1008 - The Outlook on Direct-to-Consumer Health Care episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 9, 2026 · 15 MIN

1008 - The Outlook on Direct-to-Consumer Health Care

from Public Health On Call · host Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

About this episode: Products and services like genetic testing, prescriptions for weight loss drugs, and health monitoring wearables are revolutionizing health and wellness in the U.S. But are these new gadgets and offerings easing the challenges facing the health care system or are they exacerbating them? In this episode: Dr. Josh Sharfstein speaks with health care entrepreneur Ashwini Nagappan about the pros and cons of the explosion of direct-to-consumer health care. Guests: Ashwini Nagappan, PhD, is a health care entrepreneur and researcher. Host: Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. Show links and related content: How direct-to-consumer health tests could impact insurance, mortgages, and employment—STAT More pharma giants embrace direct-to-consumer sales—Axios A sneak peek of pharma's Super Bowl ads: GLP-1s, tight ends, and more—STAT Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 9, 2026

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