News You Can Use – May 2026

This month’s episode of “News You Can Use” on Healthcare NOW Radio features news from the month of May 2026.

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 month’s show that features a review of:

• Congressman Murphy
• AI-Induced Never Skilling
• Ways to Fix US Healthcare and Medical Insurance Liability
• LinkedIn Recruitment Scams
• Raul Castro in The Sopranos

The latest episode kicked things off by diving into Congressman Greg Murphy’s comments about how the medical school recruitment system is “broken,” which naturally triggered every physician who’s ever cried in a hospital stairwell while desperately seeking respite from the deluge of requests. The idea that burnout happens because “the wrong people got into medicine” landed about as well as a colonoscopy prep cocktail at a wine tasting. I shared my own residency horror stories, which included being told by a mentor that maybe I should never have been admitted to medical school in the first place. Nothing says “professional development” quite like being informed you’re an inefficient use of oxygen. Sadly, the congressman does seem to be trying to improve things, which in healthcare policy makes him roughly as rare as a functioning fax machine.

Next up, we wandered into the cheerful dystopia of AI-induced “never skilling,” which sounds like a rejected Black Mirror episode but is apparently now peer-reviewed medicine. We talked about doctors becoming so dependent on AI during colonoscopies that when the software gets turned off, suddenly everyone’s playing gastrointestinal Where’s Waldo. The nightmare isn’t just deskilling, it is the trainees never developing the skills in the first place because the machine keeps whispering answers like an overachieving kid in the front row of chemistry class. While I tried to push back citing calculators as prior work that were ruining math but did not, Craig rightly pointed out it did ruin mental math. Half the population now stares at cash change like it’s advanced quantum mechanics. Somewhere in the distance, pilots of automated aircraft are nervously sweating while pretending they totally still remember how to fly manually.

Healthcare remains dysfunctional, and some recommendations to fix things make sense to both of us. We discussed insurance companies practicing medicine without accepting any actual liability. Basically, like me, refereeing the Super Bowl from my couch while refusing responsibility for the outcome. One proposal we both loved: if insurers deny care, they should carry medical liability for those decisions.

Make insurance denials medically liable – gotta love this one. If you are going to second-guess the physician in the room, then you get to.

Revolutionary concept, I know.

We wrapped up with a brief look at the latest LinkedIn recruitment scams, where fake recruiters armed with Gmail accounts and stolen logos now slide into your inbox pretending to offer “exciting leadership opportunities.”

Pro tip: if the recruiter’s email ends in “@gmail.com,” maybe don’t send them your CV or even respond

Finally, we closed with news that featured Raul Castro noting how much he resembled Uncle Junior from The Sopranos, proving that in 2026 reality is just prestige television with worse writers.

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 time keep solving healthcare’s mysteries before they become your emergencies and stay healthy, stay skeptical, and for heaven’s sake, check who’s listed as your emergency contact.

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!

Weekdays at 4:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 8:00 pm ET.

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