Navigating the Healthcare System

Healthcare navigation is difficult. Even for doctors who are in the thick of it, certain aspects of the system can feel messy and tumultuous. In this episode of Doctor Friends, emergency physicians Tomás, Grace and Christian highlight issues like scheduling difficulties, insurance barriers and the high administrative burden on both patients and providers, while Rosny – "the Joe Rogan of the left" – shares his personal experiences navigating the healthcare system following his diabetes diagnosis.

The conversation also touches on the time-consuming process of obtaining care, dealing with prior authorisations as well as additional layers of complexity faced by patients without insurance or with health literacy and language barriers. The doctors emphasise the need for universal healthcare, better data integration and structural changes to make healthcare more accessible and equitable.

The discussion is partly inspired by Paula Span’s article for the New York Times So Many Days Lost at the Doctor’s Office (published November 2024).

Doctor Friends should not be used in place of professional medical advice. The opinions of the participants are their own and do not represent the institutions that they work for.

This episode was recorded remotely in September 2025. Presented by Rosny, Tomás, Grace and Christian.

Music by Nylonia. Produced by Ilia Rogatchevski.

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