Even if you don't use TikTok, you've probably come across Will Flanary, aka Dr. Glaucomflecken, the internet's most famous physician/comedian. For more than four years, the ophthalmologist has been gently roasting medicine by playing a rotating cast of characters -- the emergency physician clad in cyclist gear, the "ortho bro," the pediatrician in a unicorn headband. As he wrote in a recent essay on the NBC sitcom "St. Denis Medical" for First Opinion "health care can be hilarious."

Flanary has also used his comedy to skewer the business of health care, including the confounding bureaucracies of insurance -- with a special emphasis on UnitedHealthcare. "I trick people into learning about things about the health care system, because if you can make them laugh, they're more likely to stick around till the end of the video," he said.

On this episode of the "First Opinion Podcast," I spoke with Flanary about punching up in comedy and the reaction to the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

"Violence is not the answer to trying to improve health care," he told me. "But I think a lot of people -- especially people who have maybe never ... actually used their health insurance to a significant degree ... are not aware of what so many people in this country are going through."

He said that he understands why so many have turned to dark humor at this moment. "It's not fair for us to police how people react on social media in terms of all that, all that snark, all those jokes, the lack of sympathy. I get it. Because what do you do when you feel helpless?"

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