Opinion: Dr. Glaucomflecken wants to make a stink

OpinionFirst Opinion Podcast Dr. Glaucomflecken wants to make a stink The internet’s favorite doctor/comedian on shedding light on the stories that the health care industry wants to keep in the shadows Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Torie BoschMay 6, 2026 Editor, First Opinion Torie Bosch[email protected]Torie Bosch is the First Opinion editor at STAT. His real name is Will Flanary, but you probably know him as Dr. Glaucomflecken — the internet’s go-to doctor/comedian. On this episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” we talked about how he mixes humor with some of the most pressing issues facing health care, from misinformation on social media to the corporate takeover of medicine. In particular, Flanary has been deeply involved with advocacy around PeaceHealth’s decision to use a corporate group to staff the emergency department in Eugene, Oregon, instead of the community-based physicians who had been there for more than 35 years.Advertisement “There’s a lot people in hospital administration, in health insurance, in private equity, doing bad things for patients and for doctors. And one unifying characteristic of every story … is that they don’t want people to know what’s happening. They want to keep it out of the news,” he told me. “They don’t want this kind of scrutiny because they know this is really unpopular and that maybe this isn’t the best for patient care, but it’s maybe good for pocketbooks, maybe good for other reasons that are not as altruistic.” By “making a stink” on social media, he said, he hopes he can bring scrutiny to those trying to avoid it. We also talked about “Scrubs,” the cosmetic eye surgery he says “I hate so much,” and why ethical doctors have an obligation to be active on social media. “If we’re not there, if we don’t have ethical evidence-based people out there, then social media is just gonna continue to be overrun by wellness influencers and bad actors,” he said. Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode by signing up for the “First Opinion Podcast” newsletter. And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter, delivered every Sunday.Advertisement Letter to the editor Have an opinion on this essay? Submit a letter to the editor. advocacy, Physicians Submit a correction requestReprints Torie Bosch Editor, First Opinion Torie Bosch is the First Opinion editor at STAT. Newsletter Weekly alerts when a new episode drops from STAT’s First Opinion podcast Recommended First Opinion May 8, 2026 We need more men in nursing Opinions+ May 8, 2026 STAT Plus: Medicare’s new RAPID pathway is a breakthrough for adults. Children are still waiting Advertisement First Opinion May 7, 2026 Eugene Braunwald, ‘father of modern cardiology,’ told me he had two dreams. One came true Neurotransmissions May 6, 2026 STAT Plus: Ambiguous loss: a peculiar kind of grief in dementia care First Opinion May 6, 2026 Trump’s executive order on psychedelics is the right move. But is my field ready for it? Subscriber Picks