The Doctor's Lounge
Where scalpels meet systems — and physicians say what they really think.
Co-hosted by Dutch Rojas & Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, with Anish Koka, MD, Dan Choi, MD, & Sanat Dixit, MD — candid talks on healthcare policy, reform, physician autonomy & patient care.
The Doctor's Lounge
Futile Care, Dignity at the End of Life, and Physician-Owned Hospitals
🎯 Why Listen
When an 88-year-old with dementia lands in the hospital, should we implant a device simply “because we can”? The panel examines futile care, ICU economics, malpractice fears, and the cultural bias to always “do something.” With special guest JP Kolcun, a seventh-year neurosurgery resident, they also debate whether physician-owned hospitals could restore dignity, efficiency, and leadership to American medicine.
đź‘Ą Co-Hosts
- Dutch Rojas – Founder, Bliksem Health
- Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, MHA – Neurosurgeon, UCSF; health policy researcher
- Anish Koka, MD – Cardiologist, Philadelphia; healthcare policy commentator
- Dan Choi, MD, FAAOS – Orthopedic spine surgeon, Long Island; healthcare advocate and social media voice
- Sanat Dixit, MD, FACS – Neurosurgeon, Huntsville, AL; Faculty, Vanderbilt University; healthcare entrepreneur
- Special Guest: JP Kolcun, MD – Seventh-year neurosurgery resident, Rush University, Chicago
đź“Ś Episode Overview
The panel examines costly end-of-life interventions like Watchman devices, asking whether they truly benefit frail patients and what dignity looks like when medicine defaults to “doing something.” In the second half, they debate physician-owned hospitals, exploring how lifting ACA restrictions could improve efficiency, reduce burnout, and restore physician leadership in patient-centered care.
đź’¬ Notable Quotes
- “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is humanity.” – Hippocrates, quoted during the episode
- “Government is a poor deployer of capital.”
- “Who would you rather have running a hospital—someone oath-bound, or someone only bound by greed?”
📚 What You’ll Learn
- Why left atrial appendage occluders spark debate about futility and cost at the end of life
- How Medicare’s spending patterns shape hospital incentives
- The tension between physician judgment, family wishes, and systemic pressures
- What Section 6001 of the ACA did to physician-owned hospitals
- Why physician-led care models could improve efficiency and morale in healthcare
- Broader reflections on dignity, values, and the role of physicians in society
⏱ The Episode (Timestamps)
- [00:01:30] Introductions, JP Colcun rejoins the panel
- [00:04:00] End-of-life spending and Watchman device outcomes
- [00:08:00] The 40% mortality problem in device patients
- [00:13:00] Futility, family wishes, and medical-legal pressures
- [00:17:00] Medicare’s role and distorted spending incentives
- [00:22:00] Dignity, third-party payment, and lost physician “quarterbacks”
- [00:30:00] Transition to physician-owned hospitals
- [00:33:00] Section 6001 of the ACA explained
- [00:36:00] Physician burnout and hospital inefficiencies
- [00:44:00] The nonprofit hospital paradox
- [00:50:00] Closing reflections: restoring physician entrepreneurship and values
đź”— Connect with the Hosts: