Global Medicine: Recent Episodes
ReachMD
Host: Robert Walker, PharmD
Guest: Nic Garner, PharmD
Travel vaccines are becoming increasingly common as they play a key role in protecting travelers abroad, but they’re only effective if patients actually receive them. That’s why Dr. Robert Walker speaks with Dr. Nic Garner, who shares best practices for counseling patients on travel vaccines. Dr. Garner is the District Support Pharmacist Leader at CVS Pharmacy in Texas with more than 10 years of community pharmacy management experience.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Paul Llobet, MD
Guest: Holly Llobet, MD
Drs. Paul and Holly Llobet have been traveling the world as locum tenens physicians for over four years now, and their career has taken them to places they never would’ve expected. Tune in to learn more about their adventures in places like Guam and India as well as how locum tenens has impacted both their careers and relationship as husband and wife.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Paul Llobet, MD
Guest: Holly Llobet, MD
One husband-and-wife duo has been traveling the world from the beginning of their careers, but locum tenens has taken them to places they never would’ve expected. To learn more about their journeys, Drs. Paul and Holly Llobet share how they balance their world travels and married life with Dr. Charles Turck.
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Richard Kojan, MD
As the fight against Ebola continues, can a new biosecure emergency care unit (CUBE) and therapeutic guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) help combat this disease? Mario Nacinovich joins study Dr. Richard Kojan, President of the Alliance for International Medical Action, to discuss these new guidelines.
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Siwen Wang, MD
Have our patients experienced anxiety, depression, and stress following a COVID-19 infection? Joining Mario Nacinovich to dive into emerging research on post-COVID-19 psychological distress is Dr. Siwen Wang, a researcher in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Laila Woc-Colburn, MD, DTM&H, FACP, FIDSA
Guest: John P. Cooke, MD, PhD
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to patient disparities that have impacted the development and delivery of mRNA medicine. What do we need to know about these obstacles, and how can we overcome them? Dr. Charles Turck is joined by Drs. John P. Cooke and Laila Woc-Colburn to explore barriers to access.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: William Schaffner, MD
Before recommending the new COVID-19 booster, what do we need to know about this vaccine, and which of our patients fit the criteria for it? To learn the latest on what experts have to say about the new COVID-19 booster, Dr. Charles Turck speaks with Dr. William Schaffner from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Charles P. Gerba, MD
A recent case of polio emerging in New York City have clinicians questioning whether or not we need to be concerned about a spread. What do we need to know about this case—and our potential risk—of polio? Joining Mario Nacinovich to take a look at this case is microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba, a Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Arizona.
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Julia Bilinska, MD
Guest: Aatish Patel, MD
Monkeypox continues to spread around the globe, and its clinical manifestations can differ from what we’ve seen. What are the newest symptoms of this disease? Learn more about these manifestations from Drs. Aatish Patel and Julia Bilinska from Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London as they talk about their research with Host, Mario Nacinovich.
Host: Javed Butler, MD, MBA, MPH
Guest: Sameed Khatana, MD, MPH
As global temperatures continue to rise, experts are calling attention to the devastating effects this can have on human health. Cardiovascular mortality is especially a concern, as two recent studies from the University of Pennsylvania outlined the connection between these two health risks. To learn more about how climate change can impact our cardiovascular health, Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Dr. Sameed Khatana, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP
Guest: Andrew Ong MBChB, MRCP, FAMS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) varies by geography, culture, and environment. So to learn more about IBS in the Asian population, Dr. Peter Buch welcomes Dr. Andrew Ong, who discusses the differences between IBS in the Asian population compared to North America and the importance of considering cultural differences when confronting IBS.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Randy Young, MD
As monkeypox continues to spread across non-endemic countries, how can we detect it in our patients? And what’s being done to stop the spread? Guest and fellow ReachMD Host Dr. Randy Young, a pulmonary disease and critical care medicine physician, joins Dr. John Russell to discuss what physicians should be looking for and how this virus has impacted public health.
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
Guest: Esther Freeman, MD, PhD
Guest: Steven Chen, MD, MPH, MHPEd
With the recent rise of monkeypox cases around the world, dermatologists will be some of the first to evaluate and diagnose patients with the disease. So to help those on the frontlines, Dr. Esther Freeman, Director of Global Health Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Steven Chen, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School, share what dermatologists need to know about monkeypox.
Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP
The COVID-19 pandemic has entirely transformed the educational community, especially for medical students. To find out more about this impact, Dr. Peter Buch is joined by two fourth-year medical school students, Miss Sheila Eghbali and Mr. Kyle Glose, to discuss their experiences.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Amesh Adalja, MD
Monkeypox is not something we’re used to seeing in non-endemic countries like North America and Europe. Yet its spreading has some experts scratching their heads. Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, shares with Dr. John Russell what clinicians need to know about monkeypox amid the global outbreak in non-endemic countries.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare field has been hit hard—facing employment challenges, increased burnouts, and more. Yet salaries have been slow to rise, and conditions haven't improved. Dr. Thuy Nguyen from the University of Michigan School of Public Health joins Dr. Charles Turck to share how employment in the healthcare field has changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Host: Jerome Lisk, MD
Guest: Ashok K. Shetty, PhD
Gulf War Illness is a chronic condition characterized by physiological and psychological symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction, memory problems, and depression. But what’s currently known about this debilitating condition that affects nearly 30 percent of Gulf War veterans? And how can we treat them? Find out with Dr. Jerome Lisk as he speaks with Dr. Ashok Shetty from Texas A&M University College of Medicine.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Drew Weissman, MD, PhD
Guest: Katalin Karikó, PhD
As mRNA technology continues to emerge and evolve, Penn Researchers Dr. Drew Weissman and Dr. Katalin Karikó join Dr. John Russell to take a deep dive into the future of mRNA technology.
Guest: Pranay Sinha, MD
Where are we on the path to eliminating tuberculosis? To understand this, Dr. Pranay Sinha, a postdoctoral researcher at Boston Medical Center, discusses what we need to know and shares what’s on the horizon for TB elimination.
Host: Hector O. Chapa, MD, FACOG
Guest: Dani Dumitriu, MD, PhD
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on all patients, especially pregnant women. Here to walk us through her research on the pandemic's impact on the psychosocial health of mothers and the neurodevelopment of their fetuses is Dr. Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician, neuroscientist, and pediatric environmental health scientist at Columbia University in New York.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: William Schaffner, MD
From widespread variants to the threat of a twindemic -- what has the COVID-19 pandemic taught us? And can we learn to coexist with this virus? Dr. Charles Turck is joined by Dr. William Schaffner from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases to discuss what's on the horizon for the pandemic.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are also facing high rates of HIV and AIDS prevalence. But after the success of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, could an mRNA vaccine for HIV/AIDS be on the horizon? Here to explore emerging research and the potential role that mRNA technology might have in battling this global epidemic is Dr. Chris Beyrer, a Professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.
Host: Jacob Sands, MD
Guest: Yasmin Jayasinghe, FRANZCOG, PhD
Cancer treatment can impact fertility outcomes for individuals throughout the U.S. as well as around the globe, which is why the emerging field of oncofertility is here to help male and female patients navigate their fertility options before and after their cancer treatments. So what can we learn from oncofertility services and efforts from other countries around the world? Joining Dr. Jacob Sands to share her global viewpoints on the field of oncofertility is Dr. Yasmin Jayasinghe, Director of the Oncofertility Program at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Guest: Jeniffer Hernandez, PhD
Over 1.5 million viruses could potentially cause a future pandemic. Could antibodies be the key to neutralizing those viruses? Here to share how future vaccination efforts might incorporate neutralizing antibodies and her research on preventing future pandemics is Dr. Jeniffer Hernandez, Associate Professor of Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the Keck Graduate Institute.
Guest: Randy Cron, MD, PhD
Dr. Randy Cron, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Children’s of Alabama, shares highlights from his session on “Rheumatology Complications of Emerging Viral Infections and SARS-CoV-2” from the 2021 American College of Rheumatology Convergence.
Host: Laura Cappelli, MD, MHS,MS
What does the future of rheumatology look like around the globe? Here to give a quick overview of her presentation at the 2021 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence is Dr. Laura Cappelli, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Division of Rheumatology and a faculty member of the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.
Guest: Brian Hill, MD, PhD
Dr. Brian T. Hill, a physician in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Cleveland Clinic, explores some of the most recent—and ongoing—impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment decision-making for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Host: Hector O. Chapa, MD, FACOG
Guest: Susan Crowe, MD
Both UNICEF and WHO recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, starting within the very first hour of birth. But are we adhering to that recommendation? Joining Dr. Hector Chapa to discuss the importance of breastfeeding shortly after delivery and how we can help our patients and their newborns reap the benefits of this golden hour is Dr. Susan Crowe, Director of Outpatient Breastfeeding Medicine Consultative Services at Stanford Children's Health who recently spoke about this topic at the 2021 ACOG Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Shantanu Nundy, MD, MBA
With all of the chaos and changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be easy to focus on the negative impacts of this global health crisis. But for one physician, the same chaos and changes are exactly what forged his unique perspective: one that recognizes the benefits that has come out of the pandemic.
Joining Dr. Charles Turck to share why he believes the COVID-19 pandemic has changed healthcare for the better is primary care physician Dr. Shantanu Nundy, author of a recent article published in The Washington Post titled, “A Surprising Pandemic Side Effect: It Has Improved Healthcare.”
Published June X, 2021
Guest: Susan Butler-Wu, PhD, D(ABMM), SM(ASCP)
Dr. Susan Butler-Wu, Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology and Director of Medical Microbiology at LAC+USC Medical Center, investigates the differences—and highlights the benefits—of PCR versus antigen testing for COVID-19.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Gail Saltz, MD
The quarantine blues may have come to an end, but as the country continues to reopen, a whole new set of mental health challenges are just beginning. So how can we help our patients who found comfort in social distancing and mask-wearing mandates navigate this change and return to public places? To find out, Dr. Charles Turck speaks with psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz, who discusses the lasting effects of the quarantine blues, how we can help patients who are suffering from anxiety, and more.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Kelly Cawcutt, MD
Adapting to the drastic changes COVID-19 has forced clinicians to make is one of the many obstacles faced during this pandemic. Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz to talk about how vascular access teams are changing their protocols and roles in response to COVID-19 is Dr. Kelly Cawcutt, an infectious disease and critical care physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Published May 5, 2020
Guest: Jeffrey R. Starke, MD
Host: Paul P. Doghramji, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Paul Doghramji joins Dr. Jeffrey Starke, an Infection Control Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital and a Professor of Pediatric Infectious Disease Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, to discuss the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on testing for tuberculosis.
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: William W. Li, MD
As the number of new COVID-19 infections continues to decrease and the United States begins to open back up, it’s important to note that there are patients who have survived COVID-19 but are still suffering. The newly coined term “COVID long-haulers” refers to those patients who continue to have symptoms even after the acute infection is resolved. Joining Dr. Andrew Wilner to share what we know so far about COVID long-haulers and how we can help them is vascular biologist Dr. William Li.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Paul Farmer, MD, PhD
Dr. John Russell meets with Dr. Paul Farmer, the Chair of Global Health at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Partners in Health, to review past pandemics and outbreaks while discussing things we can do as a community to lower the risk of these events.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Chris H. Cooper
Can new mask technology made with innovative materials better protect us from the coronavirus? Dr. Charles Turck speaks with Chris Cooper, Chief Science Officer and CEO of Airlock389, on improving mask technology after the supply shortage of masks during COVID-19.
Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP
Guest: Ramiz Kseri, MD
Without an available vaccine, our pediatric patients can transmit COVID-19. With that in mind, how should pediatric practices adapt? Joining Dr. Jennifer Shu to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric care is Dr. Ramiz Kseri, a dually board-certified Internist and Pediatrician and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences at Florida State University College of Medicine
Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP
Guest: Ramiz Kseri, MD
What are some factors leading to disparities in care for our LGBTQ patients, and how do we keep them safe amid the pandemic? Dr. Jennifer Shu is joined by Dr. Ramiz Kseri, an Internist and Pediatrician and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences at Florida State University College of Medicine, to discuss how the LGBTQ community is affected by COVID-19 and other health risks.
Host: Hector O. Chapa, MD, FACOG
Guest: Robert Owens Carpenter, MD, MPH, FACS, FASMBS
Guest: Toni E. Keaton, MD, MPH
Dr. Hector Chapa explores barriers in community health with Dr. Robert Carpenter, Director of Wellness at Texas A&M University College of Medicine, and Dr. Toni Keaton, Assistant Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at Texas A&M College of Medicine.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Kelly Cawcutt, MD
How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed vascular access paradigms in the intensive care unit? Joining Dr. Jennifer Caudle to share her story and lessons learned from the pandemic is Dr. Kelly Cawcutt, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Associate Medical Director of Infection Control and Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP
Guest: Andres Nieto, MD
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the effectiveness of telemedicine, but will this approach still be utilized after the pandemic ends? Dr. Peter Buch is joined by Dr. Andres Nieto, Assistant Professor at Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, to discuss the role of telemedicine and its future
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Ping Zhang, PhD, FAMIA
The pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the world, but a new deep learning computer model may have discovered ten potential treatment options to combat COVID-19. Dr. Charles Turck sits down with Dr. Ping Zhang, who leads the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Lab and a faculty member at the Translational Data Analytics Institute at The Ohio State University, to discuss his team's findings.
Published March 29, 2021
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: Jennifer A. Frontera, MD
Although the impact of COVID-19 can be long-lasting, many have had similar effects, even if they aren’t diagnosed with the disease. Dr. Jennifer Frontera, a neurocritical care specialist and professor of neurology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, shares some insight on the neurological symptoms that patients with COVID-19 are facing.
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: Jennifer A. Frontera, MD
Most commonly associated with respiratory symptoms, COVID-19 infections have led to a myriad of neurological symptoms such as encephalopathy and stroke. Dr. Andrew Wilner joins Dr. Jennifer Frontera, a neurocritical care specialist and professor of neurology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, to discuss obstacles that neurologists have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Host: Paul Doghramji, MD
Guest: Sarojini Qasba, MD
With the World Health Organization’s goal to eliminate tuberculosis by 2030 quickly approaching, what can we be doing now to help us meet that goal? Joining Dr. Paul Doghramji to discuss three key factors and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted this global goal is Dr. Sonia Qasba, an infectious disease specialist at the Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Paul Jarris, MD, MBA
Since the COVID-19 vaccines received an emergency use authorization, tracking possible adverse reactions in real time becomes even more important. But what are some of the limitations we’re facing in doing so, and how can we overcome them? To find out, Dr. Jennifer Caudle speaks with Dr. Paul Jarris, Chief Medical Advisor for MITRE Corporation.
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: Ken Tyler, MD
Further complicating the COVID-19 pandemic is the emergence of viral variants. Dr. Ken Tyler from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shares with us what we know so far about the COVID-19 variants that are quickly spreading around the world.
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: Ken Tyler, MD
To find out what we currently know about the neurological complications caused by COVID-19, Dr. Andrew Wilner speaks with Dr. Ken Tyler, Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Dr. Matt Birnholz reviews more nominees for our Heroes in Healthcare program and what their peers have to say about their efforts.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
In celebration of our “Heroes in Healthcare,” Dr. Matt Birnholz continues to commend our nominees for their valuable contributions to the field of medicine, taking strides to save lives and make a difference during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Anjali Patwardhan, MD
In pediatric patients, can the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines impact the COVID-19 disease course? Dr. Jennifer Caudle joins Dr. Anjali Patwardhan, a pediatric rheumatologist at the University of Missouri Healthcare, to discuss COVID-19 in pediatric patients who’ve been vaccinated for influenza and pneumococcal.
Published March 16, 2021
Host: Carol Wysham, MD
Guest: Alexis McKee, MD
Patient care has evolved amid the COVID-19 pandemic, causing unexpected challenges in managing diseases such as diabetes. Dr. Carol Wysham joins Dr. Alexis McKee, a practicing endocrinologist and an assistant professor of medicine at Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, to discuss how patients have been overcoming challenges in managing diabetes during the pandemic.
Host: Matthew J. Sorrentino, MD, FACC, FASH
Guest: Orlando Chirikian
A recent study revealed that our heart cells undergo changes in space, but what can that tell us about our heart health on Earth? Dr. Matt Sorrentino dives into the Cardinal Heart Study with Orlando Chirikian, a research scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Host: Jacob Sands, MD
Guest: Lawrence Nathan Shulman, MD
Oncology is a rapidly evolving field, so what do you we need to know about developments in cancer care around the world? Dr. Jacob Sands joins Dr. Lawrence Shulman, the Deputy Director of Clinical Services, Director of the Center of Global Cancer Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and a senior oncology advisor to Partners In Health, to give us a global perspective on cancer care.
Host: Jacob Sands, MD
Guest: Lawrence Nathan Shulman, MD
How do challenges in our healthcare system and disparities in access to care impact cancer patients within our communities? Dr. Jacob Sands and Dr. Lawrence Shulman continue their important conversation on oncology around the world.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Drew Weissman, MD, PhD
Dr. Drew Weissman, Professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine joins Dr. Turck to discuss his new COVID-19 vaccine technology and how RNA and mRNA are being used to provoke an immune response in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
In honor of our “Heroes in Healthcare” initiative, Dr. Matt Birnholz recounts some of the many healthcare professionals nominated by their peers who’ve bravely helped their patients combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Frank Scott
Dr. Charles Turck is joined by Dr. Frank Scott from the University of Colorado School of Medicine to share some highlights from his session, “Challenges and New Approaches to Managing IBD in the COVID-19 Era,” at Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2021.
Host: Alan S. Brown, MD, FACC, FAHA, FNLA
Guest: Arun Sharma, PhD
Can low gravity and space flight impact our cardiac function? Dr. Arun Sharma, a stem cell biologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California, joins Dr. Alan Brown to discuss the impact of outer space on the heart.
Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP
Guest: Myron Brand, MD
While many know that COVID-19 can affect the respiratory system, but how can this disease also influence the gastrointestinal tract? Tune in to hear Dr. Peter Buch discuss with Dr. Myron Brand, a Clinical Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, the impact of COVID-19 on the GI system and GI disorders.
Host: Jacob Sands, MD
Cancer care has evolved since the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. What do we need to know about caring for our cancer patients during this winter season? Dr. Jacob Sands, Thoracic Medical Oncologist at the Dana-Farber Institute in Boston shares what cancer patients can do to take care of themselves during the winter season.
Host: Jacob Sands, MD
How has cancer care changed from the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic? Dr. Jacob Sands, Thoracic Medical Oncologist at the Dana-Farber Institute in Boston, shares how he has been treating his patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD, FACP
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a unique set of challenges for healthcare professionals. What are some of the biggest threats to our GI patients, and how should we help them stay safe? Here today is our GI Insights host, Dr. Neil Nandi, to shed some light on his experiences while caring for patients during the pandemic.
Host: Jacob Sands, MD
Guest: Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH
Oftentimes, a patient’s zip code is a better indicator of health than blood pressure or genetics, highlighting a significant disparity among communities. How are barriers such as systemic racism contributing to this disparity, and what can we do to change that? Dr. Jacob Sands is joined by Dr. Christopher Lathan to discuss medical disparities as a result of systemic racism.
Host: Neilanjan Nandi, MD, FACP
Host: Peter Buch, MD, FACG, AGAF, FACP
Facing winter during the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for many patients. What are some ways gastroenterologists can protect the health of their patients this season? Tune in to hear our GI Insights hosts Dr. Neil Nandi and Dr. Peter Buch share some tips on how you keep your patients safe throughout the wintertime.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Christopher Haines, MD, MA
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the field of medicine. To better understand the science behind this virus while putting this pandemic into historical perspective, Dr. Christopher Haines shares his experiences caring for patients during the pandemic and describes what drove him to write his book: COVID-19 Essays from the Front: The First Six Months.
Guest: John J. Russell, MD
With so many COVID-19 vaccines in development, new medical ethical questions have been brought to the forefront of the healthcare field. With that in mind, Dr. John Russell takes us through the history of ethics and vaccinations throughout the world.
Published January 4, 2021
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization, or EUA, for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The second vaccination to achieve EUA designation, the Moderna vaccine will be distributed throughout the US for patients 18 years and older. In this episode of The Drug Report, Dr. Linda Bernstein discusses this newly-approved vaccine and how it compares to others.
Published December 29, 2020
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: William G. Callahan, DO
The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled many to stay home, but for those venturing out, how can we encourage them to stay safe? Dr. Bill Callahan, a family physician at Abington Jefferson Health and outdoorsman, sits down with Dr. John Russell to discuss how to stay safe during this winter pandemic.
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The first vaccine to receive Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, this authorization allows the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed throughout the US. But what do we know about this vaccine? In this episode of The Drug Report, Dr. Linda Bernstein discusses the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Published December 18, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
To prevent the flu from spreading concurrently with COVID-19, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded the approved indication for baloxavir marboxil to include post-exposure prevention of influenza. On this episode of The Drug Report, Dr. Linda Bernstein dives into this oral anti-influenza drug.
Published December 2, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
This episode of The Drug Report takes a look at a COVID-19 cocktail comprised of the coadministration of casirivimab and imdevimab, which has proven to decrease hospitalization and emergency room visits.
Published November 30, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer children have received a measles vaccination, and progress towards eliminating this disease has halted. How can pharmacists encourage more pediatric measles vaccinations? In this episode of The Drug Report, Dr. Linda Bernstein takes a look at the vast number of children globally who’ve yet to receive this vaccine.
Published November 30, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Eli Lilly and Company’s trial vaccine for COVID-19 an Emergency Use Authorization, or EUA. On this episode of The Drug Report, learn more about this monoclonal antibody and how the company plans on distributing it.
Published November 30, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Pfizer and BioNTech recently announced that their mRNA vaccine for the COVID-19 virus was 90 percent effective, and the companies plan to apply for Emergency Use Authorization. This episode of The Drug Report dives into this vaccine’s Phase 3 clinical trial and explores developments made by other companies in the search for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Published November 30, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, plans to use pharmacies to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine when it is ready for distribution. In this episode of The Drug Report, Linda Bernstein will explain the CDC’s recently-developed Vaccination Program Interim Playbook.
Published November 17, 2020
Host: John E. Anderson, MD
Host: John Buse, MD, PhD
Host: Carol Wysham, MD
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed healthcare professionals to adjust the way they treat patients with chronic conditions like diabetes. Tune in to hear Drs. John Anderson, John Buse, Carol Wysham share their experience caring for patients with diabetes amid the pandemic.
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The Food and Drug Administration announced that Remdesivir is the first treatment for COVID-19 to receive their approval. To help us better understand this antiviral agent, Dr. Linda Bernstein discusses emerging studies uncovering the benefits and limitations of Remdesivir.
Published November 6, 2020
Guest: Ann L. Steiner, MD
When it’s not safe for a patient to come into the office, what can we do to help patients manage their breast pain at home? Dr. Ann Steiner, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine, explains how COVID-19 has influenced lifestyle and dietary habits and how simple changes can go a long way in managing breast pain.
Published September 23, 2020
Guest: Ann L. Steiner, MD
Access to breast cancer screening and treatment can be difficult for women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, healthcare professionals are finding ways to overcome these barriers. Dr. Ann Steiner, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine, compares her practice to before COVID-19 and explains how testing for breast cancer patients has changed.
*Published September 23, 2020*
Guest: Ann L. Steiner, MD
COVID-19 has encouraged many people to adopt new habits, but some of them can take a toll on a woman’s breast health. Tune in to hear Dr. Ann Steiner, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine, share what two of those risky habits are and how women can lower their risk of breast cancer while they’re sheltering at home.
Published September 23, 2020
Host: Kathy King, RDN
Guest: Megan Pesch, M.D.
Countless children across the nation are picky eaters, and families are on the lookout for effective solutions. With that in mind, Dr. Megan Pesch joins Kathy King to discuss her recent study on picky eaters and her insights on this common dilemma.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Now that we’re several months into the pandemic, many states and counties are turning to the local data gathered on COVID-19 incidence to help inform their plans moving forward. But are those reports really the most accurate sources of information? To find out, Dr. Charles Turck is here to discuss a recent report discussing how disparities in access to COVID-19 testing sites may be skewing case estimates.
Published August, 19 2020
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global concern among healthcare professionals has been the shortening supply of personal protective equipment like N95 masks. But now, that concern might become a thing of a past thanks to a recent development made by a team of researchers. To find out more about this discovery, Dr. Charles Turck joins us to discuss the innovation that could become a huge win in the battle against COVID-19.
Published August, 19 2020
Host: Kathy King, RDN
Guest: Teresa Pangan, PhD, RDN
Joining Kathy King to discuss the possible benefits and precautions of using supplemental doses of vitamin D to help fight COVID-19 is Dr. Teresa Pangan, a registered dietitian, health counselor, and keynote speaker.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
To find out how different racial and ethnic groups are being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Charles Turck joins us to analyze data that was collected by the COVID Racial Tracker.
Published July 24, 2020
Guest: Gregory J Kubicek, MD
When caring for patients who are at greater risk of complications from COVID-19, what extra precautions are needed to help keep them safe and healthy? That’s what staff radiation oncologist Dr. Gregory Kubicek from the MD Anderson Cooper Cancer Center shares with us.
Published June 23, 2020
Guest: Michael Greenberg, MD
The chaos and uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic may make us forget the simple actions we can all do to connect with others and make the world a better place. Listen in as Dr. Michael Greenberg shares three of those simple actions.
Published June 15, 2020
Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, children have adjusted their schedules and way of living like everyone else, but what effects has this massive shift had on our young patients? That’s the question Dr. Jennifer Shu is here to answer.
Published June 12, 2020
Guest: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP
Tune in to hear Dr. Jennifer Shu describe what her life as a pediatrician is now like due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the steps she has taken to keep her patients and colleagues healthy.
Published June 12, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: David Fajgenbaum, MD
Since its founding, the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) has worked to identify an effective treatment for Castleman disease, a rare immune system disorder that leads to a cytokine storm and multi-organ failure—much like what’s being seen in COVID-19 patients. Here to review how the CDCN’s innovations are now being leveraged toward the fight against COVID-19 is the CDCN’s Co-Founder and Executive Director Dr. David Fajgenbaum.
Guest: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
As researchers look at the spread of COVID-19 in warm areas of the globe, their findings cast doubt on the idea that the summer heat will help slow the spread. Tune in as Dr. Charles Turck explains recent studies on how heat has very little—if any—impact on the spread of viruses.
Published June 5, 2020
Guest: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Against the backdrop of a global push to get more ventilators and other critical gear into the hands of healthcare professionals, some clinicians are opting out of using ventilators to treat their COVID-19 patients as several hospitals have reported unusually high death rates. Listen in as Dr. Charles Turck explains.
Published June 5, 2020
Guest: Bret Nelson, MD
When it comes to using ultrasound at the point of care in the setting of COVID-19, what do we need to keep in mind? Here to share his five key considerations is Dr. Bret Nelson, Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Chief of the Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Division at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Published June 5, 2020
Guest: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
With the growing amount of illicit pharmaceutical drugs and medical supplies filling the global market amid the COVID-19 pandemic, are we at risk of facing another public health crisis? Listen in as Dr. Charles Turck brings this troubling trend to light.
Published June 3, 2020
Guest: John J. Russell, MD
Could immunization techniques of the past help us in our current hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine? To find out, Dr. John Russell reviews the history of immunizations going all the way back to the 1100s.
Published May 29, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: James Robert Ficke, M.D.
The Joint Hopkins Maryland Federal Medical Station, a 250-bed unit inside Baltimore’s convention center, opened on April 27 for non-critical patients recovering from COVID-19. Dr. James Ficke, the Station’s Director, talks with Stephanie Desmon about how his experience standing up combat hospitals in northern Iraq prepared him, the influx of patients they’re seeing, and what it takes to set up a fully operational contingency hospital with food, bathrooms, showers, and even its own pharmacy.
Published May 19, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Barri Yanowitz
Guest: Carlos Raba
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered restaurants and bars to end in-house dining back in March. Two people from Baltimore’s restaurant community—Barri Yanowitz, a bartender at Brewer’s Art, and Carlos Raba, a co-owner of Clavel—talk with Stephanie Desmon about how each outlet has addressed the mandate, what this has meant for business and their community, and what they anticipate in the coming weeks and months.
Published May 18, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Amesh Adalja, MD
When can I see my family again if I have been quarantining? Does a person’s blood type affect how severely ill they might become? Are women taking oral contraceptive pills more at risk from blood clots from COVID-19? Can you get COVID-19 from second-hand smoke? What is social distancing fatigue and what can we do to address it?
Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security addresses these and other questions submitted.
Published May 15, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Elizabeth J. Letourneau, PhD
Responses to COVID-19 such as school closures and shelter-at-home orders may inadvertently raise the risks of child sexual abuse. Dr. Elizabeth Letourneau, Director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about risks, prevention strategies, and a new online resource for parents, caregivers, and people at risk of offending.
Published May 14, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Albert Wu, MD
It’s been a few months since COVID-19 first arrived in the US, so what have we learned? Dr. Albert Wu returns to the podcast with Stephanie Desmon to discuss social distancing fatigue, new symptoms and disease observations, hopes for treatment, and what we should expect in the coming months in terms of a “return to normal.”
Published May 13, 2020
Host: Michael D. Christian MD
Triage focuses on doing the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. Dr. Mike Christian from the Task Force for Mass Critical Care explores the why, when, and ethics of triage to aid the imbalance of supply and demand in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published April 16, 2020
Host: Victor Test, MD, FCCP
Guest: Andrew Klein, MS, RT
Tune in as Andrew Klein, a clinical nurse specialist in respiratory therapy, discusses his experiences caring for COVID-19 patients in a teamwork environment. Through these collaborations, the best care can be made available during this pandemic.
Published March 26, 2020
Guest: Martha Billings, MD, MSc
Guest: Renea Jablonski, MD
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians have quickly transitioned to telemedicine. To give us a better idea of what that transition has looked like in practice, Dr. Martha Billings and Dr. Renea Jablonski share their experiences in a pulmonary clinic setting.
Published March 19, 2020
Guest: Mangala Narasimhan, DO, FCCP
Managing COVID-19 continues to be a work in progress as healthcare systems struggle to prepare for high volumes of patients in such a quick time. To help address this, Dr. Mangala Narasimhan shares her experiences and the importance of planning for double during this outbreak.
Published March 16, 2020
Host: Steven Simpson, MD, FCCP
Tune in as Dr. Steven Simpson speaks with a clinician on the frontlines of COVID-19 who shares her experience managing a COVID-19 case that was caught days after the patient was admitted to the hospital.
Published May 19, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Megan M. Tschudy, M.D.
Although COVID-19 does not appear to infect children at the same rate as adults, there are significant indirect impacts on kids from the pandemic. Baltimore pediatrician Dr. Megan Tschudy talks with Stephanie Desmon about the “profound disruption” of the pandemic and its impacts on vaccinations, regular check-ups, and other aspects of children’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Published May 12, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Panagis Galiatsatos, M.D., M.H.S.
Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos spends 12-16 hour days attending to COVID-19 patients in the ICU at Johns Hopkins Hospital. When he’s not at the hospital, he’s on duty in the community working with faith-based organizations, schools, and housing units to help leaders protect their community members from getting sick. Dr. Galiatsatos talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about these dual roles of being on both the last and first lines of defense—caring for patients in the ICU and helping to prevent them from getting there in the first place.
Published May 11, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Laura K. Murray, PhD
How can I convince my family and friends to follow social distancing guidelines? How can I stay informed without becoming overwhelmed? How can I help family members if I can’t be near them? What does resilience look like in this new normal? On this week’s Q&A, Laura Murray, a clinical psychologist and senior scientist at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, addresses listener’s mental health questions with Stephanie Desmon.
Published May 8, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Sara Bennett, PhD
Guest: Timothy J. Roberton, DrPH
The global health community has worked for years to lower rates of maternal and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries. But while the world focuses on the number of deaths from COVID-19, estimates of indirect mortality due to disruptions in health systems cannot be ignored.
Tim Roberton, an assistant scientist in international health, talks with guest host Sara Bennett, a professor in international health, about a paper he co-authored that estimates there could be a 45 percent increase in child mortality and a 38 percent increase in maternal mortality in severe scenarios where care is disrupted due to COVID-19. One way to head off these numbers is to categorize care by prioritizing only emergency care that cannot be delivered in any other way.
Published May 7, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD
Dr. Arturo Casadevall—head of the convalescent plasma research project at Johns Hopkins—talks through the WHO’s recent statement that there’s no evidence of COVID-19 infection leading to short- or long-term immunity. Dr. Casadevall and Dr. Josh Sharfstein also discuss how COVID-19 is not like HIV or pneumonia and what we currently know about new strains of the novel coronavirus.
Published May 6, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Megan Hosey Mastalerz, PhD
The intensive care unit can be stressful for all patients, but those with COVID-19 face unique challenges when it comes to mental and cognitive health. Clinical psychologist Dr. Megan Hosey of the Johns Hopkins Hospital ICU talks with Stephanie Desmon about ICU delirium, COVID-19 stigma, and what longer term prognosis could look like for patients inside and after the ICU.
Published May 6, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Salman Ahmed, MD, MPH
During the COVID-19 pandemic, e-consults have become the new norm, but what impacts do they have on patient care? To find out, Mario Nacinovich is joined by Dr. Salman Ahmed, who takes us through his research finding that e-consults might not just be the appropriate choice, but the preferred one over face-to-face appointments.
Published May 13, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Randy Young, MD
Here to give us a firsthand look into how ICUs across the country are confronting the COVID-19 pandemic head-on is Dr. Randy Young, a critical care doctor who’s treating COVID-19 patients in the mid-Atlantic area. Dr. Young joins Mario Nacinovich to discuss what he has seen during the pandemic and how the ICU is responding to both expected and unexpected challenges.
Published May 13, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: April Taylor, MS, MHA, CPPS, CPHQ
Every organization has disaster preparedness plans for one-day and one-week events like fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes, but how do those plans come into play during a pandemic like COVID-19 when there isn’t an end date in sight? Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss this and more is April Taylor, Senior Director of Improvement and Project Management at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Published May 13, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Mark R. Cullen, MD
Here to share what we might soon learn about the COVID-19 pandemic is Dr. Mark Cullen, Scientific Committee Chair for the academic arm of the COVID-19 research database, which is a secure repository of HIPAA compliant, de-identified, and limited patient-level data sets.
Published May 13, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Mark R. Cullen, MD
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, endemic challenges surrounded fragmented data sets and long perspective clinical trials. But now, recently developed data sets are available to public health and policy researchers to not only overcome that challenge, but also to combat this global pandemic. Dr. Mark Cullen, Scientific Committee Chair for the academic arm of the COVID-19 research database at Stanford University School of Medicine, joins Mario Nacinovich to explain.
Published May 13, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Kathleen Day, MBA, MS
As officials consider how and when to scale back social distancing restrictions, a big question is: When the economy reopens, will there be anywhere to go? Financial crises expert and author Kathleen Day returns to talk with Stephanie Desmon about the millions of Americans filing for unemployment, whether our current crisis will rival the Great Depression, and how we could start to dig our way out.
Published April 29, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Matt Hornbeck
Schools are scrambling to figure out education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Matt Hornbeck, Principal of the top-rated Hampstead Hill Academy—a Pre-k-8 public school in southeast Baltimore city—says instruction is only part of the challenge: technology gaps, trying to reach vulnerable students, and the trauma of a sudden separation from friends and teachers are unprecedented issues to address. Hornbeck talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how Hampstead Hill is trying to take care of its school community and how they’re preparing for the next period of uncertainty.
Published May 5, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Kevin Lindamood, MSW
Guest: Adrienne Trustman, MD
Guest: Barbara DiPietro, PhD
Homelessness is already a public health emergency in the US. COVID-19 now adds to the unique challenges facing individuals without homes. So how are the homeless and their caregivers responding? Kevin Lindamood and Dr. Adrienne Trustman of Baltimore’s Health Care for the Homeless and Barbara DiPietro of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about homelessness amid a pandemic.
Published May 4, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Lauren M. Sauer, MS
What makes this virus different from hundreds of other similar viruses? What happens if parents don’t take their children for routine immunizations? Does prone body positioning help ICU patients? Does coronavirus spread best in wet or dry environments? What are randomized control trials and why is everyone talking about them? Is it possible to give someone a tattoo from six feet away? Lauren Sauer, Director of Operations with the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, addresses these questions.
Published May 1, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Karen C. Carroll, MD
In March, Johns Hopkins Hospital began making its own COVID-19 tests. The lab now has the capacity to run 600 tests per day but is limited by shortages in the supply of reagents: the chemicals needed to process the tests. Dr. Karen Carroll, Director of the Division of Medical Microbiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what it takes to develop a working COVID-19 test, why labs across the US are struggling with shortages, and what needs to happen to fix access to testing.
Published May 1, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Yngvild K. Olsen, MD, MPH, DFASAM
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the opioid epidemic disappeared from headlines but not from reality. Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks to Dr. Yngvild Olsen, the medical director of an addiction treatment program in Baltimore and the Vice President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, about how her clinic had to pivot to stay open while protecting both patients and staff, how federal regulations have shifted, and what the status of the epidemic is and might be post-COVID-19.
Disclosure: Medical school classmates, Dr. Sharfstein and Dr. Olsen are married.
Published April 30, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Colleen L. Barry, PhD
Guest: Brendan Nyhan, PhD
Misinformation about COVID-19 can have real human costs in the forms of physical harm and “straining the fabric of democracy.” But where does misinformation come from, and how can it be prevented when so much is still unknown about the virus?
Guest host Dr. Colleen Barry, Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, talks with Dr. Brendan Nyhan, an expert in the politics of misinformation about health, about why people might believe false claims, the role of politics, and how to keep science at the center of the discussion.
Published April 30, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Emily S. Gurley, PhD
Guest: Brooke Jarrett
It might be too late to halt transmission of COVID-19, but contract tracing could help bring the outbreak under control. Dr. Emily Gurley and PhD candidate Brooke Jarrett break down contact tracing and what it would take to get “an army” off the ground in US cities.
Published April 29, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Dorry Segev, MD, PhD
With organ transplants on pause in the US to free up needed hospital resources, Americans with kidney failure are forced to assume the risks of going to crowded dialysis centers three times a week. Kidney transplant surgeon Dr. Dorry Segev talks with Stephanie Desmon about how the organ transplant community can rethink ways to resume transplants, assess which patients might fare better with risky transplants, and if COVID-19 patients can be organ donors.
Published April 28, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Maximilian Konig, MD
Guest: Chetan Bettegowda, MD, PhD
For the subset of people who become critically ill from the novel coronavirus, cytokine storms could be to blame. This severe inflammatory disease happens when the immune system goes haywire in response to a novel threat. Rheumatology fellow Dr. Max Konig and neurosurgeon Dr. Chetan Bettegowda talk with Stephanie Desmon about the vital role of cytokine in immune responses, how to identify who might be at risk, and how research is looking into stopping the storms before they start.
Published April 28, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, FRCP
Until there is a vaccine, the best hope for the novel coronavirus is finding the right “cocktail” of treatments for managing severe illness. A unique clinical trial model developed several years ago may now help identify treatments that work. Dr. Derek Angus talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the Bayesian inference model, a “March Madness” of testing multiple therapies at once.
Published April 27, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Andrew Stanley Pekosz, PhD
Virologist Dr. Andrew Pekosz returns to the podcast with an update on what his team has learned about COVID-19. Dr. Pekosz and Stephanie Desmon discuss further indications that COVID-19 may not be seasonal, why COVID-19 is “the flu on steroids,” and how learning about how the virus replicates in our upper respiratory tracts could hold clues for treatment and prevention. PLUS: An update on the convalescent plasma therapy trial.
Published April 27, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD
The market is suddenly flooded with antibody tests claiming to prove whether or not people have already been exposed to COVID-19. But two critical questions are yet unanswered: Are any of these tests accurate and does past exposure mean immunity?
Immunologist Dr. Gigi Gronvall of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about a new report outlining the potential and pitfalls of antibody testing. They discuss how long it might be before we understand more about antibodies and immunity to COVID-19 and how widespread testing could help capture the true footprint of the coronavirus’s spread.
Published April 24, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Jennifer Nuzzo, MD
If bats are immune to the novel coronavirus, can we learn something to help fight the virus in humans? How can I tell if my cough is spring allergies or COVID-19? Is it too soon for businesses like barber shops and salons to reopen? Can the virus crawl or be blown by the wind into your nose? Why are some people asymptomatic? Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security addresses questions.
Published April 24, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Annette C. Anderson, PhD
Most schools closed suddenly and have had to scramble to stand up online learning or other solutions to continue instruction in the midst of the pandemic. Further complicating the response is the fact that no one knows how long this will last.
Dr. Annette Anderson of the Johns Hopkins School of Education talks to Stephanie Desmon about the Digital Divide, how schools are trying to prevent a “COVID slide,” the fear that learning can be lost over long breaks. They also discuss the burden on parents and how some districts are stepping up to address disruptions to vital services like food and mental health support for students and their families.
Published April 23, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Caitlin Rivers, PhD, MPH
Much of our world was suddenly postponed, canceled, or shuttered in the last month or so. There’s now an opportunity to be more thoughtful about reopening. There are risks either way: wait too long and there are consequences for health, safety, and the economy. Open too soon, and viral transmission may ramp up and out of control.
Dr. Caitlin Rivers of the Center for Health Security is coauthor of a recent report geared towards governors considering how to reopen non-essential businesses. She talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the basic principles behind deciding when to reopen bars, gyms, salons, and other nonessential businesses.
Published April 22, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA
COVID-19 is constantly referred to as a global pandemic, but how often do you think of it as an info-demic? Or as a health equity issue? Joining Mario Nacinovich to give us a look at COVID-19 through a different lens is Dr. Renata Schiavo, Senior Lecturer, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Sociomedical Sciences and Founder and President of the Board of Directors of the Health Equity Initiative. Dr. Schiavo discusses common barriers faced by the most vulnerable populations and how we can protect them during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published April 28, 2020
Host: Shira Johnson, MD
Guest: James Withers, MD
The street medicine movement is faced with the challenge of administering treatments and protection methods to a population that is often excluded and in dire need of care, and that challenge has only been intensified during this unprecedented time. Street physician Dr. Jim Withers, who’s credited with starting the street medicine movement, is here to share what it’s like to care for the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published April 27, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Anthony Dragun, MD
Throughout this global pandemic, radiation oncologists are faced with the challenge of finding ways to continue administering the necessary cancer treatments while limiting their patients’ risk of exposure to COVID-19. Dr. Anthony Dragun from the MD Anderson Cancer Center is here to explain how that can be done and why these new approaches should be embraced even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
Published April 27, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Jonathan Riess, MD, MS
Due to the many challenges and complications that are now facing oncologists and their patients requiring lung cancer treatment, lung cancer care is changing in many ways to help minimize a patient’s risk of exposure, as Dr. Jonathan Riess from the UC Davis Medical Center explains.
Published April 24, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Julie Messersmith
Guest: Denis Wirtz
The challenges presented by the pandemic are giving rise to a pipeline of research proposals focused on COVID-19. Julie Messersmith and Denis Wirtz are leading Johns Hopkins University's multidisciplinary research projects to develop better detection and protection tools and treatments for COVID-19 patients. They talk to Stephanie Desmon about how engineers, public health specialists, and medical doctors are teaming up to develop better testing and treatment solutions on incredibly fast-tracked timelines.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a new guidance for the issuance of oral Schedule II prescriptions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide public health emergency. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein details the DEA’s temporary exceptions to the regulations to ease prescribing and dispensing of these controlled substances during this challenging time.
Published April 24, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized clinicians to prescribe chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, despite warnings from scientific advisers that no randomized controlled trial has been conducted to support the drugs’ safety and efficacy in this population. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein takes us through the FDA’s decision process, the parameters of the issuance, and comments made by the experts on this emergency ruling.
Published April 24, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Join pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein as she highlights several articles from recent literature describing coagulopathies in severely ill COVID-19 patients in China. She explores the cause and effect theories behind these findings and whether the observed coagulopathies are due directly to the virus, the critically ill condition of the patient that predisposes them to thromboembolism, or some combination of the two.
Published April 24, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Preeti N. Malani MD
Colleges and universities are already starting to think about what it would take to reopen for the fall semester. But bringing back students, faculty, and staff—and welcoming the class of 2024—will require a complete rethinking of campus life. Dr. Preeti Malani, Chief Health Officer of the University of Michigan, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how she’s considering the health and safety of 50,000 students plus faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published April 20, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Tom Inglesby, MD
Does the virus cause male sterility? Are false negatives a problem with COVID tests? Is there a connection between how much virus you’re exposed to and how serious the illness is? Should people on immunosuppressive drugs stop taking them? Does the virus “reactivate?” Can people really become immune? Why are there so many more cases in the northern hemisphere? Why will a COVID-19 vaccine take so long when we come up with a new flu vaccine every year?
Tom Inglesby, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, answers a grab bag of listener questions.
Published April 17, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Roni Neff
Bare shelves in grocery stores feed pandemic anxiety but Roni Neff, an expert on food systems and public health at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, says this is not the biggest concern. Neff talks to Stephanie Desmon about how our robust food industry depends largely upon keeping its workers safe and well, how a pandemic completely shifts the model of emergency food access, and what’s being done to address these unique challenges to ensure everyone is fed.
Published April 16, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Crystal R. Watson, DrPH
Contact tracing is a core tool of public health. Now, it could be a way to reopen the world. Crystal Watson of the Center for Health Security is the lead author of a recent report with a national plan to scale up our capability to conduct contact tracing. Watson talks to Stephanie Desmon about what contact tracing entails, how technology could help, how to approach privacy concerns, and why the plan could help employ thousands of people with some basic training.
Published April 16, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Allison Barlow, PhD
Poor health care, lacking infrastructure, and generational poverty combine to make Native Americans especially vulnerable to COVID-19. With previous infectious respiratory illnesses like H1N1, mortality rates were sometimes four to five times higher than US averages among tribal communities. Allison Barlow, Director of the Center for American Indian Health, talks to Stephanie Desmon about COVID-19’s particular threats to Native Americans, what’s being done to help mount a “culturally informed” response, and how the virus is “revealing the cracks in our systems.”
Published April 15, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Meghan F. Davis, PhD, DVM
Most new diseases originate from “spillover events” where humans come into contact with wild animals. Veterinarian and scientist Meghan Davis talks to Stephanie Desmon about the rise of infectious diseases and what is being done to prepare for future spillover events. She also covers how a tiger in the Bronx Zoo got a test, and the threats COVID-19 may pose to your own pets.
Published April 14, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Beth Blauer
The COVID-19 dashboard run by the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering has been a critical source of near real-time tracking of the spread of the novel coronavirus since it first emerged. Beth Blauer, Executive Director of Centers for Civic Impact and an expert on the public’s use of data and analytics, is part of the team that manages the map. Blauer talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the global dashboard originated, what new features have been added, and how the data can help individuals and officials make informed decisions for COVID-19 response.
Published April 14, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Kathryn J. Ruddy, MD
Guest: Joerg Herrmann, MD
To give us a better sense for how some cardiology and oncology specialists have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Joerg Hermann and Dr. Kathryn Ruddy, who are two members of the cross-disciplinary Cardio-Oncology clinic at Mayo Clinic, discuss their perspectives on this pandemic and how they’ve been treating immunosuppressed patients.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Throughout history, diseases have acquired names from geographical landmarks, the name of the organism, the anatomy impacted, and even the media. But some naming conventions have resulted in negative consequences, which is why the World Health Organization established best practices for naming novel diseases in 2015.
Here to walk us through those guidelines and to give us a brief history of how some well-known diseases—including the COVID-19 pandemic the world is currently facing—gained their name is Dr. John Russell.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Tune in as pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein looks at a few of the novel approaches researchers all over the world are taking to conquer the novel coronavirus in addition to evaluating what these approaches may mean for today and potential viral mutations going forward.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Join pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein as she outlines the United States Health and Human Services’ authorization of licensed pharmacists to order and administer FDA-approved COVID-19 tests as well as the priority patient testing categories as set forth by the U.S. Public Health Service.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: John J. Russell, MD
The practice of quarantining ill patients goes back much further than you may realize. Tune in as Dr. John Russell walks us through the history of quarantines going all the way back to the year 1200.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: John J. Russell, MD
In the absence of FDA-approved therapies and vaccines to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals on the frontlines are turning to malarial medicines like chloroquine and hydroquinone to treat their patients—despite the fact that there’s no evidence to support their use. But this isn’t the first time that medicines have been used for a different purpose than what they were intended for, as Dr. John Russell explains.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Critical medicine shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for drugs required to support patients on mechanical ventilation, is the focus of this episode of The Drug Report. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein describes the urgent appeals made by major healthcare organizations, related reports highlighting the serious impact of these shortages on fill rates for critical medicines, and progress being made at the federal level to remedy the situation.
Published April 21, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a guidance on its temporary policy for certain risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic that include laboratory monitoring and imaging studies. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein discusses the guidance and its impact on patient access to certain REMS drugs when patients self-isolate or are subject to quarantine due to COVID-19.
Published April 17, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein highlights the key points of a New England Journal of Medicine article that given the available evidence, the authors and multiple specialty medical societies believe that—despite theoretical concerns and uncertainty pertaining to the effect of RAAS inhibitors on ACE2 and its potential relationship to COVID-19 severity—RAAS inhibitors should be continued in patients who are otherwise in stable condition who are at risk for or are being evaluated for COVID-19. Abrupt withdrawal of RAAS inhibitors in high-risk patients, including those who have heart failure or have had myocardial infarction, may result in clinical instability and adverse health outcomes.
Published April 17, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP) recently published recommendations for prescribers, pharmacists and patients when considering the proper use of experimental treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inappropriate prescribing of experimental treatments “just in case” or for patients not at high risk of severe illness may lead to insufficient supplies of critical medicines that are needed to treat other patients who depend on these medicines.
Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D., reports on this important guidance designed to limit drug shortages and the worsening of existing shortages that can occur when practitioners and patients stock up and hoard their medication supplies.
Published April X, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners recently announced it was launching an international clinical trial with the goal of generating significant worldwide data from thousands of patients to find the most effective treatments for COVID-19. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein brings you an update on the WHO SOLIDARITY trial, which will offer clinicians simplified procedures to enable even overloaded hospitals to participate.
Published April 17, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The Centers for Disease Control provided a guidance for pharmacy staff to minimize their risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus and reduce customer risk during the pandemic. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein presents highlights of the guidance that offers recommendations on ways to minimize viral exposure when medication dispensing along with methods to minimize patient-to-patient contact.
Published on April 17, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Paul B. Spiegel, MD
Guest: John Barry
The historical context of 1918 shaped much of the response to the flu pandemic in the US—just as it will with COVID-19. Dr. Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health, talks with historian and author John Barry about how an absence of credible leadership and messaging hindered response efforts then and what lessons we can apply today.
Published April 13, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Amesh Adalja, MD
What did we learn this week? Is there a connection between 5G cell phone towers and the novel coronavirus? How often should you wash a homemade cloth mask? Is there any truth behind using hydroxychloroquine as a treatment? Will people on ventilators have permanent lung damage? What’s it like for doctors and nurses in the hospitals right now? Dr. Amesh Adaljaof the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security addresses your questions.
Published April 10, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Amy Greensfelder, MSW
Guest: Shantay Jackson
Fallout from COVID-19 goes beyond case counts—we are facing “an epidemic of isolation and loneliness,” says Councilman Zeke Cohen. The Baltimore Neighbors Network is a virtual community of trained volunteers who are available to listen to city residents and provide resources for follow-up if needed.
Councilman Cohen, Shantay Jackson, executive director of the Baltimore Community Mediation Center, and Amy Greensfelder, executive director of Pro Bono Counseling, talk to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the network is addressing the mental health risks.
Published April 9, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: William J. Moss, MD
Development of a COVID-19 vaccine is an essential part of halting the pandemic. But will it be months or years before we see one? Vaccine expert Dr. William Moss talks to Stephanie Desmon about the complexities of vaccine development and manufacturing, potential hold ups, how opponents of vaccination may come into play, and why COVID-19 may threaten current immunization programs.
Published April 10, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Tom Frieden
What will need to happen for businesses and schools to reopen, and what might the future look like with COVID-19? Former CDC director Tom Frieden talks to Stephanie Desmon about what governments and individuals should be doing right now to help curb the spread of the virus and move America closer to reopening.
Published April 9, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Lainie Rutkow, PhD, JD
There have been varying responses to COVID-19 carried out across local, state, and federal governments in the US. But what powers does the government have at various levels in a pandemic and how does the law work when an enemy like COVID-19 “does not respect jurisdictional boundaries?” Law expert and Hopkins professor Dr. Lainie Rutkow talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about a range of legal issues, including what happens if states start suing each other.
Published April 8, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Jason E. Farley, PHD, MSN, MPH, RN
Why was the US slow to stand up testing and is this improving? Should you wear a cloth mask in your daily activities? Jason Farley, an infectious disease-trained nurse epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, talks to Stephanie Desmon and breaks down the complications of testing for COVID-19 and why recommendations on the public’s use of masks may be evolving.
Published April 8, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Vernon Lee, PhD
Early on in the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore quickly launched a robust response which included widespread testing, diligent contact tracing and quarantining, and isolation of all sick persons, even those with mild symptoms. Alumnus Dr. Vernon Lee, Director of Communicable Diseases at the Ministry of Health of Singapore, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how lessons from the 2003 SARS outbreak informed Singapore’s risk-based approach to staying a few steps ahead of the novel coronavirus.
Published April 7, 2020
Host: Paul Doghramji, MD
Guest: Gary Lyman, MD, MPH
Just two miles away from where the first case of COVID-19 was identified, the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research acted quickly to help protect patients. Here to walk us through the impacts, barriers faced, and strategies that have been implemented to help address those challenges is the oncology center’s Senior Lead of Health Care Quality and Policy Dr. Gary Lyman.
Published April 10, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Sabra L. Klein, PhD
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Rosemary Morgan, PhD
Globally, more men are dying from COVID-19 than women. But is this due to sex (biological differences), gender (social and contextual differences), or something else entirely? Stephanie Desmon talks to virologist Sabra Klein and social scientist Rosemary Morgan about risk factors associated with COVID-19.
Published April 6, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Tolbert G. Nyenswah, MPH
In 2014, Tolbert Nyenswah, then an assistant minister of health in Liberia, was tapped to lead the nation’s response to the Ebola epidemic. Under his leadership, an Incident Management System deployed thousands of epidemiologists, case managers, and contact tracers in a technical response that brought the outbreak under control. Nyenswah talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what the US can learn from Liberia’s experience and what needs to happen soon to get ahead of the curve.
Published April 6, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Howard Sklamberg
What does a global pandemic mean for the world’s drug supply chain? Howard Sklamberg, lawyer and former FDA deputy commissioner, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the threats that COVID-19 poses to medications for everything from cancer to diabetes to hypertension.
Published April 3, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Dr. Eric Toner, MD
The Center for Health Security is back with another round of expert answers to your most-asked COVID-19 questions. If we reopen everything back up, what is the risk that we’ll have a new surge of infections? As China considers loosening restrictions, how are they making those decisions? Why aren’t there human temperature monitors in public places like airports, hospitals, and grocery stores? Is anyone considering breast milk for antibody therapy? Can two positive people quarantine together? How many people will actually get COVID-19? What are the most important unanswered questions right now?
Published April 3, 2020
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH
As public health experts stress the importance of hygiene and social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19, what does this mean for the 2.3 million people incarcerated in the U.S.? Johns Hopkins Infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Chris Beyrer talks to Stephanie Desmon about the difficulties of protecting people in these facilities, the low-risk/high-reward strategy of releasing those held on administrative misdemeanors, and how undocumented people may be one of our most vulnerable populations.
Published April 2, 2020
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Dr. Brian Garibaldi, MD
Caring for patients with COVID-19 requires a new playbook in many ways. Dr. Brian Garibaldi, a pulmonologist in the ICU at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the medical director of the biocontainment unit, talks to Stephanie Desmon about his observations of COVID-19 patients including new challenges, changes to protocols, and coping with fears about he and his colleagues getting sick themselves.
Published April 1, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Dr. Lisa A. Cooper, MD, MPH
Equal access to resources, care, and information is a substantial problem for at-risk groups such as older adults, ethnic minorities, or those with low incomes even in the best of times. In this pandemic, where it’s critical to “flatten the curve” among all groups, these barriers cannot be ignored. Dr. Lisa Cooper, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what needs to be done to address these significant, persistent challenges.
Published April 1, 2020
Host: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Keri N. Althoff, PhD
Guest: Elizabeth A. Stuart, PhD
Like many, epidemiologist Keri Althoff and biostatistician Elizabeth Stuart are juggling different responsibilities and precautionary measures in the “new normal” of COVID-19. They talk to Stephanie Desmon not about their day jobs, but about play dates, community building while social distancing, ordering takeout, and how they’re managing COVID-19 as parents, neighbors, and friends.
Published March 31, 2020
Guest: Michael Greenberg, MD
Join dermatologist Dr. Michael Greenberg as he shares his unique view that blurs science and spirituality and how it’s helping him create stronger connections with patients.
Published April 10, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
This special episode of The Drug Report provides an update regarding the antiviral Remdesivir, which is the first investigational therapeutic to be studied under an FDA-approved NIH adaptive randomized controlled clinical trial for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Currently, there are three options through clinical trials for obtaining remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and pneumonia in the United States, as pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein explains.
Published April 10, 2020
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Diane E Custer, MD
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across our nation and the world, more and more patients are experiencing anxiety and depression. Joining Dr. John Russell to explain how we can console our patients—all while maintaining our own mental health along the way—is Dr. Diane Custer.
Published April 8, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Cyrus Shahpar, MD, MBA, MPH
What does it take to stand up a makeshift hospital—and enough people to staff it—in order to address critically ill patients of COVID-19? Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, Director of Prevent Epidemics team at Resolve to Save Lives talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how to quickly scale up medical responses in a crisis.
Published March 30, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Bin Cao, MD
Dr. Bin Cao, Vice President and Director of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, has worked on the frontlines of patient care in Wuhan for the past few months. By closely monitoring the disease, he and his team are beginning to unlock some of its secrets. Dr. Cao talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the situation has changed in Wuhan, what we can learn about safeguarding providers, the primary risk factors for death, and ongoing research.
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Crystal R. Watson, DrPH
What do we know this week that we didn’t know last week? What’s the status of serologic testing and can it be useful in helping to end social distancing practices? How good is the current evidence on chloroquine? Should COVID-19 patients avoid taking ibuprofen? What happens next if we are successful with social distancing? If you are older but have no chronic illness, are you still at high risk?
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Jeremy A. Green
Guest: Graham Mooney, PhD
COVID-19 is often compared to the 1918 flu pandemic that claimed millions of lives and caused massive social disruption. But to what extent is the novel coronavirus different and what lessons can we learn from the successes and failures of previous epidemics? Medical historians Jeremy Greene and Graham Mooney talk to Stephanie Desmon about this comparison, the history of quarantines, and what we will learn from what we are living through right now.
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Judi Melinek, MD
Dr. Judy Melinek is a forensic pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She explains the role of autopsies in the public health response to COVID-19 and how her work also plays a difficult but vital role in disposing of remains when health care systems become overloaded.
Published March 26, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Albert Wu, MD
In the midst of a pandemic, resilience is key for health care workers. Dr. Albert Wu, co-director of RISE—Resilience In Stressful Events—an emotional peer support structure at Johns Hopkins Hospital, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the importance of supporting hospital staff and what can be done to mitigate anxiety and stress in this unprecedented situation.
Published March 25, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Stephanie Desmon
Guest: Monica Malta MPH, PhD
The threat of COVID-19 presents a new challenge for citizens of many countries who are not used to government entities directing their behavior. It’s also an ideological shift for many: Change your individual behavior for the good of the greater community.
Monica Malta, an alumna of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School, is a social epidemiologist and a global health researcher at the University of Toronto. She examines how responses at local, national, and regional levels—along with individual and community behavioral changes—can change the pace of an outbreak. Malta talks to Stephanie Desmon of the Center for Communication Programs about effective response strategies, why the outbreak looked so different in Italy and Japan despite both countries having aging populations, and more.
Published March 25, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Susan Krenn
Guest: Stephanie Desmon
There are so many unknowns around COVID-19, so how can we find credible sources of information? What is the role of communication in the pandemic, and how can authorities get it right? Susan Krenn, Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, talks to Stephanie Desmon about how communication can combat fear if it’s credible, transparent, timely, and gives people the resources they need.
Published March 24, 2020
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
To help both his patients and colleagues alike find support and comfort during the COVID-19 global pandemic, dermatologist Dr. Michael Greenberg shares his experiences, coping strategies, and outlets that are available.
Published April 3, 2020
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
To help alleviate pressure from hospitals that are experiencing a high influx of patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic, dermatologist Dr. Michael Greenberg decided to keep his doors open and is now sharing what it’s like to see patients during this outbreak.
Published April 3, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
A small-town emergency room in Louisiana has now seen hundreds of COVID-19 patients. Here’s what’s been learned in an anonymous ER doctor’s own words, as narrated by Dr. Matt Birnholz.
Published April 2, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The international supply chain of medical equipment and materials has been strained by Asian and European countries already hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why healthcare gear in dire need is now being looked at from a different perspective by university research teams. Listen in as Dr. Matt Birnholz sheds light on innovative ways PPE is being manufactured by Georgia Tech.
Published April 1, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
In the absence of a vaccine or antivirals against COVID-19, controlling its transmission through social distancing has been an essential strategy. And to prove it, a team from the University of Western Australia conducted research using a simulation city which implemented social distancing versus a city without it. Dr. Matt Birnholz summarizes this study's staggering findings.
Published April 1, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Strategies of self-isolation from caregivers treating patients with COVID-19 are taking an emotional toll, cutting them off from their support networks at a time when workplace stress is at an all-time high. But the alternative, to many, is unthinkable.
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on concerns that the lack of new antibiotics threatens global efforts to contain drug-resistant infections. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein highlights WHO’s efforts on a variety of fronts to counter the threat of antimicrobial resistance by improving infection prevention and control and promoting the appropriate use of existing and future antibiotics.
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
As the number of novel coronavirus cases continue to rise on a national and global scale, how is the FDA responding? Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein provides an overview of the FDA’s action plan with the overall goal of collaborating with interagency and international partners, product developers, and global regulators to speed up the development and availability of medical products needed to diagnose, treat, mitigate, and prevent such outbreaks.
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Emerging reports are painting a far more complex picture of clinical presentations for COVID-19 than previously thought, stemming to exceptionally high viral loads in nasal cavities. How will this affect the risk profile for otolaryngologists performing essential ENT procedures?
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Healthcare workers face a new threat beyond the difficult prospects of overrun hospitals, PPE shortages, and incidental spread of the virus to their loved ones. As the pandemic escalates, shifting perceptions and moods from the public have put some clinicians in the crosshairs.
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Although there are currently no antiviral medicines or vaccines licensed by the FDA for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19, some progress has been made as the first investigational therapeutic is to be studied under an FDA-approved NIH adaptive randomized controlled clinical trial for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein reports on this and other investigational therapies.
Published March 27, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Monica Schoch-Spana, PhD
For many, COVID-19 has revealed an anxiety-ridden world of unknowns. Protecting our mental health is just as important as protecting our physical health in this pandemic. But how can we find comfort if we’re inundated with scary messages and physically cut off from people we love? Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana of the Center for Health Security talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about caring for ourselves and for vulnerable populations like frontline healthcare providers, friends, and neighbors in quarantine, and those with underlying health conditions like anxiety or depression.
Published March 23, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Jennifer Nuzzo, MD
Why is the response to COVID-19 so much more severe than the response to other outbreaks like H1N1 or SARS? Will a vaccine be more effective than the usual flu vaccine? Has the shortage of available testing been resolved? Are we seeing more cases because of increases in transmission or testing? Why does COVID-19 cause shortness of breath? Can drinking cold water increase your risk of infection?
Jennifer Nuzzo of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security addresses some myths and questions.
Published March 20, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Stephanie Desmon
Recent volatility in the financial markets have shaken investors and left everyone asking: Are we currently in a financial crisis? Author and expert on financial crises Kathleen Day of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School talks to Stephanie Desmon of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs about how the novel coronavirus is affecting local and global economies and what consumers should do right now.
Published March 19, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Leonard S. Rubenstein, JD
What are the human rights considerations in the response to COVID-19? How can societies move to control the spread of the virus in ways that do not create panic or unnecessarily restrict communities? What are critical considerations as governments try to strike the right balance between restrictions and depriving people of the ability to live their lives? Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks to Len Rubenstein, Conflict and Health program director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights.
Published March 18, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Caitlin Rivers, PhD, MPH
What is #FlattenTheCurve? Caitlin Rivers, senior scholar at the Center for Health Security talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about this response strategy, what it means for you, and how staying home can help ensure that everyone who needs healthcare in an outbreak will be able to get it.
Published March 17, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD
Is there potential for using antibodies generated by people who have recovered from COVID-19 to prevent infection and treat those who are sick? Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks to Arturo Casadevall, chair of Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, about a landmark 1934 case where antibodies helped stopped a measles outbreak.
Published March 17, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Jeffrey Kahn, MD
Guest: Nancy E. Kass, ScD
Is it right to publicly disclose information about people who get sick with COVID-19? What are society’s obligations to people who are quarantined? Is it time to start thinking about how to allocate critical healthcare resources in case this epidemic stretches the healthcare system beyond its capacity to care for everyone? Dr. Josh Sharfstein speaks with renowned ethicists Jeffery Kahn and Nancy Kass, the director and deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.
Published March 16, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Professor Lucy Wilson
Dr. Lucy Wilson, professor of Emergency Health Services at University of Maryland Baltimore County, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about why the Seattle outbreak is an important bellwether for the rest of the country in terms of protecting vulnerable populations and what facilities and first responders can do to control and stop outbreaks like COVID-19.
Published March 13, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Thomas V. Inglesby, MD
Can people without symptoms spread COVID-19? Can children get COVID-19? Should you cancel an upcoming gathering? Are school closures helpful? If you’ve had COVID-19, are you immune? Are men more affected than women? Dr. Tom Inglesby from the Center for Health Security answers these and some of the most asked questions.
Published March 13, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Georges Benjamin, MD
Weak points in the U.S.’s health and social policies—like paid sick leave and universal health coverage—disproportionately affect underserved communities. COVID-19 may present added challenges for these populations. Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks to Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, about public health’s role in preventing communities from being left behind.
Published March 12, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Gabor Kelen, MD
What role do local health departments play in outbreaks, and how are they preparing for COVID-19? As Commissioner of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health in Ohio, Terry Allan is responsible for the well-being of over 850,000 people. Allan talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about public trust and the importance of open information sharing and how ongoing relationship building and past experience help set the stage for protecting people in their communities.
Published March 11, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Terry Allan
Why the director of Hopkins’ Office of Critical Event Preparedness is preparing but not panicking: Dr. Gabor Kelen, Director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what’s contributing to public fears about COVID-19, how the institution assesses what actions to take, and his one piece of advice for people experiencing mild symptoms.
Published March 10, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Lisa Maragakis, MD
COVID-19 presents new challenges for health care providers in the midst of respiratory virus season. Dr. Lisa Maragakis, Senior Director of Infection Prevention at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about standard precautions, protecting hospital staff while ensuring coverage, how previous outbreaks have laid some groundwork to address this one, and what you can do to help.
Published March 9, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Jennifer Nuzzo, MD
Is hand sanitizer effective? Will this spread throughout the US? Should I cancel my upcoming travel plans? Can COVID-19 tests tell the difference between someone who has had the virus and someone who currently has it? Are face masks effective?
Jennifer Nuzzo of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security answers these and some of the most asked questions.
Published March 6, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Andrew Stanley Pekosz, PhD
Tune in for an interview with Professor Andrew Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an expert in the basic science of respiratory viruses, including influenza and SARS. Dr. Pekosz shares what’s known and what is yet to be discovered about the novel coronavirus.
Published March 5, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Justin Lessler, PhD
Dr. Josh Sharfstein interviews infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Justin Lessler on the features of viruses that lead to worldwide contagion, how COVID-19 compares with the flu in terms of speed, and where the evidence now points for this novel coronavirus.
Dr. Justin Lessler is an Associate Professor in Epidemiology. Dr. Josh Sharfstein is the Vice Dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former secretary of Maryland’s Department of Health.
Published March 4, 2020
Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD
Guest: Jennifer Nuzzo, MD
Guest: Tara Kirk Sell, PhD, MA
Guest: Lauren M. Sauer, MS
With COVID-19 beginning to spread via community transmission in the U.S. and the WHO raising its risk assessment to “very high,” experts from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine offer insights on the growing global public health concern.
Featuring Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo and Dr. Tara Kirk Sell of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Lauren Sauer of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response; moderated by Dr. Josh Sharfstein, Vice Dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former secretary of Maryland's Department of Health.
Published March 3, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Among the most touted candidates in the hunt for effective coronavirus treatments are the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine. Will these drugs become effective treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis agents?
Published March 23, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
COVID-19 has irreversibly altered the progression track for the next generation of physicians, with cancellations of Match Day events, Board exams, and clinical rotations in effect. Now an increasing number of entities are calling on medical students to join front-line efforts to combat the virus.
Published March 23, 2020
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Reports from hospitals in multiple states speak to a rapidly diminishing supply of personal protective equipment, leading healthcare systems to adopt alternative solutions to the shortage. But will these approaches meet the rising demand, and will clinicians be adequately protected along the way?
Published March 23, 2020
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Charles P. Gerba, MD
The novel coronavirus outbreak that began in late 2019 may be the first global epidemic pronounced in the social media age, with myths and misinformation populating just as quickly and frequently as new cases. But is there any truth behind these claims? Here to shed light on this global health crisis is microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Fred Moss, MD
Before embarking on a worldwide journey to learn how mental illness is perceived around the world, psychiatrist and creator of the “Global Madness” docuseries Dr. Fred Moss caught up with Dr. Jennifer Caudle to explain what made him begin this global initiative and what he hopes to achieve and share with his colleagues when the docuseries is complete.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Guest: Jorge Garcia, MD
Even though people have gained immunity to the Zika virus in certain parts of the world, Zika outbreaks can—and do—still occur. Tune in as Dr. Jorge Garcia joins Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss the who, what, where, why, and how of the Zika virus, the once headline-dominating epidemic.
Host: Tim Rush
Dr. Johnny Shen, a family practice physician trained in Houston, TX, investigated whether there could be another way to achieve work-life balance early in his career. What he discovered was locum tenens. This aha moment set him on a unique and fulfilling career path that has both defied his expectations and changed the perception of the healthcare industry.
Host: Tim Rush
Guest: Noel Lumpkin, MD
Dr. Noel Lumpkin, author of Road Warrior Physician, produces a must-read for all physicians, no matter their career stage. Through her insights, Dr. Lumpkin will equip you with the tools you need to begin your career as a locum tenens physician—from the steps to take, the benefits received, and job landscape.
Host: Tim Rush
Guest: Robin Mcalister Mangione, MD
Ever dreamt about selling everything, moving onto a sailboat, and traveling across the world? That’s exactly what Dr. Mangione did when she decided to become a locum tenen physician. With help from resources like Weatherby Healthcare, she can practice her passion wherever the winds may blow.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Tobacco use accounts for nearly half a million deaths in the U.S. each year and is the leading cause of lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association.
However, the economic and societal costs of smoking are also staggering. Every year, Americans spend more than $300 billion, which includes both medical care and lost productivity. Unfortunately, some people will have to pay more depending on the state in which they live.
Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with analyst Jill Gonzales from Wallethub, a financial website that calculated the true per-person cost of smoking in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Meredith Wadman, BM, BCh, M.S.
Until the late 1960s, tens of thousands of American children suffered crippling birth defects if their mothers had been exposed to rubella, popularly known as German measles, while pregnant; there was no vaccine and little understanding of how the disease devastated fetuses.
In June 1962, a young biologist in Philadelphia, using human tissue samples sent from Sweden, produced a line of cells that allowed the creation of vaccines against rubella and other common childhood diseases. Two years later, in the midst of a massive German measles epidemic, the vaccine that would one day wipe out homegrown rubella was introduced. This vaccine has since protected more than 150 million people in the United States, and its development method has also led to other vaccines that have protected billions of people around the world from polio, rabies, chicken pox, measles, hepatitis A, shingles, and adenovirus.
Host Dr. John Russell chats with Meredith Wadman, author of The Vaccine Race: Science, Politics, and the Human Costs of Defeating Disease, about the story of both the science of this urgent race and the political and ethical controversies that nearly ended it prematurely.
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
Guest: Michele Meltzer, MD
Rheumatology services are limited or non-existent in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Basic diagnostic tests, biological agents, and treatments are either unavailable or not affordable for the majority of people living in that area.
This shortage results in patients not having the benefit of early diagnosis and management of relatively cheap and cost-effective therapies. Instead, they present at advanced stages of disease with otherwise preventable morbidity.
Host Michael Greenberg chats with Dr. Michele Meltzer, Associate Professor at Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia and President of the non-profit organization, Rheumatology for All, about providing medical training and care for countries with limited or non-existent rheumatology services.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Cigarette smoking is one of the leading cause of preventable death in North America, an unfortunate statistic that is rapidly replicating across the rest of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts based on current trends that cigarette smoking will kill a billion people this century.
But what can be done to reverse this trend?
Host Brian McDonough talks with David Sweanor, Adjunct Professor of Law, and Chair of the advisory committee for the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, at the University of Ottawa. Mr. Sweanor has been spearheading efforts to reduce cigarette smoking nationally and globally.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Luanne Freer, MD
Practicing medicine at 17,000 feet brings a unique set of challenges for doctors, including altitude-related sicknesses, IV fluids freezing, and the need for duct tape to serve as an essential medical tool.
Dr. Matt Birnholz chats with Dr. Luanne Freer, Founder and Director of Everest ER, a medical clinic at Mount Everest Base Camp serving Everest climbers, support staff, and the local Nepalese population.
To find out more information about Everest ER, please visit http://www.everester.org.
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: Lawrence Loh, MD
Almost two-thirds of medical students expect to join a medical mission during medical school and their medical early careers. Yet despite positive intent, such short-term experiences may exacerbate global health inequities and even cause harm.
Dr. Lawrence Loh, Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, joins host Dr. Andrew Wilner to talk about the benefits and pitfalls of medical mission work for the communities being served.
Host: Tim Rush
Guest: Robin Mcalister Mangione, MD
Host Tim Rush chats with Dr. Robin Mangione, a locum tenens physician with Weatherby Healthcare whose life on a sailboat allows her to take urgent care assignments wherever the sea takes her.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Infectious disease has the terrifying power to disrupt everyday life on a global scale, overwhelming public and private resources and bringing trade and transportation to a grinding halt.
Host Dr. John Russell sits down with Dr. Osterholm to talk about the book Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs. They talk about how we could wake up to a reality in which many antibiotics no longer cure, bioterror is a certainty, and the threat of a disastrous influenza pandemic looms ever larger. Only by understanding the challenges we face can we prevent the unthinkable from becoming the inevitable.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Host Dr. Russell sits down with Dr. Steven Hatch, an infectious disease specialist and author of the book, Inferno: a Doctor's Ebola Story, about his experience in Liberia during the heart of the Ebola crisis.
Dr. Steven Hatch first came to Liberia in November 2013, to work at a hospital in Monrovia. Six months later, several of the physicians Dr. Hatch had mentored and served with were dead or barely clinging to life, and Ebola had become a world health emergency. Hundreds of victims perished each week; whole families were destroyed in a matter of days; so many died so quickly that the culturally taboo practice of cremation had to be instituted to dispose of the bodies. With little help from the international community and a population ravaged by disease and fear, the war-torn African nation was simply unprepared to deal with the catastrophe.
A physician’s memoir about the ravages of a terrible disease and the small hospital that fought to contain it, Inferno is also an explanation of the science and biology of Ebola: how it is transmitted and spreads with such ferocity. And as Dr. Hatch notes, while Ebola is temporarily under control, it will inevitably re-emerge―as will …
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: John Kihm, MD
Host Dr. Andrew Wilner explores different opportunities to combine medicine with outside interests when off call.
Today, he talks with Dr. John Kihm, an internist in private practice in Durham, NC. who fell in love with North Carolina's Outer Banks and Ocracoke Island off Cape Hatteras while a 4th year medical student. He has found a way to combine his passion for volunteer medical work with his passion for flying by commuting to Ocracoke one weekend a month to conduct his special "house call" practice.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: Amy Mackey, MD
Hosts Dr. John Russell and Dr. Amy Mackey sit down to reflect on their individual and shared experiences participating in medical missions from their respective vantage points of family medicine and obstetrics & gynecology.
Host: Tim Rush
Guest: Walter Boutwell
Host Tim Rush chats with Dr. Walter Boutwell, a neonatologist from Montgomery, Alabama about his experience as a locum tenens doctor for the last 17 years, affording him the unique flexibility to participate in several medical missions and write works of speculative fiction.
Host: Tim Rush
Guest: Roxanne Richards, MD
Many people dream of packing up their bags and moving to the Alaskan wilderness, but practicing medicine in Alaska comes with unique challenges.
Host Tim Rush talks with Dr. Roxanne Richards, a Family Medicine Physician at Norton Sound Regional Health Outpatient Clinic in Nome, Alaska about her experience working as a Locum Tenens doctor in Alaska.
Host: Renée Simone Yolanda Allen, MD, MHSc., FACOG
Guest: Carmen Brown, MD
What does it take to pick up your practice and move to a foreign country? And what can be gained and lost in translation?
Host Dr. Renee Allen chats with Dr. Carmen Brown,a board-certified OB/GYN practicing in New Zealand, about her experiences and perspectives transitioning a clinical practice and family home to another continent.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
News about the Zika virus have dominated health headlines, but understandings about the full range of viral transmission routes, symptomatology, complications, and rising endemic zones remain unclear for many clinicians.
Joining Dr. Jennifer Caudle for updates in recognitions and treatment for Zika virus infection is Dr. Kecia Gaither, practicing OB/GYN and maternal fetal medicine specialist, and perinatal consultant at St. Lukes Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Most recently, Dr. Gaither served as Director of Perinatal Outreach at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Prior to this post, she served as the Vice Chairman and Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Gaither earned her MPH in health policy and management at Columbia University.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
A fascinating and shocking historical exposé, The Malaria Project is the story of America's secret mission to combat malaria during World War II—a campaign modeled after a German project which tested experimental drugs on men gone mad from syphilis. Karen M. Masterson, a journalist turned malaria researcher, uncovers the complete story behind this dark tale of science, medicine and war.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
In the aftermath of mass violence, from September 11th to the Paris attack to the Orlando shooting, fear and confusion often dominate the public consciousness. Unfortunately, most clinicians are not trained in tactical medicine to respond in times of crisis such as these. But a small subset of survuval medicine experts are working to change this pattern.
Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with Dr. Joseph Alton, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of OB/GYN, and author of The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way. The two discuss key survival and disaster response considerations for clinicians caught in violently dangerous situations.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Dr. Mary Guinan was one of the first scientists to conduct an initial investigation into the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, she was one of the first female physicians to work on smallpox eradication and has been a leading researcher and educator on sexually transmitted diseases.
Dr. Mary Guinan is the founding dean of the School of Community Health Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is now a professor emerita.
She joins Dr. Jennifer Caudle to discuss her book, Adventures of a Female Medical Detective which explores Dr. Guinan's life in medicine, including her many experiences with emerging disease outbreaks and the efforts to control them. She provides a unique female perspective from a time when very few women worked in the field.
Host: Alan S. Brown, MD, FACC, FAHA, FNLA
Like in the United States, Canadian citizens contend with a high pediatric prevelance of lipid disorders, particularly familial hypercholesterolemia. However, perspectives on clinical care and standards public health priorities to address dyslipidemia differ markedly between these two countries. Can American practitioners and health policy experts alike benefit from Canadian approaches to lipidology?
Dr. Alan Brown welcomes Dr. Julie St. Pierre, Professor of Pediatrics at Sherbrooke University in Canada, to discuss pediatric lipid disorder management across North American borders.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
In recent years, malaria has emerged as a cause celebre for voguish philanthropists. Bill Gates, Bono, and Laura Bush are only a few of the personalities who have lent their names--and opened their pocketbooks--in hopes of stopping the disease. Still, in a time when every emergent disease inspires waves of panic, why aren't we doing more to tame one of our oldest foes? And how does a pathogen that we've known how to prevent for more than a century still infect 500 million people every year, killing nearly one million of them?
In The Fever, journalist Sonia Shah sets out to answer those questions, delivering a timely, inquisitive chronicle of the illness and its influence on human lives. Dr. John Russell hosts this fascinating discussion about her book.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Over the past fifty years, more than three hundred infectious diseases have either newly emerged or reemerged, appearing in territories where they’ve never been seen before. Ninety percent of epidemiologists expect that one of them will cause a deadly pandemic sometime in the next two generations. But which one, and how?
In Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond, prizewinning journalist Sonia Shah interweaves history, original reportage, and personal narrative to explore the origins of contagions, drawing parallels between cholera, one of history’s most deadly and disruptive pandemic-causing pathogens, and the new diseases that stalk humankind today.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Reporting from the Caribbean island of Bonaire, Dr. Brian McDonough provides an update on local public sentiments and concerns around the continuing spread of Zika virus infections across the world.
[Read the Article]
To some, end of life care in the United States is considered resource intensive, expensive, and inattentive to patients' needs. So how does the United States compare to other countries? A new study examined several health care measures at the end of life for cancer patients in five European countries, Canada and the United States.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine compared the health care experience for cancer patients older than 65, in Canada, Belgium, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States. They examined several clinical measures during the final six months of life.
The United States and Netherlands had the lowest percentage of patients dying in the hospital. The United States also had the fewest hospitalizations and the smallest number of days patients spent in the hospital. In contrast, intensive care admissions were twice as common in the United States compared to the other countries.
During the last six months of life, patients in Norway and Canada had higher hospital costs than patients in the United States. There was less spending in Germany and Belgium, but the lowest expenditures were in the Netherlands and …
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Harpreet Sood, Sr. Fellow to the CEO of the National Health Service of England. Dr. Sood addresses the strengths of the health systems of both the UK and the US, and discusses innovations in care delivery and public health initiatives that are poised to transform the quality of care in both countries.
Dr. John Iskander and Dr. George Luber revisit their discussion on climate change and its impact on human health to update some of the important new scientific findings that have taken place.
Since the first session on climate change:
- 2014 has been confirmed as the hottest year on record,
- Extreme climate events are occurring more frequently, and
- Communities are facing heightened health risks due to drought.
Global health security is the protection of the health of people and societies worldwide. With diseases a plane ride or border crossing away, the importance of global health security has never been clearer. Patterns of global travel and trade pose greater opportunities for infectious diseases to emerge and spread nearly anywhere within 24 hours. The Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which has infected more than 28,000 people across 10 countries and has caused more than 11,200 deaths, highlights the importance of ensuring that every country is prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks and emerging health threats.
In this session of Public Health Grand Rounds from the CDC, experts discuss how CDC, other U.S. government agencies, and global partners are working to promote global health security as an international priority and accelerate progress toward a world safe and secure from epidemics of infectious disease.
For more details on this Grand Rounds session and its participants, click here.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Joining host Dr. Matt Birnholz is Sarah Marchal Murray, Chief Operating Officer at The END Fund, a private philanthropic initiative dedicated to controlling and eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Over 1.4 billion people globally are affected by one or more of the most common NTDs, including 875 million children. The END Fund focuses on tackling the five most prevalent NTDs: intestinal worms,schistosomiasis,lymphatic filariasis,trachoma, and river blindness.
Host: Paul Rokuskie
Associations between autism and gastrointestinal health are being actively investigated in medical research. Two major projects, each spanning three years, are focusing in particular on intestinal bacteria, ie the microbiome, and constipation, respectively. Leading the charge on these investigations are Drs. Pat Levitt and James Versalovic. Dr. Levitt is Chair of Developmental Neurogenetics at Children's Hospital - Los Angeles (CHLA), while Dr. Versalovic is Chief of the Department of Pathology at Texas Children's Hospital. Their work seeks to better understand how the human microbiome impacts neural health and development, and how refined treatments aimed at changing this potential "gut/brain axis" may aid therapies for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
The funding for the research project that Dr. Pat Levitt and Dr. James Versalovic are conducting is awarded by a grant from Autism Speaks.
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
Heated/Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) is one of the most innovative treatments available today for complex abdominal cancers. What is it? Who is a candidate? And, what are the expected outcomes for our patients? Host Dr. Lee Freedman welcomes Dr. Giorgos Karakousis, Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to discuss HIPEC.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Carolyn Miles, President & Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children. Save the Children is the leading independent organization inspiring breakthroughs in how the world treats children, achieving immediate and lasting change in their lives. The global Save the Children movement currently serves over 143 million children in the US and in 120 countries. During her senior leadership tenure, the organization has more than doubled the number of children it reaches with nutrition, health, education and other programs. Resources have gone from $250m to almost $700m, with 89.4% spent on programs for children. Carolyn has focused on hunger, learning outcomes, and ending preventable child deaths as her signature issues.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
What are the differences in managing the Ebola virius in Africa versus the United States? It has been relatively controlled to date, but what are the major concerns in spreading? Host Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes special guest Dr. Kamar Adeleke, cardiologist in New Castle, Delaware, whose practice includes frequent travels to Nigeria where he teaches at affiliated medical schools.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Deane Marchbein, President of the American Board of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). Dr. Marchbein joined MSF in 2006 to work as an anesthesiologist in MSF's surgical program in Ivory Coast. She has worked with MSF in Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Libya, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria, and as a medical doctor in Libya and Lebanon.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Twenty-five years ago CDC played a pivotal role in the discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C. After the isolation of HCV, implementation of screening of blood products and organs for donation led to a decrease in rates of HCV infection between 1990 and 2009. In spite of these successes, HCV still remains a serious threat, both domestically and abroad. HCV remains the most common chronic blood borne infection in the United States, affecting approximately 3.9 million individuals. However up to 50% of HCV-infected persons are unaware of their infection. Globally, there are 180 million people who are chronically infected with the virus, and 3-4 million new infections occur every year.
Recent therapeutic advances hold the potential to halt the progression of HCV infection and disease. While HCV-infected persons can be effectively treated, more effort is needed to screen, diagnosis, treat and provide continuity of care. This session of Public Health Grand Rounds will discuss how new screening guidelines, testing methods and therapeutic advances will provide us with an opportunity to improve individual outcomes and to eventually eliminate HCV infection.
To view the complete video recording of this and other CDC Public Health Grand Rounds sessions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/
…
Host: Frank Russomano
What are the continuing rehabilitation efforts in Haiti? And, how can you assist in the continual medical needs of this country? Host Frank Russomano welcomes pharmacist Ro Brual to discuss his special volunteer work in Haiti before, during and after the Haiti earthquake of 2010. Mr. Brual is a pharmacist and Associate Consultant of Medical Education at Eli Lilly & Company.
Host: Tim Rush
From two branches of military medical service to rural reservations, island clinics, cowboy ranches, cruise ships, underwater residences and potentially even outer space, Dr. Thomas Anderson has practiced medicine in virtually all kinds of environments. Learn how the career trajectory of this "Adventure Physician" has taken place, and how it can inform your own practice options today.
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
What do we need to do as a medical community to better address homophobia and its innumerable impacts on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients? Joining host Dr. Maurice Pickard is Hudson Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally. Athlete Ally is a nonprofit organization focused on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports by educating allies in the athletic community and empowering them to take a stand.
Download and listen today!
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that remains an important global cause of morbidity and mortality. In most cases, TB can be treated and cured by taking a combination of several drugs for 6 to 12 months. When inappropriate or incomplete treatment takes place, however, TB bacteria can develop multidrug resistance (MDR). Annually, there are approximately 500,000 cases of MDR TB, and 150,000 deaths. Although there are simple rapid tests that have improved the diagnosis of the disease, there is immense potential to increase the number of persons diagnosed with MDR TB, and to do so more quickly to initiate treatment sooner.
This session of CDC′s Public Health Grand Rounds will explore how more patients can benefit from advances in diagnostic and treatment options, resulting in an overall reduction in morbidity from MDR TB. The role of CDC, WHO and other partners in combating this public health epidemic will also be discussed.
To view the complete video recording of this and other CDC Public Health Grand Rounds sessions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/
Host: Prathima Setty, MD
According to the American Gastroenterological Association, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common gastrointestinal diagnosis recorded on outpatient physician visits in the United States, which is remarkable considering the vagaries of the diagnosis. What are the symptoms and updated treatments for this common ailment, and how do physicians monitor for signs of progression to more serious disease states like Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer? Host Dr. Prathima Setty welcomes Dr. Anish Sheth, Director of Princeton University Medical Center's Esophageal Program, to help answer these and other questions.
Download and listen today!
Host: John J. Russell, MD
When the next pandemic arrives, what will it look like? From which innocent host animal will it emerge? Will we be ready? Addressing these and other questions is David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. Mr. Quammen's book illuminates the origins and dynamics of Ebola, SARS, bird flu, Lyme disease, and other emerging threats.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
500,000 Americans died over a 6 week period; is this the latest thriller from Hollywood, or a piece of American history? Joining host Dr. John Russell to elaborate is Gina Kolata, acclaimed reporter for The New York Times and author of Flu:The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It. In Flu, Ms. Kolata unravels the mystery of this lethal virus. From Alaska to Norway, from the streets of Hong Kong to the corridors of the White House, Kolata tracks the race to recover the live pathogen and probes the fear that has impelled government policy ever since. A gripping work of science writing, Flu addresses the prospects for a great epidemic's recurrence and considers what can be done to prevent it.
Host: Paul Rokuskie
Host Paul Rokuskie is joined by Drs. Declan Murphy and Will Spooren. Dr. Murphy is Professor of Psychiatry and Brain Maturation at Kings College, London, and Dr. Spooren is Group Leader of Behavioral Pharmacology at Roche Pharmaceuticals. Their topic for discussion is the large academic and industrial consortium known as European Autism Interventions, or EU-AIMS, which serves as a collaborative network bridging experts in autism across the spectrum of pharmacologic research and development.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
A maddened creature, frothing at the mouth, lunges at an innocent victim and, with a bite, transforms its prey into another raving monster. It's a scenario that underlies our darkest tales of supernatural horror, but its power derives from a very real virus, a deadly scourge known to mankind from our earliest days. In this fascinating exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy speak with host Dr. John Russell about the history, science, and cultural mythology of rabies as described in their book "Rabid."
Guest: Anthony J. Lembo, MD
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Constipation is one of the most common problems encountered in general practice, and yet is all too often overlooked by physicians when patients are uncomfortable to mention it. How can clinicians best address this issue with reluctant patients, and what are the emerging therapies for chronic sufferers? Host Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Dr. Anthony Lembo, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the GI Motility Laboratory at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to highlight updates in the management of constipation.
Guest: Shelly Batra, MD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Multidrug Resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis is a growing public health epidemic in India. Experts estimate there could easily be over 5 million cases of MDR TB at present, with each untreated patient capable of spreading the disease to 10-15 others per year. The non-profit organization Operation ASHA has expanded its role considerably over the past few years to stem this tide of TB transmission from the poorest to the most prosperous communities, bringing innovative treatment protocols right to the patients' doorsteps. Dr. Shelly Batra, president of Operation ASHA, discusses the progress being made in this increasingly global public health campaign. Hosted by Dr. Maurice Pickard.
Guest: Shelly Batra, MD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Multidrug Resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis is a growing public health epidemic in India. The non-profit organization Operation ASHA has expanded its role considerably over the past few years to stem this tide of TB transmission within both the poorest and the most prosperous communities, bringing innovative treatment protocols right to the patients' doorsteps. Dr. Shelly Batra, president of Operation ASHA, discusses the progress being made in this increasingly global public health campaign. Hosted by Dr. Maurice Pickard.
Guest: Mary Jane Minkin, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Millions of insured women will have additional choices when it comes to their preferred method of birth control due to the Affordable Care Act for Women. But, what does that mean for health care providers and their patients?How does it change how patients are given treatment? Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Dr. Mary Jane Minkin. Dr. Minkin will address these questions and more. Dr. Minkin is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and has a private practice in New Haven, Conn.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
This session of CDC′s Public Health Grand Rounds explores the control of tobacco use-the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease worldwide. Currently, approximately 6 million people die each year due to tobacco-related illnesses, a figure expected to increase to more than 8 million a year by 2030. If current global trends continue, tobacco use will cause up to 1 billion deaths in the 21st century.
Global tobacco control has been called a "best buy" in public health. Beyond monitoring of tobacco use and exposure, this session will discuss effective prevention strategies at the personal, population, and policy levels.
This is Part 2 of a lecture in two parts.
Part 1 >>
To view the complete video recording of this and other CDC Public Health Grand Rounds sessions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
This session of CDC′s Public Health Grand Rounds explores the control of tobacco use-the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease worldwide. Currently, approximately 6 million people die each year due to tobacco-related illnesses, a figure expected to increase to more than 8 million a year by 2030. If current global trends continue, tobacco use will cause up to 1 billion deaths in the 21st century.
Global tobacco control has been called a "best buy" in public health. Beyond monitoring of tobacco use and exposure, this session will discuss effective prevention strategies at the personal, population, and policy levels.
This is Part 1 of a lecture in two parts.
Part 2 >>
To view the complete video recording of this and other CDC Public Health Grand Rounds sessions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
ReachMD, in cooperation with HealthDay, Presents Conference Coverage of the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association, held from June 24 to 28 in San Diego.
This year's meeting attracted more than 14,000 participants from around the world, including scientists, physicians, and other health care professionals. The conference highlighted the latest advances in diabetes research and improving patient care, with presentations focusing on treatment recommendations and advances toward a cure for diabetes.
Guest: Heidi Cordi, MD
Host: Shane Jackson
Volunteer medical professionals can be on the ground, where they're greatly needed, within 72 hours of a crisis or disaster. Dr. Heidi Cordi, medical director of NYC Medics in New York City, joins host Shane Jackson to discuss what you need to know to become among the professionals on the ground as a volunteer. They also talk about the skills requirements for becoming a volunteer and the specialists that are most in need.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Presenting this session of Grand Rounds is Dr. Leslie Boyer, founding director of the VIPER Institute in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona.
This is Part 3 of a lecture in three parts.
Part 1 >>
Part 2 >>
To view the complete video recording of this and other Grand Rounds sessions from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, visit their website.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Presenting this session of Grand Rounds is Dr. Leslie Boyer, founding director of the VIPER Institute in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona.
This is Part 2 of a lecture in three parts.
Part 1 >>
Part 3 >>
To view the complete video recording of this and other Grand Rounds sessions from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, visit their website.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Presenting this session of Grand Rounds is Dr. Leslie Boyer, founding director of the VIPER Institute in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona.
This is Part 1 of a lecture in three parts.
Part 2 >>
Part 3 >>
To view the complete video recording of this and other Grand Rounds sessions from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, visit their website.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
ReachMD, in cooperation with HealthDay, Presents Conference Coverage of Digestive Disease Week 2011, held from May 7 to 10 in Chicago.
This year's meeting attracted approximately 15,000 participants from around the world, including researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy, and gastrointestinal surgery. The conference featured approximately 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures, highlighting recent advances in gastroenterology research, medicine, and technology.
Host: Aaron Carroll, MD
Guest: Rodrigo M. Vianna, MD
Multivisceral transplant entails the transplant of nearly all the abdominal organs, with the exception of the kidneys. It is a highly unusual procedure, with only about 30-40 such surgeries occurring per year in the United States, compared to thousands of liver transplants performed annually, in only about seven transplant centers in the United States. Host Dr. Aaron Carroll welcomes Dr. Rodrigo Vianna, director of intestinal and multivisceral transplant at Indiana University Health, to discuss when multivisceral transplant can be used to treat patients with rare tumors, such as neuroendorcrine or desmoid tumors.
Guest: Glenn Geelhoed, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
Dr. Glenn Geelhoed is a marathoner, photographer, and big game hunter, who has been on over 200 international medical missions to developing countries, and helped broker peace between warring Sudanese tribes. He talks with Second Opinion Live hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matthew Birnholz about what he has learned from his patients in the poorest parts of the world about doing more with fewer resources. Plus: medical oddities, and conflicting research on sodium.
Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA
Guest: Mary Fargen, PA-C
Physician assistant Mary Fargen, 2011 AAPA Humanitarian PA of the Year, fell in love with the people of Haiti when she traveled there on her first medical mission in 2004. Since then, she has been to the island more than a dozen times, volunteering her time working with medical providers to help improve medical care. Following the devestating earthquake in January 2010, she ramped up her efforts to help Haitian providers, working with the Hatian and Caribbean American Organization of Texas, based in Kileen, Texas. Ms. Fargen tells host Lisa Dandrea Lenell the personal story of her work in Haiti.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The CDC commemorates Dr. Robert Koch's 1882 discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB. Over the past 129 years, history has witnessed many advances over in TB control. Through the intervention efforts of CDC, USAID, WHO's Stop TB Partnership, and many others, TB death rates have fallen by 35% since 1990, and as many as 6 million lives have been saved since 1995.
In spite of these successes, TB still remains a serious threat, especially for those infected with HIV. HIV is the single most powerful risk factor for TB disease and one of the leading causes of death among people infected with HIV. Among the 1.7 million lives that TB claimed in 2009, 380,000 were among people with HIV infection. While people with HIV who have TB can be effectively diagnosed and treated, more effort is needed to diagnose and treat TB promptly and effectively, and to scale-up preventive treatment for TB.
This special session of Public Health Grand Rounds shed light on myths and misconceptions about TB and HIV, and discussed actions needed in preventing deaths from this lethal combination.
This is Part 3 of a lecture in three parts.
Part 1 >>
Part …
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The CDC commemorates Dr. Robert Koch's 1882 discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB. Over the past 129 years, history has witnessed many advances over in TB control. Through the intervention efforts of CDC, USAID, WHO's Stop TB Partnership, and many others, TB death rates have fallen by 35% since 1990, and as many as 6 million lives have been saved since 1995.
But in spite of these successes, TB still remains a serious threat, especially for those infected with HIV— the single most powerful risk factor for TB disease and one of the leading causes of death among people infected with HIV. Among the 1.7 million lives that TB claimed in 2009, 380,000 were among people with HIV infection. While people with HIV who have TB can be effectively diagnosed and treated, more effort is needed to diagnose and treat TB promptly and effectively, and to scale-up preventive treatment for TB.
This special session of Public Health Grand Rounds sheds light on myths and misconceptions about TB and HIV, and discusses actions needed in preventing deaths from this lethal combination.
This is Part 2 of a lecture in three parts.
Part 1 >>
Part …
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The CDC commemorates Dr. Robert Koch's 1882 discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB. Over the past 129 years, history has witnessed many advances over in TB control. Through the intervention efforts of CDC, USAID, WHO's Stop TB Partnership, and many others, TB death rates have fallen by 35% since 1990, and as many as 6 million lives have been saved since 1995.
In spite of these successes, TB still remains a serious threat, especially for those infected with HIV. HIV is the single most powerful risk factor for TB disease and one of the leading causes of death among people infected with HIV. Among the 1.7 million lives that TB claimed in 2009, 380,000 were among people with HIV infection. While people with HIV who have TB can be effectively diagnosed and treated, more effort is needed to diagnose and treat TB promptly and effectively, and to scale-up preventive treatment for TB.
This special session of Public Health Grand Rounds shed light on myths and misconceptions about TB and HIV, and discussed actions needed in preventing deaths from this lethal combination.
This is Part 1 of a lecture in three parts.
Part 2 >>
Part …
Guest: Evelyn J. Bromet, PhD
Guest: John D. Boice, ScD
Guest: Tsuyoshi Akiyama, MD, PhD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
This rebroadcast of the March 30th program continues analysis of the health issues in Japan following that country’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear crisis, with a focus on two key healthcare issues— radiation danger and mental health. Our guests include an American radiation epidemiolgist and psychiatric epidemiologist, and a psychiatrist working in Japan with the Japanese Society of Neurology and Psychiatry, the equivalent to the American Psychological Association.
Guest: Paul Kwo, MD
Host: Aaron Carroll, MD
Approximately three million people in the US have hepatitis C. In some cases, hepatitis C can be completely cured. However, many with the condition may be asymptomatic for decades and thus are not diagnosed until the disease has progressed into later stages. This is problematic, because when hepatitis C advances, it may cause scarring of the liver. When should liver transplant be considered for these patients? And what is the rate of recurrence and necessity for re-transplantation? Dr. Paul Kwo, medical director of the adult liver transplant program at Indiana University Health, discusses treatment options for patients with various stages of hepatitis C, as well as the evaluation process for those with advanced hepatitis C who are liver transplant candidates. Dr. Aaron Carroll hosts.
Guest: John Howe, MD
Guest: Susan Briggs, MD, MPH
Guest: Makoto Iwahara, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
This program was originally broadcast live on March 16, 2011, and focuses on putting into context the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent ever-changing nuclear crisis in Japan, from a healthcare perspective. Our guests discuss by phone the current medical needs, disaster management issues, and the Japanese healthcare system's readiness. Donations can be made to the relief effort through a variety of organizations, including the Japanese Medical Society of America, at www.jmsa.org.
Host: Janet Wright, MD
Guest: Thad Waites, MD
Obesity is a nationwide epidemic, but this is nowhere more apparent than in Mississippi, which was ranked as the state with the highest obesity rate in 2009 by the Centers for Disease Control. How does the obesity issue in Mississippi mirror that of the rest of the nation, and what efforts are underway to address this public health problem? Dr. Thad Waites, director of the cardiac catheterization lab at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and interventional cardiologist at the Hattiesburg Clinic, talks about how each player in the healthcare community can target the obesity epidemic. What initiatives and projects are demonstrating success in lowering obesity rates? Dr. Janet Wright hosts.
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Guest: Julia Pallentino, MSN, JD, ARNP-BC
Host: Mimi Secor, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP
Family nurse practitioners frequently see patients with gastrointestinal complaints. When can the family NP treat the patient, and when does the patient need to be referred to a GI specialist? Julia Pallentino, board certified nurse practitioner at GI Associates of Tallahassee in Tallahassee, Florida, discusses with host Mimi Secor common gastroenterological problems and their diagnostics and management. What can family NPs learn from the specialist about screening and treating gastroenterological conditions? On a related note, how can NPs convince the colonoscopy-phobic patient over 50 to begin colon cancer screening?
Guest: Diana Zuckerman, PhD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
The lap-band device dramatically reduces the size of a patient's stomach, and as such, it can be effective for weight loss in very obese patients. It offers at least one major advantage over gastric bypass surgery, in that the lap-band can be removed. But can the lap-band procedure also be safe and effective for patients who are even slightly obese, or do the potential risks outweigh the benefits for these patients? Dr. Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families and its cancer prevention and treatment fund in Washington, D.C., discusses the criteria for patients to receive lap-banding. What concerns surround the issue of lowering the body-mass index (or BMI) threshold for patients eligible for this procedure? What are the long-term risks of lap-bands? Dr. Maurice Pickard hosts.
Guest: David Fahringer, PA-C
Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA
Saudi Arabia is a country that is quickly developing, and as part of that development, physican assistants are filling a newly emerging need in the healthcare system. Our guest is PA David Fahringer, department head and program director at the Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences in Dhahran, where students recently completed their first semester in the new 28-month "assistant physician" program. They discuss the advantages and challenges of the program's military component, and how cultural differences are being surmounted to make the program a success.
Guest: Anthony Alessi, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Robert J. Egge
Dr. Anthony Alessi reports from Haiti, making his fifth trip there to mark the one-year anniversary of the magnitude 7 earthquake that precipitated a massive humanitarian and health crisis in that already-beleagured country. Also, Robert Egee, vice president of public policy and advocacy at the Azheimer's Association, introduces the recently signed landmark National Alzheimer's Project Act. Gary Epstein sits in for the vacationing Dr. Michael Greenberg, alongside host Dr. Matthew Birnholz.
Guest: Maryana McGlasson
Host: Mimi Secor, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP
Nurse practitioner Maryana McGlasson waited for months to find out if she would be selected to work with the Doctors without Borders Program. Once she was notified, she had three days to hop on a plane and get to Nigeria, where she would be one of a handful of nurses dealing with hundreds of patients with cholera. She shares her inspiring story with host Mimi Secor on why she decided to become a Doctors without Borders volunteer and what it's like to treat patients with this highly contagious cholera in a tent city lacking even reliable electricity.
Guest: Luppo Kuilman, MPA
Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA
The United States is not the only country experiencing a shortage of physicians. Europeans are feeling the pinch as well. The medical community in the Netherlands began six PA programs a decade ago to make sure there were enough medical providers for their patients. Physician assistant Luppo Kuilman, a lecturer at Hanze University Groningen in the Netherlands, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to explain how the PA program works in his country, what constitutes the challenges, and what the future holds for PAs in this rapidly growing field worldwide.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Listen for highlights from the American College of Gastroenterology's 75th Annual Scientific Meeting, October 15 - 20 in San Antonio, Texas. The meeting attracted approximately 4,000 participants from around the world. The meeting focused on advances in the management of patients with gastrointestinal disorders, focusing on cancer, esophageal and bowel disorders, liver disease, and pancreatic and biliary conditions.
Host: Jay Goldstein, MD
Guest: Stanley Cohen, MD
What types of small bowel abnormalities are most common among pediatric patients? How can physicians investigate suspected small bowel disease or gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in our younger patients? Dr. Stanley Cohen, gastroenterologist at the Combined Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Children's Center for Digestive Health Care at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and adjunct clinical professor of pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, Georgia, discusses the roles of CT scans, MRIs and small bowel capsule endoscopy in evaluating pediatric patients with suspected small bowel disease. Dr. Jay Goldstein hosts.
Host: Jay Goldstein, MD
Guest: Jonathan Leighton, MD
Guest: Moshe Rubin, MD
Obscure gastrointesinal bleeding can pose investigational challenges. What are the potential causes of obscure GI bleeding? After initial negative upper endoscopy and colonoscopy tests are performed, what new technologies can help physicians more effectively detect small bowel abnormalities? Dr. Jonathan Leighton, professor of medicine and chair of the division of gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and Dr. Moshe Rubin, director of gastroenterology and program director of the GI fellowship training program at New York Hospital Queens Medical Center and the Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York, discuss the roles of small bowel capsule endoscopy, balloon-assisted enteroscopy, spiral enteroscopy, and CT enterography in evaluating patients with obscure GI bleeding. Dr. Jay Goldstein hosts.
Guest: Brian Lacy, MD, PhD
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
Resistance to proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, is not uncommon among patients with gastroesophogeal reflux disease, or GERD. How should physicians initially approach managing patients with suspected GERD, and at what point should physicians classify a patient as a PPI non-responder? Our guest, Dr. Brian Lacy, associate professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, and director of the GI Motility Laboratory at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, suggests tests that physicians might use in evaluating patients with refractory GERD, including upper endoscopy and various types of pH monitoring. What therapeutic strategies can physicians use to manage these patients? Hosted by Dr. Freedman.
Guest: Elizabeth Sheehan
Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA
Seven hundred women a day receive medical care inside moldy tents on the grounds of what once was the Grace Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. But their circumstances will soon improve, thanks to an innovative nonprofit organization, Containers to Clinics, launched by PA Elizabeth Sheehan. Containers to Clinics converts empty shipping containers into state-of-the-art medical facilities in rural areas where electricity, running water and quality medical care are hard to find. Lisa Dandrea Lenell talks to Sheehan about where the idea for Containers to Clinics came from, what it takes to set up a container and what the organization is doing to help the people of Haiti following the devastating earthquake in January 2010.
Host: Jack Lewin, MD
Guest: James Wilentz, MD
Before the January 2010 earthquake rattled Haiti, healthcare access for the country's citizens was unreliable, but after the disaster, everything changed. How has an influx of foreign physicians impacted Haiti's healthcare system, and what lessons can the US learn from the proposed public-private partnership solutions in Haiti? Dr. James Wilentz, assistant professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and co-director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York, volunteered at the General Hospital in Port Au Prince shortly after the disaster struck, and explains the downsides to well-intentioned humanitarian aid. Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin.
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Guest: George Korch, PhD
Host: Bruce Japsen
The federal government has acknowledged the United States needs to overhaul its effort to develop better measures to counter pandemic flus and bioterrorist threats. So with nearly $2 billion committed, Dr. George Korch, secretary of preparedness and response at the US Department of Health and Human Services, tells host Bruce Japsen about how this new initiative should improve the system of developing and manufacturing drugs and vaccines to prepare for public health crises.
Guest: Matthew Wynia, MD, MPH
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
One of the most horrific disasters in modern history, the Holocaust, is being illuminated through a lens that is of particular interest to medical professionals, through a traveling exhibit called Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race. Nazism's roots in biology and genetics interlinked medical professionals with its advocacy of a eugenic program that ultimately led to the murder of European Jews in the Holocaust. What ethical lessons can we learn from examining physician involvement with the Nazi regime and what they called "racial hygiene for the greater good"? Dr. Matthew Wynia, director of the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association, stresses the importance for all medical professionals of understanding the role physicians played in implementing Nazi racial eugenics, and frames the ethical issues in the historical context of the early 20th century. How did German physicians succumb to the pseudo-science that formed the basis of Nazi racial eugenics, and what lessons can we learn from this? How did one of the worldwide leaders in the medical community fall from the forefront of medicine to orchestrate some of the worst crimes the world has ever seen? Hosted by Dr. Maurice Pickard.
Guest: Thomas Kirsch, MD, MPH
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Triage isn't the only issue facing healthcare professionals during the acute phase of responding to a disaster: there are also the challenges of limited resources and staffing, as well as the mental and physical preparedness of the medical response team. Dr. Thomas Kirsch, co-director of the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, assistant professor and the director of operations for the department of emergency medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response, describes his on-the-ground experiences during the first few months after the Haiti earthquake and reflects on the acute phase of the response there. What are some of the lessons learned from Haiti that we can apply to future crises, and what parts of the response were effective? Our guest also discusses the need for ethical training for disaster response teams. Dr. Maurice Pickard hosts.
Guest: Sanjay Gupta, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The role of a physician-journalist reporting from the immediate aftermath of a disaster area is not easily defined, and poses both logistic challenges and ethical questions in caring for patients. Is media coverage of physician involvement in disasters altruistic or self-serving? Our guest Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent for the Health, Medical & Wellness unit at CNN, was one of the first physician journalists to report from the earthquake in Haiti, and joins us to discuss balancing reporting as a journalist during a disaster and caring for patients. Is journalistic objectivity compromised when broadcast media feature live coverage of physicians treating patients? Hosted by Dr. Matthew Birnholz.
Guest: John Howe, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
Dr. John P. Howe, president and CEO of Project HOPE, gives hosts Dr. Matt Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg an update on Project HOPE's current efforts in Haiti and how you can still help. Plus: they report on the the placebo effect of very annoying music, and the most obese states in America.
Guest: Gary Falk, MD
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
Millions of Americans have esophageal disorders, ranging in severity from gastroesophogeal reflux (or GERD) to eosinophilic esophagitis to esophageal cancer. A diet rich in acidic or fatty foods can be to blame, but there are a number of other factors that may contribute to the development of GI disorders. When can physicians rely on empirical use of proton pump inhibitors, and when is endoscopy warranted? Dr. Gary Falk, professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at Penn Medicine, discusses some of the reasons for the increasing incidence of esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus in the U.S. What latest developments can help physicians optimally manage patients with these GI disorders? Dr. Falk also discusses the role of motility in acid reflux, and reviews current medication options for the condition. Dr. Lee Freedman hosts.
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Guest: Emmanuel Teye Adjase, MD
Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA
In the past 40 years Medical Assistants have become a crucial part of Ghana's healthcare system. The MAs as their called are the equivalent to PAs in the U.S. For the past 40 years the 500 Medical Assistants have been trained at the Kintampo Rural Health Training School. Dr. Emmanuel Teye Adjase, Director of the school joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to discuss the pros and cons of the health system in Ghana, how the school is changing with the times, and the country's vision for a national healthcare plan.
Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA
Guest: Emmanuel Teye Adjase, MD
The Rural Health Training School in Kintampo, Ghana, was established in 1969 by the Ministry of Health. Now this one-of-a-kind school has trained more than 500 medical assistants who are the backbone of healthcare in Ghana. Medical assistants, comparable to physician assistants in the US, provide care to people living in remote and under-served communities. Dr. Emanuel Teye Adjase, director of the school, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to talk about the education model, his partnerships with other universities and how the program has thrived and changed to meet the needs in the country over the past four decades.
Guest: Douglas Diekema, MD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Although female genital mutilation and circumcision are banned in the US, these brutal procedures are still part of a ceremonial ritual for some cultures. This issue was brought to national attention in the US when a recent statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested a pinprick or nicking procedure performed by pediatricians in this country might be an effective way to discourage families from traveling overseas for more disfiguring procedures. The statement was retracted soon after its release. Dr. Douglas Diekema, director of education for the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, and professor in the division of bioethics, department of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, discusses the original intent of this policy suggestion, and the greater issue of female genital mutilation and circumcision in the US and worldwide. How often do American pediatricians see girls who have had complications from these procedures? Dr. Maurice Pickard hosts.
Guest: Lynne Mofenson, MD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Although HIV transmission through breast milk is a significant global health issue, many mothers and their babies depend on breastfeeding for survival. About 90% of children who become infected with HIV each year are in sub-Saharan Africa. What therapeutic interventions are recommended for mothers with HIV in order to prevent transmission of the virus to their babies? Dr. Lynne Mofenson, chief of the pediatric, adolescent and maternal AIDS branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, at the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland, discusses two exciting new developments found to reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mothers to their babies in places where replacement feeding for infants isn't available. Hosted by Dr. Maurice Pickard.
Guest: Anthony Alessi, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
In this show, our hosts get an update from ReachMD host Dr. Anthony Alessi, from Haiti, six months after the earthquake. And, they question Dr. Andrew Wakefield, widely-known for his controversial and discredited research linking the MMR vaccine with autism. He has a new book about his experiences, Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines: The Truth Behind a Tragedy.
Host: Mark Chyna, MD
This round-up describes highlights from the American Diabetes Association's 70th Scientific Sessions, June 25th through the 29th in Orlando, Florida, covering cutting-edge research, treatment recommendations, and advances toward a cure for diabetes.
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
Guest: Nuzhat Ahmad, MD
Although capsule endoscopy has been used since the start of the new millennium, the technology is still evolving and improving. Capsule endoscopy can help gastroenterologists visualize abnormalities in the small bowel, and offers many advantages over a traditional endoscopy, including less arduous preparation time. What are the common indications for capsule endoscopy, other than for obscure GI bleeding? Dr. Nuzhat Ahmad, assistant professor of medicine in the department of medicine and associate director of endoscopic services at Penn Medicine, also discusses the future of capsule endoscopy, and predicts that the next uses for the technology will allow the capsules to perform biopsies and provide injection therapies. Dr. Lee Freedman hosts.
Host: Mark Chyna, MD
Listen to the latest research findings presented at Digestive Disease Week 2010. This conference was held May 1-6 in New Orleans.
Guest: Francesco Rubino, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Gastrointestinal surgery for the morbid obese has long been an option in treatment, providing positive long-lasting results such as normal blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels and the discontinuation of diabetes-related medications. Is type 2 diabetes an operable intestinal disease? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, chief of gastrointestinal metabolic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Francesco Rubino, as they discuss the implications of metabolic surgery for type 2 patients.
Guest: Captain Linnea Axman, FNP
Host: Mimi Secor, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP
Nurse practitioners can be found in all branches of the military. NPs are deployed to all areas of the globe, wherever there are soldiers— from war zones to humanitarian efforts. How does a career as a Navy NP differ from a civilian NP? Captain Linnea Axman, lead research administrator, project director and family nurse practitioner at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California, joins host Mimi Secor to talk about her career in the Navy, what role nurse practitioners have in the military and the opportunities the Navy offers to NPs.
Guest: Loretta Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, FNP
Host: Mimi Secor, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP
In 1965, Dr. Loretta Ford, a pediatric nurse at the University of Colorado Medical Center, began to grow concerned about the patients in her community. She saw a need for improved healthcare delivery, especially in the growing number of rural and urban areas where primary pediatric physicians were lacking. Dr. Ford, renowned as the founder of the nurse practitioner field, joins host Mimi Secor to talk about the challenges and triumphs during the early years, and the state of the field in the 21st century.
Guest: Isaac Schiff, MD
Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD
In the 80-year history of hormone therapy, it has been alternately embraced and rejected. Case in point: the original term, hormone replacement therapy, came to be seen as highlighting a negative state, and was changed to simply hormone therapy. Why has the pendulum swung so frequently back and forth? What is the latest "timing hypothesis," and will it again change our evaluation of hormone therapy? Host Dr. Bruce Bloom explores the studies and new thinking, the benefit for bone density, the risk of breast cancer, and more, with Dr. Isaac Schiff, chief of the Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Joe Vincent Meigs Professor of Gynecology at Harvard Medical School.
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Guest: David Fisher, MD, PhD
Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD
Imatinib mesylate was initially approved for chronic myeloid leukemia. It has also been used against gastrointestinal cancer and melanoma. What are the implications of broadening the application of this targeted cancer drug for the way that cancers are diagnosed and classified, and what will the impact be on clinical trial design? Are we getting closer to the end of tumor-typing by location?
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