Patients at Risk

About Patients at Risk

Patients at Risk exposes the political maneuvering and corporate greed that has led to the replacement of physicians by lesser trained practitioners, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants. As corporations seek to save money and government agencies aim to increase constituent access, minimum qualifications for our nation’s healthcare guardians continue to decline—with deadly consequences. This is a story that has not yet been told, and one that has dangerous repercussions for all Americans.

Publisher

Rebekah Bernard MD and Niran Al-Agba MD

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Nov 2020

Latest episode

26 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

27 of 131 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   26 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Debunking Cochrane's 'Nurses Can Replace Hospital Physicians' Study

   Phil Shaffer, MD, interviews guests to debunk a Cochrane study claiming nurses can replace hospital physicians, revealing flaws in its methodology.

2. 

   16 May 2026

   Shocking urgent care study: 64% wrong diagnosis

   Most urgent cares are staffed by NPs/PAs, often without physician supervision - can you trust them with your life? Dr. John Lafferty shares details from a study showing that of 300 referrals from urgent cares to the ER, 55% were unnecessary and 64% resulted in a 'discordant' (different) diagnosis. "Our data found that 55% of patients referred to EDs from UCCs did not require ED-specific care or resources and 64% carried a discordant diagnosis between UC and ED diagnosis. We suggest quality ...

3. 

   17 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT

   NP advocates testify in Florida for unsupervised practice rights in psychiatry

   When we think of potentially vulnerable patients, it just doesn't get riskier than those with mental health conditions, especially children. Yet, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners are seeking the right to care for patients 'across the lifespan'--including those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction--without physician oversight. Listen in on testimony in Florida with commentary on why their argument of promoting 'access' without ensuring patient safety may be da...

Inside a recent episode

Debunking Cochrane's 'Nurses Can Replace Hospital Physicians' Study

Published 26 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Then the important one, which is broad clinical management, which we defined as nurses almost entirely taking care of the patients without significant physician input and acting as a physician. And there was not one study that had this feature. So if you... get beyond the abstract and get beyond Butler's writings about and characterizations of their results and go down into the papers and read them, you find that, first of all, this isn't really about taking care of patients in a hospital. And you find that the nurses were not doing physician care at all. And any representation that the nurses can substitute for physicians is really a mischaracterization and misleading to people. […]

Who has been a guest on Patients at Risk

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Phil Shaffer
• Dr Denise Weiss
• Francesca

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

138,190

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.2 / 5

262 ratings

Spotify

3.9 / 5

44 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 69 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

67

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

92

Contact Patients at Risk

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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  Pod Save America

Questions about Patients at Risk