140: America's Favorite Doctor: Laura Purdy, MD, MBA

<p><em>The CE experience for this</em> <em>Podcast</em><em> is powered by CMEfy - click here to reflect and earn credits: </em><a href="https://earnc.me/b7n7X7" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">https://earnc.me/b7n7X7</a></p> <p>Dr. Purdy's interest in helping people drew her out of a lucrative professional career as a performing pianist to earn a BA in Psychology (Magna Cum Laude) from Ball State University and then attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Graduating from family medicine residency at Georgia's Martin Army Hospital, she began 14 years of service as a US Army physician, caring for men and women from all over the country undergoing basic training, airborne school, ranger school, and soldiers on post. During that time, she delivered hundreds of babies and treated hundreds of soldiers on the ground.</p> <p>She then relocated to North Carolina to serve as Battalion Surgeon, where she first practiced telemedicine while overseeing the care of special operations combat medics deployed to Africa. This experience prepared her for the med/peds hospitalist role at the Fort Campbell, Kentucky Army Hospital. She then went on to help build the Army's extensive telemedicine networks before doing the same for dozens of private virtual health companies.</p> <p>Upon leaving the military, Dr. Purdy discovered her passion for ensuring equal access to quality healthcare for everyone in America. She immersed herself in the digital healthcare industry, seeing over 20,000 virtual patients as the first full-time telemedicine physician and Medical Director for<br /> MDLIVE. This led to a key role in bringing virtual treatment to COVID-19 pandemic patients and those in the Ukraine war zone. Now, Dr. Purdy is a sought-after digital medicine expert serving as Medical Director/Co-Founder and advisor for more than 50 leading telehealth providers, including Hims and Hers, Wisp, Rise Medical, OpenLoop, and MDintegrations - a telehealth company designed to deliver care for health tech start