The Dark Side of Spine Surgery — RVUs, MRIs & Money in Medicine with Dr. John Nordt
The Grind and the Glory by Joe Rotbart
Episode notes
In this raw, eye-opening conversation, Dr. John Nordt—a Miami based spine surgeon with decades in the Operating Room—pulls back the curtain on the dark incentives in modern medicine and healthcare. From RVUs and scrupulous billing practices to the overuse of MRIs and the rush to unnecessary procedures, Dr. Nordt explains how money, power, and morality can determine how a doctor treats a patient. This is not your typical “healthcare is broken” rant—it’s a surgeon’s unfiltered account of how good intentions collide with perverse incentives.
We go deep into the operating room — where skill meets uncertainty, and every decision leaves a mark. We question the rise in unnecessary procedures, the weight of expectations, and the ethics of care — then and now. What ...