Welcome back to On/Offcall!

Ever since starting Offcall, one of the most fulfilling aspects of my job has been getting to interview and learn from some of the most interesting, passionate, and change-making doctors in the country. 

Sure, there have also been several pinch-me moments, like talking to Mark Cuban about how to fix healthcare, but above all, what I’ve truly loved is hearing from so many MD entrepreneurs, medical directors, residents, early-career doctors, and colleagues who are working to make a systems-level impact in their own way. And after 22 episodes of my podcast How I Doctor, I wanted to share my own reflection on the common thread. If I had to boil down one key lesson that ties all of my exceptional colleagues’ work together, I think it’s the power and importance of refusing to accept the hand we’ve been dealt.

I’ve long believed that advocacy is, in fact, a form of professionalism. And that putting patients first doesn’t mean we should always put ourselves last. Whether it’s Will Flanary through comedy, Elisabeth Potter through policy reform, or Eric Bricker and James Dahle through education, my incredible guests have put that idea into practice. They’re speaking out and scaling their impact beyond caring for individual patients. I think these are powerful examples that we can all learn from.

To celebrate their example, we’ve compiled a roundup of a few of our favorite moments from How I Doctor thus far below. We’re so grateful for your support, and we’re just getting started! I’m really excited to get to meet and learn from even more physicians in the coming weeks who are also exemplifying this same mission through their own work.

Thanks for listening, and if you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe on your platform of choice here. And please: If you have ideas for who you’d like to see me interview next, reply directly or tag them in the comments!

Graham Walker, MD, Emergency Physician

Co-founder, Offcall

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4 Physicians Who Are Fighting to Save Medicine

This week on How I Doctor, we’re featuring some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking moments from the show to date, including:

- Dr. Will Flanary, an ophthalmologist and comedian who’s restoring power to those who actually deliver care: us.
- Dr. Eric Bricker, an internal medicine physician who explains the business of medicine so we can finally negotiate from a place of strength.
- Dr. Elisabeth Potter, a reconstructive breast surgeon who takes the fight directly to insurance companies one TikTok video at a time. 
- Dr. Jim Dahle, an emergency medicine physician who prevents doctors from getting scammed in all aspects of our financial lives.

Their insights will push you to think about medicine differently. Listen below and share the episode on social media here.

Listen to the episode →

Most Talked About On Offcall

Physician Builder Spotlight: Michel Abdel Malek

Our new series! After the incredible response we received to our post about why more physicians should start companies, we’re shining a light on MD-entrepreneurs. Each week, we’ll feature a doctor who’s building a cool product or company that you definitely want to know about.

This week, meet Dr. Michel Abdel Malek, founder and CEO of Delphyr. Connect with Michel on LinkedIn and learn more about his company here.

1. Michel, why did you become a physician entrepreneur? Coming from an entrepreneurial family in the hospitality industry, that mindset was ingrained in me. But what truly motivated me was the documentation burden I’ve experienced first-hand just like so many of my colleagues. One day, while working as a senior resident in anesthesiology, I nearly made the critical mistake of prescribing a medication that was contraindicated for a patient. The issue wasn’t my knowledge or training, but rather that I didn’t have the data I needed. As a millennial who’d been coding my whole life, I realized I could fix this problem. I set out to build a product that reduces administrative load for doctors, so they can focus on what matters: patient care.

2. Tell us what your company does. Delphyr is a healthcare AI assistant that automates administrative work, validates clinical decision-making, and improves patient outcomes. It’s like having a medical scribe who can also find any data point in seconds, no matter where it’s been recorded. The technology integrates with all EHRs and runs on Microsoft. It’s the only product of its kind regulated as a medical device.

3. What’s your advice for physicians considering entrepreneurship? Just. Do. It. I love medicine and still practice occasionally. But I’ve realized there’s so much more beyond the walls of a hospital — which isn’t a "normal" workplace. It’s a high-pressure environment in every possible way. If you've spent your entire career in that setting, leaving it can be daunting. But, in return, I’ve gotten to build a meaningful solution to longstanding frustrations, and also challenge myself in unprecedented ways. 

4. What’s a surprising lesson you’ve learned from building your company? Execution is prioritized over perfection. By nature, I’m a thinker, and I initially struggled with the idea of acting before thinking things through. But I had to learn to think on my feet. Another insight: Succinctness beats extensiveness. I hate the word "pitching," but if you start lecturing clients or investors with dry knowledge, you’ll lose them. Sometimes, style matters more than substance, and while this used to frustrate me, I now see it as a tool to drive impact.

This Q&A was shortened for the newsletter, but you can read the full-length version here. Know someone else who should be featured? Reply or tag them and their company in the comments!

3 Things to Read This Week

Stanford Study Shows Burnout Remains Worryingly High (Stanford Medicine)
Doctors felt less occupational distress than during the pandemic but nearly half said they experienced burnout symptoms.

Dr. Oz Pushed for AI in First Medicare Agency Town Hall (Wired)
Oz promoted the idea that AI avatars could replace frontline healthcare workers.

If AI Is a Crutch, Will Medicine Forget to Walk? (Graham on LinkedIn)
GenAI is reshaping our cognition, so what might that mean for medicine and education?

Highlights From Our Community

Each week, we celebrate career milestones, launches, & other goings-on in the physician community. Have something to promote? Reply and we’ll feature you.

✅ Great resource, Raihan Faroqui
Dr. Raihan Faroqui built a healthcare AI resource guide for clinical innovators and startups. Read it here.

📖 Timely op-ed, Leana Wen
Dr. Leana Wen wrote about why so many doctors are excited to use AI scribes with their patients in the Washington Post (paywalled), alt version here.

📖 Worth the read, Sarah Gebauer
Dr. Sarah Gebauer published a new article for RAND about whether AI-generated medical notes are really any worse than physician-created ones. Read it here.

📺 Nice work, Dhruv Khullar
Dr. Dhruv Khullar joined CNN to discuss the worsening measles outbreak in Texas. Watch it here.

💪 Keep it up, Christine Meyer
Dr. Christine Meyer is speaking out against Optum for repayment issues connected to Change hack loans. Read Graham’s summary here and more in Fierce Healthcare here.

✅ Strong lessons, Scott Hadland
Dr. Scott Hadland presented at the National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leaders Forum and had excellent takeaways about practicing medicine today. More here.

🎙️ Great podcast, Alen Voskanian
Dr. Alen Voskanian joined Dr. Anish Desai to discuss reclaiming joy in medicine, mentorship, professional growth, and more hot topics. Listen here.

🧐 Insightful presentation, Vivian S. Lee
Dr. Vivian S. Lee gave the opening keynote on “Generative AI to Advance Pop Health” at the University of Waterloo’s Digital Health Summit 2025. Read more here.

🚨New webinar alert, Commons Clinic
Dr. Benjamin Schwartz talked about cracking healthcare’s code with Dave Chase of Health Rosetta. Check it out here.

📺 Finally, kudos Noah Wyle
The Pitt star Noah Wyle is out here saying more about the problems in healthcare than any elected official. In honor of the last episode of the season, view this clip of Dr. Brad Goldberg chatting with Noah during the cast’s visit to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Graham’s summary of the show’s impact here.

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