode of How I Doctor, Dr. Graham Walker talks with two leaders helping drive that shift: Dr. Umar Bowers, an internist who left a major health system to build the practice he always envisioned, and Dan Bowles, General Manager of Practice Health at Aledade , the physician-led company enabling thousands of doctors to stay independent, financially stable, and clinically autonomous.Umar shares his personal journey from rising frustration inside a large employed medical group to opening Dawson Medical Group with the support of Aledade. He explains what independence really means, why he had zero fear stepping out of the system, and how value-based care became the engine that allowed his practice to thrive. You can read more of his story in Aledade’s physician success profile or connect with him directly on LinkedIn.Dan offers a rare inside look at why so many doctors feel trapped in employment, what’s driving the national shift back toward physician-led care, and how Aledade’s data, contracting expertise, and ready-made community of independent clinicians help doctors cross the bridge to autonomy instead of trying to swim it alone.This isn’t another story about burnout or bureaucracy, it’s a roadmap for physicians who want their careers, their schedules, and their practices back. Whether you’re considering independent practice or simply want to understand the movement reshaping primary care, this episode shows how doctors are taking back control of the profession, one practice at a time.What You’ll LearnWhy independent primary care is resurging and how value-based care is creating new financial stability for small practices.How Dr. Umar Bowers built his own practice from scratch and why he had zero fear leaving a major health system.What Aledade’s turnkey model actually provides, from startup capital and contracting support to data, workflows, and a nationwide physician community.How doctors can reclaim autonomy, flexibility, and clinical decision-making power without sacrificing income, infrastructure, or patient care.🩺 Offcall is more than a platform — it’s a community. Join today!📝 For a full transcript of this episode click HERE🎧 Subscribe to receive new How I Doctor episodes directly in your feed here: https://episodes.fm/1767429315👨‍⚕️Follow Dr. Graham Walker onLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/graham-walker-md/ IG https://www.instagram.com/ubergraham/ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/drgrahamwalker.com ✉️ Join our newsletter On/Offcall here https://offcall.beehiiv.com/subscribe 🟧 Follow Offcall on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinoffcall/ IG https://www.instagram.com/offcalldotcom/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@offcalldotcom Mentioned in this episode:This Episode is Sponsored by AbridgeAbridge is the leading AI platform that drafts structured, clinically useful notes at the point of conversationAbridge Sponsor

This Thanksgiving, we’re pressing pause on the chaos of clinical life to honor the physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers who keep showing up tired, hopeful, frustrated,and inspired. In this special “Best Of” episode, Dr. Graham Walker revisits five conversations that have sparked the most messages, DMs, forwarded links, and late-night reflection from our listeners. These clips come from leaders who’ve helped all of us re-examine the work, the system, and ourselves:Featured Episodes & LinksDr. Shiv Rao is a cardiologist, entrepreneur, and the CEO and co-founder of Abridge, the physician-founded AI company transforming how clinical conversations become care.Listen to The Physician AI Conversation: How Doctors Can Drive the AI Era in Medicine Forward with Abridge CEO Dr. Shiv RaoDr. Danielle Ofri is an internist at Bellevue Hospital, clinical professor at NYU, and one of the most widely read physician-writers of our time. Listen to Medicine’s Broken Promises: Dr. Danielle Ofri on Greed, Trust, and Why the System Survives on Exploiting CliniciansMark Cuban is a business mogul, the “Shark” every entrepreneur wants to make a deal with, the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and, most recently, an online pharmacy CEO.Listen to Mark Cuban: How I’d Reform Healthcare If I Were in ChargeDr. Vineet Arora is the Dean for Medical Education at the University of Chicago and one of the nation’s leading voices on equity, leadership, and physician well-being.Listen to Why Women Physicians Still Earn Less — and What We Can Do About It With Dr. Vineet AroraDr. Ali Chaudhary is an emergency physician, entrepreneur, and one of the leading voices helping doctors reclaim control over their careers.Listen to Breaking Free from W-2 Medicine: The Physician’s Guide to Locum Tenens with Dr. Ali ChaudharyWhat You’ll LearnDr. Shiv RaoWhy AI adoption is accelerating inside health systems faster than anyone expected and how clinicians can shape the guardrails, not get steamrolled by them.Dr. Danielle OfriThe “unbroken chain” of clinicians and why modern healthcare quietly relies on exploiting professionalism to keep the system from collapsing.Mark CubanHow insurance design, pre-auth delays, and underpayment schemes shift financial risk onto physicians while confusing patients — and why it’s not your fault.Dr. Vineet AroraHow women residents fall three months behind in milestone advancement by graduation — and the narrative biases in feedback that fuel the promotion gap.Dr. Ali ChaudharyWhy the traditional W-2 model is structurally unstable — and how locums work can restore autonomy, income stability, and control over your life.🩺 Offcall is more than a platform — it’s a community. Join today!🎧 Subscribe to receive new How I Doctor episodes directly in your feed here: https://episodes.fm/1767429315👨‍⚕️Follow Dr. Graham Walker onLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/graham-walker-md/ IG https://www.instagram.com/ubergraham/ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/drgrahamwalker.com ✉️ Join our newsletter On/Offcall here https://offcall.beehiiv.com/subscribe 🟧 Follow Offcall on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinoffcall/ IG https://www.instagram.com/offcalldotcom/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@offcalldotcom

Dr. Kalie Dove-Maguire is an emergency physician, health-tech leader, and the President and Chief Product Officer at Evidently — a physician-founded company building clinical decision support tools designed to earn trust, not replace judgment. After years on the frontlines, Kalie saw firsthand how critical information gets lost in the noise, how clinicians compensate for broken workflows, and how better tools could prevent avoidable harm. That realization ultimately pushed her from the ER to the product world, where she now designs AI systems that surface the right data, cite their sources, and respect the mental work only clinicians can do.In this episode of How I Doctor host Dr. Graham Walker sits down with Kalie to talk about about why AI must be transparent, why judgment can’t be automated, and what it really takes to create decision support clinicians actually want in their workflow. From the emotional weight of missed findings in residency to shipping software with guardrails, Kalie explains how Evidently approaches trust, verification, and workflow design in a way that empowers physicians.This isn’t just a conversation about AI. It’s a look at how doctors can shape the tools that guide their practice, protect clinical judgment, and help build the next generation of decision support that clinicians rely on.What You’ll LearnWhy clinical decision support fails when it ignores physician judgment — and how Evidently builds tools that do the opposite.How Kalie’s ER experience shaped her approach to product design, safety, and transparency.The difference between predictive models, LLMs, and workflow-level AI — and why lumping them together creates misconceptions.How Evidently “shows its work” by surfacing evidence, matching data to action, and earning clinician trust over time.Practical lessons for physicians considering a transition into tech, entrepreneurship, or product roles.Why the future of AI in medicine is augmentation, not automation — and why the “AI resident” metaphor matters.🩺 Offcall is more than a platform — it’s a community. Join today!📝 For a full transcript of this episode click HERE🎧 Subscribe to receive new How I Doctor episodes directly in your feed here: https://episodes.fm/1767429315👨‍⚕️Follow Dr. Graham Walker onLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/graham-walker-md/ IG https://www.instagram.com/ubergraham/ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/drgrahamwalker.com ✉️ Join our newsletter On/Offcall here https://offcall.beehiiv.com/subscribe 🟧 Follow Offcall on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinoffcall/ IG https://www.instagram.com/offcalldotcom/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@offcalldotcom Mentioned in this episode:This Episode is Sponsored by AbridgeAbridge is the leading AI platform that drafts structured, clinically useful notes at the point of conversationAbridge Sponsor