Dr. Brad Anderson—AT&T Endowed Professor of Telemedicine at Oklahoma State University (OSU)—joins The Med List to show what virtual care looks like when it’s built for real-world rural medicine. We unpack how OSU places remote clinicians throughout rural communities to reduce costs and keep care close to home. You’ll also hear how school-based telehealth is improving attendance and speeding up treatment, why “shared visits” allow family members to join from anywhere, and how wearables + AI tools could reshape workflow without losing the human touch.

After a personal hormone “wake-up call” that led to 10 medications and ultimately surgery, Melinda Fowler — The Hormonal Pharmacist — set out to change how women understand hormones, preimentopause and menopause. If you’ve ever been told “your labs are normal” but you feel anything but normal, know this episode is for you. Women are often dismissed during perimenopause and menopause because of a perfect storm of historical, educational, and systemic failures — not because their symptoms aren’t real. We unpack the fallout of the WHI study, how to test hormones correctly, and how to make informed decisions about HRT—without fear, hype, or guesswork.

In this season kickoff of The MedList, we’re joined by Dr. Benjamin Schwartz—orthopedic surgeon turned physician executive and SVP at Commons Clinic—to explore what happens when specialty care is built around outcomes, not volume. We talk about the real-world shifts behind value-based care: optimizing patients before surgery, reducing complications through smarter medication strategies, and how weight loss can dramatically change joint health. Dr. Schwartz also shares how AI and simple tools like automated post-op texts can extend the doctor-patient relationship beyond the clinic—improving recovery, preventing avoidable ER visits, and bringing trust back to care.