News You Can Use – April 2025

Healthcare’s Wildest Hallucinations (And No, We’re Not Talking About AI… Or Are We?)

This month’s episode of “News You Can Use” on Healthcare NOW Radio features news from the month of April 2025.

The show that gives you a quick insight into the latest news, twists, turns, and debacles going on in healthcare with my friend and co-host Craig Joseph, MD (@CraigJoseph) Chief Medical Officer at Nordic Consulting Partners and myself, where every diagnosis comes with a side of humor. We hope you stay curious, stay engaged, and keep seeking the truth in healthcare in a world that thrives on information.

Buckle up as we dive into the ER of excitement, the ICU of irrationality, and the waiting room of wacky wisdom in this months show that features a review of:

• Hallucinations on the Rise
• The Pitt
• Left Behind after Surgery
• Bending the Rules for ‘alternative’ treatments
• 5 Things You Should Clean now

Welcome to another episode of Healthcare: The Greatest Show on Earth, where we dissect the latest medical absurdities with the precision of a surgeon and the skepticism of a cat watching a magic trick. This month’s lineup? Rogue surgical sponges left behind like tragic party favors, and the rise of AI “hallucinations” (spoiler: they’re not the fun, psychedelic kind). Oh, and apparently, your dishwasher is dirtier than your gym socks. You’re welcome.

Let’s start with AI’s creative side—because nothing says “trustworthy” like a robot making up legal cases 50% of the time. We are thrilled (read: horrified) by OpenAI’s latest trick: confidently inventing facts like a toddler explaining how airplanes work. Meanwhile, our Craig’s AI thinks his Uber driver is German (his name was literally German). So, should we trust AI for medical advice? Only if you enjoy playing Russian Roulette with your diagnosis. Pro tip: If you’re asking ChatGPT for rabies vaccine facts, maybe just… call a doctor.

Next up: The Pitt, the medical drama so brutally accurate it makes Grey’s Anatomy look like Sesame Street. Realistic? Yes. Depressing? Also yes. Between the bureaucratic nightmares and the occasional scalpel left inside a patient (because oops), it’s a miracle anyone survives healthcare. Speaking of oops, did you know “never events” (like forgetting a sponge in someone’s abdomen) still happen? Technology was supposed to fix this, but alas, even robots can’t count.

The Art of Saying “Sure, Why Not” or Maybe Not

Ever had a patient beg for ivermectin to treat COVID? Certain that was happening during the Pandemic. We debate the ethics of bending rules for desperate families (Spoiler: It’s complicated, like a hospital billing department). And in a shocking twist, your dishwasher is a bacterial rave. Clean the filter, folks, unless you enjoy eating with a side of last week’s salmon.

Final takeaway? Healthcare is a mess, AI is a prankster, and your couch is plotting against you. Stay skeptical, stay sanitized, and for the love of everything, don’t trust the robots, whatever they might say their name is.

We hope you enjoy our take on the latest news and developments in healthcare and want to help you keep untangling the web of information, dodging the sensational pitfalls, and emerging victorious, albeit a little dizzy, on the other side. In the end, the stories we uncover, and the discussions we ignite, all shape the narrative of our shared future. We want to hear from you especially if you have topics covered or questions you’d like answered. You can reach out directly via the contact form on my website, or send a message on LinkedIn to Craig or me.

Until next month keep solving healthcare’s mysteries before they become your emergencies.

This article was originally published on the Dr. Nick – The Incrementalist blog and is republished here with permission.

News You Can Use gives you a quick insight into the latest news, twists, turns and debacles going on in healthcare with Dr. Nick and Dr. Craig and where every diagnosis comes with a side of side-splitting humor. Your hosts are Dr Nick a long-time host, innovator and healthcare wizard who can prescribe a digital dose of innovation to cure even the most ailing operational inefficiencies. And Dr. Craig Joseph is the healthcare guru who can diagnose both patient and software glitches with equal precision, making sure hospitals run smoother than a well-oiled robot doc.

So buckle up, because we’re diving into the ER of excitement, the ICU of irrationality, and the waiting room of wacky wisdom.

Stay curious, stay engaged, and keep seeking the truth in a world that thrives on information. Because in the end, the stories we uncover, and the discussions we ignite, they all shape the narrative of our shared future.

And keep laughing at the absurdity, keep rolling your eyes at the headlines, and keep spreading the news like your favorite gossip. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll be the breaking news story we’re all talking about!

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