In this episode, we talk with ophthalmologist Dr. Jennifer Grin about a practical, high-yield approach to evaluating eye complaints, documenting findings, and knowing when to urgently refer. The conversation covers a breakdown of an “easy eye exam” any clinician can do from starting with visual acuity as the eye’s vital sign to realistic expectations for the fundus exam. Dr. Grin reviews warning signs such as sudden vision loss, abnormal pupils, flashes/floaters with a curtain (retinal detachmen...
Apr 30, 2026•25 min•Season 4Ep. 25
This episode features Brian Dwinnell, Associate Dean of Student Life at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who shares his insights on medical school admissions, student support, and curriculum changes. The discussion touches on the competitive application process, the school’s holistic review philosophy, and how the new systems-based curriculum known as “Trek” is designed to better prepare and support students. The episode also covers trends in residency matching and dispels common m...
Mar 05, 2026•30 min•Season 4Ep. 24
In this episode, we welcome Catrina Bubier, MD, an OB/GYN physician and member of Copic’s Board of Directors. Dr. Bubier details her experience with a serious hand injury that temporarily sidelined her from surgical practice. She shares how the injury and subsequent surgeries impacted her ability to work, her relationships with practice partners, and her finances. Dr. Bubier discusses the importance of disability insurance, the emotional challenges of facing a potential end to her career, and th...
Feb 19, 2026•35 min•Season 2Ep. 25
This episode’s guest is Dr. Mark Earnest, Division Head of Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School. The conversation centers on the concepts of psychological size and psychological safety in medicine. Psychological size is described as a relational dynamic involving power and status within professional interactions. Psychological safety refers to creating an environment where people feel comfortable having open, honest conversations. Dr. Earnest shares stories tha...
Jan 03, 2026•24 min•Season 4Ep. 23
We welcome Dean McConnell, deputy general counsel at Copic, as this episode’s guest who shares his thoughts on handling subpoenas, especially those involving medical records. McConnell starts by describing key details about subpoenas, the requirements of serving subpoenas, and how medical providers can confirm the validity of a subpoena. He explains the importance of carefully reviewing the scope of medical records requests and only producing the requested information while respecting confidenti...
Oct 09, 2025•29 min•Season 4Ep. 22
In this episode, we talk with Heidi Baskfield, the founder of Speak Our Minds, an organization dedicated to addressing the youth mental health crisis in the United States. Baskfield talks about her journey from political advocacy to health leadership and the committed effort required to transform youth mental health care. Their conversation explores the overwhelming mental health needs of children and the insufficiency of existing resources, which led to the declaration of a state of emergency i...
Sep 25, 2025•26 min•Season 4Ep. 21
This episode features a conversation with Kate Castells, a risk management nurse at Copic, who talks about remote patient monitoring (RPM) wearables. They discuss the evolution and range of RPMs, from FDA-approved medical devices to consumer smart watches, with a focus on the clinical value of data collected and what can be used in medical decision-making. In addition, they look at the risks of using consumer device data, the importance of staff and patient education, and the potential benefits ...
Sep 04, 2025•20 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Colorado AHEC website: https://www.cuanschutz.edu/centers/coahec Feedback or episode ideas email the show at wnlpodcast@copic.com Disclaimer: Information provided in this podcast should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal, or financial decisions and you should consult an appropriate professional for specific advice that pertains to your situation. Health care providers should exercise their professional judgment in connection with the provision of healthcare services. The information...
Aug 01, 2025•23 min•Season 4Ep. 18
This episode features Darlene Turner from Healing Hands Community Doula Project, which aims to support expectant mothers, particularly in the Black community, through their pregnancy journey. The grant from the Copic Medical Foundation is being used for a program that trains perinatal community health workers to provide extensive support, including birth and postpartum planning, lactation guidance, family dynamics, and more. This initiative primarily serves Medicaid populations, addressing addit...
Apr 19, 2025•17 min•Season 4Ep. 17
Medication errors are traditionally defined as an avoidable event, but they don’t just happen during the prescribing phase. In fact, it’s important to remember that there are many steps—transcribing, dispensing, and administering—where an error can occur. To learn more about pediatric medication errors specifically, we invited COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, Kayla Boyd, to the podcast. In this episode, Kayla looks at the overall process of pediatric medication prescription, from diagnosis...
Mar 29, 2025•26 min•Season 4Ep. 16
This episode features Liz Warman and Mandy Johnson from the Kansas Health Care Collaborative and focuses on the organization’s transition-in-care program that aims to leverage Health Information Exchange (HIE) to reduce care fragmentation and improve health outcomes by developing processes, workflows, and policies in clinics. This initiative is supported by grant funding from the Copic Medical Foundation and the model used has shown significant efficacy in reducing readmissions. The program rece...
Mar 29, 2025•25 min•Season 4Ep. 15
In this episode, Matt Groves, Copic’s General Counsel, talks about the impact of recent federal executive orders and legislation on healthcare providers. He provides general information about new federal initiatives and their potential risks, emphasizing the rapid changes and uncertainty in the legal landscape. Matt explains the differences between executive orders and legislation, and the concept of federal preemption over state laws. The discussion also covers the executive order on gender-aff...
Feb 22, 2025•39 min•Season 4Ep. 14
The episode features staff from AIRnyc—Lola Simpson, Chief Executive Officer; Kathleen Agaton, Chief Impact Officer; and Lydia Baez, Senior Outreach Coordinator and Community Health Worker. AIRnyc received a grant from the Copic Medical Foundation to support their efforts to reduce fragmentation in prenatal and postpartum clinical and social care for high-risk Black and Latinx pregnant persons. The discussion highlights AIRnyc’s focus on addressing developmental delays in children and implementi...
Jan 31, 2025•32 min•Season 4Ep. 13
For this episode, we sit down with Copic’s General Counsel, Matt Groves, to talk about non-compete agreements in the medical field. The discussion starts with looking at the purpose of non-compete agreements such as protecting patient revenue, preventing competition, and safeguarding the investment in recruiting and developing physicians. Matt highlights key legal terminology (e.g., non-solicit, non-disclosure, and liquidated damages clauses), the various ways these agreements are enforced, and ...
Jan 16, 2025•40 min•Season 4Ep. 12
This episode features Mary Tucker and Garrett Chism discussing an interprofessional education pilot program between Metropolitan State University of Denver and Denver Health. The program is supported by a grant from the Copic Medical Foundation and focuses on simulation training for nursing and EMT students to improve patient outcomes. The objectives include evaluating critical changes in patient assessment, completing trauma assessments, and demonstrating closed-loop communication. A key aim is...
Jan 03, 2025•27 min•Season 4Ep. 11
We welcome Beth Chow, an occurrence nurse with Copic, who provides some great perspective about the benefits and value of early reporting of incidents. Beth explains the interchangeable terms "occurrence" and "incident" and clarifies what constitutes an adverse event and the types of events you should report to your medical liability insurance carrier. She goes on to explain how Copic’s reporting process works, why early reporting does not negatively impact your policy or premiums, and how early...
Dec 06, 2024•27 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Links/Resources U.S. Preventive Services Task Force- https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/ American Cancer Society- https://www.cancer.org/ American College of Gastroenterology -https://gi.org/ Feedback or episode ideas email the show at wnlpodcast@copic.com Disclaimer: Information provided in this podcast should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal, or financial decisions and you should consult an appropriate professional for specific advice that pertains to your situ...
Nov 21, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Amy Herum, a nurse and patient safety and risk manager with Copic, joins us to talk about the purpose and scope of EMTALA. Amy explains the situations that trigger EMTALA obligations and the definition and assessment of an “emergency medical condition.”The discussion then looks at the requirements and process of transferring a patient under EMTALA , the penalties and consequences of violating EMTALA , and the conditions that end EMTALA obligations such as when a medical screening exam shows no e...
Sep 13, 2024•18 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Our guest is Anna Barr, a patient safety and risk manager with Copic, who joins us to talk about terminating the provider-patient relationship. The discussion starts by looking at the main considerations before terminating a patient: trying to mend the relationship by using effective communication and conflict resolution skills, assessing the clinical situation, the risk of abandonment, the possibility of discrimination, and the contractual obligations that may apply. Anna then highlights key te...
Aug 22, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 7
This episode features Renee Blattman, a nurse and risk manager with Copic, who has 20 years of experience in the perioperative environment. The discussion focuses on the challenges and risks in this environment—a high-paced, high-volume, and fast-turnover setting, where there is a lot of pressure to keep the patients moving and the OR schedule tight. Renee talks about the growth and trends in ambulatory surgery centers along with the increased risks of discharge and follow-up care, as patients m...
Aug 03, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In this episode, our guest is Heather Westermeyer, a Patient Safety and Risk Manager with COPIC, and the topic is documentation. Heather highlights the role documentation plays in continuity of care—from ensuring an accurate medical history to supporting communication among providers. She also talks about how documentation serves a key purpose in legal protection/defense in medical liability issues and the importance of articulating your thought process. In addition, the discussion touches on be...
Jul 11, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 5
LaDonna Kelley, a nurse risk manager with COPIC, is the guest for this episode, which looks at patient safety and risk management for geriatric patients. LaDonna tells a personal story about the challenges with caring for this patient population and how certain situational factors impact their care experience. She mentions issues such as hearing limitations, technology, and mobility and being aware of these during interactions. The conversation also examines communication challenges and the impo...
Jun 20, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 4
In this episode, we talk with Carrie Beth Roddy, a COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, who joins Dr. Zacharias for a conversation on Just Culture. Carrie starts with defining the concept of Just Culture, explaining how it is being integrated into traditional medical culture, and the importance of using it to create opportunities to prevent future medical errors. We dig into the difference between human and system errors, factors that contribute to Just Culture’s success, how it facilitates mo...
Jun 06, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 3
This episode features COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager, Amanda Heinrichs, who discusses the importance of documentation—from sharing patient information with other medical team members to supporting care decisions. Amanda covers a wide breadth of documentation issues, such as limiting documentation to only facts about the case, moving past finger-pointing in the event of an undesirable outcome, and timely documentation to ensure quality of care. Furthermore, she talks about insights from at...
May 09, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 2
COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Manager Cindy Walsh is our guest to set the record straight on medical records retention—giving us insight into ethical obligations, key considerations when referring patients or closing a practice, and the importance of having a clear records maintenance/retention policy. Furthermore, Cindy outlines how regular record audits and attention to state mandates now can prevent retention headaches in the future. Resources mentioned in the episode: Medical record laws ove...
Apr 25, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Dr. Susan Sgambati, a colorectal surgeon and medical director with COPIC, is our guest on this episode that looks at the increased use of semaglutide medications driven by the popularity of Ozempic being used for weight loss. The discussion focuses on liability and risk issues, including recently issued FDA warning letters surrounding the use of compounded forms of the medication. Dr. Sgambati talks about how the medication works, side effects, how to assess patients who are interested in these ...
Mar 08, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Pamela Johnson—a nurse and Senior Manager of Practice Quality and Facilities Risk Management at COPIC—joins us for a discussion about data around patient falls in health care facilities. Pamela highlights the top three areas where falls occur in these settings and talks about top risk factors that contribute to these incidents. She also points to adjustments that can make an immediate preventative impact, such as proper lighting and pathways, the importance of environmental rounds, and dispels m...
Feb 29, 2024•23 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Anna Barr, a nurse risk manager with COPIC, joins us for this episode to talk about the benefits of using informed consent in your medical practice. Anna highlights how informed consent is a process (not just a form), the goals of shared decision making that guide this, and how it can be a tool to foster trust and understanding with patients. In addition, we look at what situations require informed consent and key considerations in how you approach the process. Anna also explains what informed r...
Feb 10, 2024•19 min•Season 3Ep. 18
This episode is part of a special series that focuses on organizations that received grant funding from the COPIC Medical Foundation for initiatives that address the issue of reducing fragmentation across care settings. Dr. Zacharias welcomes back Jennifer Disabato, DNP, and William Anderson, MD, who are co-directors for the ImPACT Program and Navigation Hub, which focuses on care coordination for complex pediatric patients as they transition to adult care. Jennifer and Dr. Anderson talk about t...
Jan 25, 2024•17 min•Season 3Ep. 17
This episode is part of a special series that focuses on organizations that received grant funding from the COPIC Medical Foundation for initiatives that address the issue of reducing fragmentation across care settings. Dr. Zacharias welcomes two staff members from West Mountain Regional Health Alliance—Christina Gair, Executive Director, and Namrata Shrestha, Assistant Director. Grant funding went toward a care coordination effort to support individuals experiencing homelessness with coordinati...
Jan 11, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 16
