In this episode of RAPM Focus, Raj Gupta, MD, FASRA, hosts a critical conversation with RAPM Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, on the intersection of patient care and surgical recovery in healthcare economics, following the December 2025 publication of Dr. Sites’s research letter, “Impact of removing liposomal bupivacaine from a health system formulary on length of stay: an observational study in video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resection.”

Dr. Raj Gupta is a professor of anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the medical director of Vanderbilt Health Belle Meade Surgery Center. Dr. Gupta previously served on the ASRA Pain Medicine Board of Directors.

Dr. Brian Sites is a professor of anesthesiology and orthopedic surgery at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He is the medical director of the acute pain medicine service. Dr. Sites’s clinical passion and research centers around the role of image guidance for regional anesthesiology.

*The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. The content of this podcast does not constitute medical advice, and it is not intended to function as a substitute for a healthcare practitioner’s judgement, patient care, or treatment. The views expressed by contributors are those of the speakers. BMJ does not endorse any views or recommendations discussed or expressed on this podcast. Listeners should also be aware that professionals in the field may have different opinions. By listening to this podcast, listeners agree not to use its content as the basis for their own medical treatment or for the medical treatment of others.

Podcast and music produced by Dan Langa. Find us on X @RAPMOnline, LinkedIn @Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, Facebook @Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, and Instagram @RAPM_Online.