Why does the United States spend more on healthcare than ever before while chronic disease continues to rise?

In this episode of Surgeon Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with reconstructive plastic surgeon Dr. Joshua Mirrer to explore the systems behind modern healthcare. From residency burnout and preventive medicine to agriculture, economics, chronic disease, and the incentive structures shaping American health, this conversation goes far beyond the operating room.

Dr. Mirrer shares how his experiences in surgical training led him to study the larger forces influencing health outcomes, and why he believes meaningful change will require both individual action and community-level solutions.

Topics include:

• Why healthcare is built around treating disease rather than preventing it
• The rising cost of chronic illness in America
• How food systems and healthcare incentives intersect
• The role of community in improving health outcomes
• Lessons from diabetes prevention programs
• Writing, medicine, and making sense of complex systems
• What surgeons can teach us about long-term thinking

If you've ever wondered why healthcare feels broken, or what it might take to fix it, this conversation offers a thoughtful place to start.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Joshua Mirrer, MD

Connect with Joshua: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-mirrer-ab27436b

https://substack.com/@jmirrer

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

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