Healthcare Policy: Recent Episodes
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Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Roni Devlin, MD
As rates of burnout continue to rise in the healthcare community, how can help our female physicians combat it? Dr. Jennifer Caudle joins Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Roni Devlin, to discuss how we can prevent burnout for female physicians.
Host: Jacob Sands, MD
Guest: Edith Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCPP, FRCP
Appointed member to the President's Cancer Panel and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Edith Mitchell, shares what the panel recommends to close gaps in cancer screening in the U.S.—with a focus on colorectal cancer—to improve access for all patients.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Emily Carroll, JD, MSW
The No Surprises Act aims to protect consumers from surprise medical bills. But how exactly does it go about doing that, and what’s the current status of its implementation? Joining Dr. Charles Turck to share progress and challenges associated with the No Surprises Act is Ms. Emily Carroll, a senior legislative attorney for the American Medical Association's Advocacy Resource Center.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Emily Carroll, JD, MSW
Guest: Heather McComas, PharmD
Guest: Chris Sherin
The prior authorization cost control process can be a burden on clinicians and lead to delayed treatment for patients. But the AMA’s recent advocacy efforts may help reform the process. Dr. Charles Turck meets with Emily Carroll, Heather McComas, and Chris Sherin to dive into these reforms and their impact at the state and federal levels.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Ana C Zamora Martinez, MD
The COVID-19 pandemic led many clinicians to make life-altering decisions. Dr. Ana Zamora, a pulmonary disease and critical care specialist, discusses her work with Locum Tenens and why she decided it was time for a change.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Dalilah Restrepo, MD
A locum tenens opportunity brought a physician to New Zealand, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic gave her the opportunity to stay. Dr. Dalilah Restrepo, a former infectious disease specialist at the AHF Healthcare Center, discusses her locum tenens experience and discusses how New Zealand has responded to the pandemic.
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its approval of Ebanga (Ansuvimab-zykl) for the treatment of the ebola virus infection in adults and children. To learn more about the second ebolavirus treatment to receive approval, Dr. Linda Bernstein walks us through this new drug.
Published December 29, 2020
Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
As a growing number of pharmaceutical companies refuse to provide discounts to 340B hospitals for drugs dispensed at community-based pharmacies, a federal lawsuit is challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in order to fight for patient communities harmed by this refusal. On this episode of The Drug Report, Dr. Linda Bernstein dives into this lawsuit.
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
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: 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: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.
On this episode of The Drug Report, pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein focuses on a recent CVS Health announcement of their new plan that allows employers and health plan sponsors to work within a formulary and plan design to offer all types of diabetes medications—including insulin—at zero-dollar out of pocket for their members without raising costs for the plan sponsor or increasing premiums or deductibles for all plan members.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Asim A. Shah, MD
Healthcare reform has become a leading debate in the media, with supporters of single payer systems touting projections of quality improvements and cost savings alongside other benefits. But what are some of the drawbacks of a one-size-fits-all? That’s the question psychiatrist Dr. Asim Shah addressed in a recent op-ed article from the Houston Chronicle he co-authored.
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Jodi L. Liu
Terms like single-payer, universal coverage, and Medicare for All often land at the center of political discussions andat times, get used interchangeably. But as Dr. Jodi Liu, Professor and Associate Policy Researcher at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, explains, these terms can carry different meanings, expectations, and projected impacts on healthcare systems.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: David Himmelstein, MD
The subject of single-payer healthcare is at the forefront of practically every political discussion and debate. Providing unique perspectives on its strengths and setbacks is nationally-renowned advocate Dr. David Himmelstein.
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Michael Sparer, JD, PhD
How do we define single-payer healthcare at the national and state levels, respectively, and is either model even realistic for large scale implementation? Dr. Maichael Sparer, Professor and Chair in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Mailman School of Public Health, joins Mario Nacinovich to shed light on this topic.
Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc
Guest: Liz Hamel
How has public opinion on the idea of a national single-payer healthcare model changed since the late 1990s? Liz Hamel, Vice President and Director of Public Opinion and Survey Research at the Kaiser Family Foundation is here to answer that exact question, as well as reveal the factors, like political party identification and word choice, that affect outlooks toward this type of healthcare model.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Kenneth Thorpe, PhD
In today’s polarized political climate, the road toward greater healthcare access, delivery, and cost coverage is still highly uncertain. So to help shed light on some of the merits and challenges of a single-payer model, Dr. Matt Birnholz sits down with Dr. Kenneth Thorpe, the Robert W. Woodruff Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Guest: Daniel Tropeano
Join Daniel Tropeano, CEO of the Pennsylvania and Delaware Region with United Healthcare, as he shares how technology has helped improve the personalization of healthcare and the utilization of the various wellness programs available to healthcare members.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Barbara Levy, MD
Guest: Peter A. Hollmann, MD
In response to physicians’ feedback, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed some big changes to the documentation guidelines for office visits. But is there still room for improvement?
Co-chairs of the American Medical Association’s CPT/RUC Workgroup on Evaluation and Management Services Dr. Peter Hollmann and Dr. Barbara Levy join Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss the Workgroup’s effort to further simplify the work of the healthcare provider and improve the health of patients nationwide.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Barbara A. McAneny, MD
There were a lot of changes made to the 2019 Medicare payment policies. Here to review what these updates mean—and what’s being done in response to them—is Dr. Barbara McAneny, President of the AMA.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
Guest: Mark Friedberg, MD
With the use of alternative payment models (APMs) on the rise, the American Medical Association and the RAND Corporation joined forces to investigate the impact of APMs on physicians across the country. So what exactly did the study uncover? Diving into the study’s findings with Dr. Jennifer Caudle is Dr. Mark Friedberg, senior physician policy researcher at RAND and director of its Boston office.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Koryn Rubin
Some big changes are taking effect in one of the performance categories under MIPS. The cost category is now affecting your MIPS score differently, and here to make sure you don’t fall behind is Koryn Rubin, Assistant Director of Federal Affairs at the American Medical Association.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Carol Vargo, MHS
Amid all the changes to quality reporting under MIPS, many hospital-based physicians are unsure about what effects, if any, there will be to their employment and compensation. Luckily, there are experts to help break down everything from performance-based changes to compensation accuracy, and providing a how-to guide for navigating the Quality Payment Program in the hospital setting is Carol Vargo, Director of Physician Practice Sustainability at the AMA.
Looking to the future of healthcare, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rasu Shrestha on the two things that are needed to truly transform the system: design thinking and a culture of innovation.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Even though more and more physicians are becoming aware of the option to participate in the Quality Payment Program as a virtual group, many still may not have all the details needed to decide whether this is right for them—or how they can even go about joining one. To help clarify the confusion, Dr. Matt Birnholz is joined by Ashley McGlone, Washington Counsel for the AMA.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Alternative Payment Models, or APMs, were introduced as a way to reduce costs and improve patient care, but physicians have been slow to adopt this model. To address this issue, Dr. Matt Birnholz connects with Harold Miller, President and CEO of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, who provides the details that physicians need to know regarding APMs and why Physician-Focused Payment Models could be the solution.
Host: Shira Johnson, MD
Guest: Laura Hoffman
Guest: Matt Reid
If you’re planning on participating in the Quality Payment Program in 2019, you may be wondering what you can—and should—be doing now to prepare for upgrading your electronic health records, or how this update could affect your computers and networks. If so, you’re not alone.
To help guide you through this process, Dr. Shira Johnson is joined by two AMA staff—Senior Health IT Consultant Matt Reid and Assistant Director of Federal Affairs Laura Hoffman—who answer these and other FAQs.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Koryn Rubin
With more and more physicians wondering what the new individual and group reporting measures mean for them and their practice, Dr. Matt Birnholz sat down with Koryn Rubin, Assistant Director of Federal Affairs at the American Medical Association, to break down these options.
Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Are you a retired physician looking to get back into the field of medicine? Or do you want to resume your clinical practice after taking a few years off? Then listen in as Dr. Andrew Wilner speaks with Dr. Leonard Glass, founder of the Physicians Retraining and Reentry program, about why he created the program in collaboration with UC San Diego School of Medicine, who the ideal candidate is, and how you can apply.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
Guest: Miriam Uhlmann, PhD
Guest: Samar Aboulsoud, MD, PhD, MSc Med Ed, FHEA, MAcadMEd
Due to research and studies, health care teams are improving and understanding cultural sensitivity issues and cultural competence. However, we still have much to learn. At the Alliance for Continuing Education in Healthcare Professions 2018 annual meeting, host Alicia Sutton interviewed Samar Aboulsoud, MD and Miriam Uhlmann, PhD about their presentation "A Means to an End: Achieving Patient Satisfaction Through Culturally Sensitive Communication".
In this discussion, Drs. Aboulsoud and Uhlmann discuss their personal and professional experience with educating health care teams to deepen the medical knowledge and clinical skills of those who provide holistic approaches for patient care. Furthermore, it will challenge clinician’s understanding of what affects their interactions and understandings that can impact patient care, compliance, and outcomes.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
Guest: Alvaro Margolis, MD, MS
Guest: Jann Balmer, PhD, RN, FACEHP, FAAN
From the annual meeting of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Healthcare Professions in Orlando, Florida, join in as Alvaro Margolis, MD, MS, President and CEO of EviMed, and his colleague Jann Balmer, PhD, RN, FACEHP, FAAN, Director of CME at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, discuss how Facebook and other social network concepts and approaches can be used to promote social learning in health care teams, both for online and for combined online and face-to-face learning.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
Guest: Dave deBronkart
From the annual meeting of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Healthcare Professions in Orlando, Florida, keynote speaker Dave deBronkart joins host Alicia Sutton to discuss the evolving roles in the patient and doctor relationship.
Better known as ‘e-Patient Dave’, deBronkart emphasizes key points in the shift from the patient as a passive recipient of care to one where the patient is an active contributor to his or her own care. deBronkart discusses healthy patient:doctor communication and ways clinicians can employ effective techniques.
As a co-founder of the Society for Participatory Medicine and stage 4 kidney cancer survivor, deBronkart speaks globally on how patients should be partners in their care, rather than passive recipients, and how collaboration makes healthcare better for everyone.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
New rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are providing physicians with a smoother transition to the Quality Payment Program, or QPP. One critical part of this support involves technical assistance programs, which provide information and resources to physicians during and after this transition.
Host Dr. Matt Birnholz talks with Dr. Edward Sobel and Ms. Temaka Williams about what technical assistance is available to physicians navigating the quality payment program. Dr. Sobel is the Medical Director at Quality Insights,which is based in Charleston, WV, while Miss Williams is a Health Information Technology Advisor at Telligen Oak Brook, Illinois.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Richard Deem
With the advent of the Medicare Quality Payment Program, there are notable practice changes for clinicians. What do these changes mean for you and your practice?
To examine the issues and opportunities, host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Richard Deem who is the Senior Vice President of Advocacy at AMA. Mr. Deem will explain how these changes affect small practices in particular, and what physicians in these practices need to know in order to succeed.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Revolutionary advances in medical knowledge have caused doctors to become so focused on their narrow fields of expertise that they often overlook the simplest fact of all: their patients are suffering.
Dr. John Russell welcomes Dr. Thomas Lee, Chief Medical Officer at Press Ganey and author of An Epidemic of Empathy in Healthcare: How to Deliver Compassionate, Connected Patient Care That Creates a Competitive Advantage. Their discussion focuses on the growing divide between world-class medical treatment and compassionate care, and why the two are not mutually exclusive.
Host: Tim Rush
Guest: Gail Curtis
In May 2017, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) House of Delegates approved a new policy, referred to as the Optimal Team Practice Guidelines. These guidelines were intended to expand access to care and better fit the PA profession to the current healthcare marketplace. What does this policy mean for the physician assistant field in terms of patient care, how will they collaborate with physicians, and what new career opportunities will emerge moving forward?
Host Tim Rush talks with Gail Curtis, President and Chair of the AAPA Board of Directors, about ways in which these PA practice guidelines will change the physician assistant profession.
Many listeners may be familiar with the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System or FAERS. Data in FAERS supports the FDA's post-marketing safety surveillance program for drug products and therapeutic biologic products. Recently, CDER's Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology created and released a tool that makes FAERS data easier to query and retrieve. This new interactive dashboard is designed to expand access of FAERS data to the general public.
Dr. Janet Woodcock, Director of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, discusses the advantages of the tool as well as its limitations.
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Guest: Robert Pearl, MD
Most patients wrongly assume the “best” care is dependent mainly on the newest medications, the most complex treatments, and the smartest doctors. But according to physician and author Dr. Robert Pearl, Americans tend to look for healthcare solutions in the wrong places.
Host Maurice Pickard chats with Dr. Pearl, author of Mistreated: Why We Think We’re Getting Good Health Care—And Why We’re Usually Wrong, about the subconscious misperceptions that have become so commonplace in medicine today. Dr. Pearl explains how modifying the structure, technology, financing, and leadership of American healthcare could radically improve quality outcomes.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Matthew Fiedler
The future of the Affordable Care Act is uncertain. While there has been much talk about repeal and replace, legislative efforts to carry through with this initiative have failed to gain any bipartisan support and have since fallen short of passing.
Host Dr. Matt Birnholz sits down with Matthew Fiedler to discuss the latest issues involved in health care reform. Mr. Fiedler is a Fellow with the Center for Health Policy at the Brookings' Institution’s Economic Studies Program. Prior to joining Brookings, Fiedler served as Chief Economist of the Council of Economic Advisers, where he oversaw the Council's work on health care policy, including the ACA’s health insurance reforms, Medicaid expansion, and provider payment reform efforts.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
A recent survey of one thousand practicing physicians in the US, conducted by KPMG and the American Medical Association, is shedding new light on knowledge gaps in preparing for MACRA and the Quality Payment Program, and what can be done to address those gaps moving forward.
Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Larry Kocot, Principal at KPMG and National Leader of the Center for Healthcare Regulatory Insight. Ross White, Manager for KPMG’s Center for Healthcare Regulatory Insight, and Carol Vargo, Director of Physician Practice Sustainability in the AMA Physician Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability Strategic Initiative Group about the results of this survey.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Guest: Katherine Schneider, MD
What does MACRA mean to the clinical practice environment, and how will it impact your own practice? Dr. Katherine Schneider, President and CEO of the Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization, discusses how MACRA is affecting physician practices. Host Dr. Brian McDonough joins her to outline what physicians can do to prepare for the changing landscape of payment through Medicare.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
This discussion is dedicated to helping clinicians understand the “Pick Your Pace” option for Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) participation.How should physicians navigate these new reporting options to avoid any payment penalties, and what are the most effective first steps?
Host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Dr. Kate Goodrich, Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Goodrich also serves as CMS's Chief Medical Officer.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
MACRA’ is one of the hottest buzzwords in clinical medicine and health policy today. But in a fast-changing legislative landscape, questions arise on the current and future directions for MACRA, as well as best practices for all of us going forward.
Host Dr. Matt Birnholz talks with AMA Washington Counsel, Ashley McGlone and Laura Hoffman, Assistant Director of Federal Affairs, about the top questions on MACRA that everyone wants to know.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Daniel Tropeano
From the Villanova Health Summit's Speaker Event, host Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Daniel Tropeano, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania & Delaware. Mr. Tropeano reflects on the challenges facing the health insurance industry in a changing policy landscape, and the evolving roles of providers and payers in meeting these challenges.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with Jennifer Singleterry, Senior Analyst of Policy and Legislative Support for the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network, about the organization's new report revealing monetary burdens for cancer patients.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Sandra Gomberg
From the Villanova Health Summit's Speaker Event, host Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with guest Sandra Gomberg, President of Aria Jefferson Health. They discuss ways that technology is changing the healthcare landscape, as well as the benefits and risks that follow this evolution.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: James Capretta
On this episode of Voices From American Medicine, Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with James Capretta, a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, studying health care, entitlement, and US budgetary policy, as well as global trends in aging, health, and retirement programs. They discuss the future for American health care policy, and where health care professionals and the general public alike will go from here.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Guest: H. Gilbert Welch, MD, MPH
The central problem with health care, according to physician and author Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, is that too much of it has too little value.
Host Dr. John Russell chats with Dr. Welch about his book Less Medicine, More Health: 7 Assumptions that Drive Too Much Medical Care and the issues of the American healthcare system today. They talk about how the American public has been sold the idea that seeking medical care is one of the most important steps to maintaining wellness. Dr. Welch argues that more medical care is not, in fact, well correlated with good health; by contrast, the opposite may be true.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with Dr. John Barrasso, US Senator from Wyoming and former orthopedic surgeon, about the current state of health care policy as seen from the senate floor.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Chip Kahn, CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals which represents over a thousand of the nation's owner-operated hospitals. The long time health industry strategist speculates on changes to health coverage for millions of Americans under the GOP health reform bill, and what it might mean for the hospital industry and health care in this country.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Paul Gionfriddo, CEO of Mental Health America, the nation's oldest organization dedicated to advancing access to mental services for all Americans. He discusses the need to change the nation's response to mental illness from a public safety to a public health approach.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Keith Boone, "Interoperability Guru" at GE Healthcare. Mr. Boone discusses his work developing standards for health information technology as a board member at HL7 International, and how HL7's new FHIR standards, as well as growth of Accountable Care Organizations, will accelerate the pace of interoperability in health care.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Katherine Hayes, Director of Health Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which has issued a report to Congress urging them to move slowly on repeal of safety net programs supported by the ACA. She warns that states and vulnerable populations will suffer consequences under repeal of support for CHIP as well as federal matching grants for the Medicaid expansion.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Allan Coukell, Sr. Director for Health Programs at the Pew Charitable Trusts, where he oversees the FDA, drug and medical device safety and the opioid crisis. He discusses suggested changes to the FDA made by the Trump Administration, and how best to promote reforms at the US Food and Drug Administration to better respond to 21st century advances in research and discovery.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Qualified Clinical Data Registries, or QCDRs, are keys to Medicare’s new payment system in that they collect clinical data for the purpose of patient and disease tracking. But what do we need to know about QCDRs, where to find them, the requirements for successful reporting and why they are so important for clinical practices? Host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes a panel of QCDR experts from the AMA. Dr. Kathleen Blake, Vice-President, and Lance Mueller, Manager, both serve as part of the AMA group that works on payment reform and healthcare quality. Koryn Rubin serves as Assistant Director of Federal Affairs at the AMA.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
Three out of four people addicted to heroin probably started on a prescription opioid, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States alone, 16,000 people die each year as a result of prescription opioid overdose. But perhaps the most frightening aspect of the prescription drug epidemic is that it’s built on well-meaning doctors treating patients with real problems.
Host Dr. John Russell chats with Dr. Anna Lembke, Chief of Addiction Medicine and an Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Lembke is the author of Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop, exploring how the prescription drug epidemic is a symptom of a faltering health care system, the solution for which lies in rethinking how health care is delivered.
This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter talk with President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David Shulkin. Dr. Shulkin talks about the challenges he has faced coming from the private sector, the important role of the VA health care system, and ways that other issues such as housing play into health care access and delivery.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
It's estimated that 80% of serious medical errors involve miscommunications between caregivers during the transfer of patients. But investigations are ongoing to identify the key issues behind these miscommunications, and how patient centered, value based care can address them.
Host Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Dr. David Badolato, family physician and founder and CEO of Life Laboratory, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization dedicated to research and education in quality models of care. Dr. Badolato authored an article published in Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare titled “The Patient-Family Journey From Outpatient to Inpatient: Improving Quality and Safety With the Outpatient EMR and PCP Collaboration.”
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with health policy expert Timothy Jost, Emeritus Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, and frequent contributor to Health Affairs. Professor Jost examines the respective gains made and challenges faced in health insurance coverage and access to care under the Affordable Care Act, and his views on potential losses to millions of Americans with repeal and replacement of the ACA.
This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with renowned neuroscientist Dr. Adam Gazzaley, Director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center and Gazzaley Lab at UC San Francisco. Dr. Gazzaley discusses his closed loop system designed to improve brain function through personalized game design and feedback, which are already undergoing FDA clinical trials for therapeutic interventions for a number of brain disorders including ADHD, aging brain, PTSD and addiction.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
What if Americans put aside their differences and worked together to fix America's broken healthcare system? What changes need to be made in order to make health care both accessible and affordable without compromising excellent quality of care standards for patients? These and other crucial questions form premise behind the book We CAN Fix Healthcare: The Future is NOW.
Host Dr. John Russell sits down with Dr. Stephen Klasko, President and CEO of Jefferson University and Jefferson Health and author of We CAN Fix Healthcare: The Future is NOW.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Michael Leavitt, an advisor to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team and former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush. They discuss anticipated changes in health policy under the new administration including the future of the Affordable Care Act, the role of community health centers, and the need for bipartisan cooperation.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Victor Dzau, President of the National Academy of Medicine (the former Institute of Medicine) a private, non-profit entity dedicated to tackling the nation's complex problems in medicine, technology and science. Dr. Dzau talks about the Academy's shift towards more cooperation between the scientific disciplines to advance evidence-based research that will inform the health care providers and policy makers around the country and the world.
Host: Patrice L Basanta-Henry, MD, MHSc, FACOG
Prescription drugs are often essential to the management of both acute and chronic pain. However, misuse, abuse and additions to these products, especially opioids, have become a worldwide epidemic. Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids have almost quadrupled in the United States.
Host Dr. Patrice Basanta-Henry talks with psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Nzinga Harrison, CMO of Anka Behavioral Health Inc., about the physician's role in the face of this opioid epidemic.
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
While modern medicine produces miracles, it also delivers care that is too often unsafe, unreliable, unsatisfying, and impossibly expensive. For the past few decades, technology has been touted as the cure for all of healthcare’s ills.
But medicine stubbornly resisted computerization – until now. Over the past five years, thanks largely to billions of dollars in federal incentives, healthcare has finally gone digital.
Yet once clinicians started using computers to actually deliver care, it dawned on them that something was deeply wrong. Why were doctors no longer making eye contact with their patients? How could one of America’s leading hospitals give a teenager a 39-fold overdose of a common antibiotic, despite a state-of-the-art computerized prescribing system? How could a recruiting ad for physicians tout the absence of an electronic medical record as a major selling point?
Logically enough, we’ve pinned the problems on clunky software, flawed implementations, absurd regulations, and bad karma. It was all of those things, but it was also something far more complicated. And far more interesting . . .
Written with a rare combination of compelling stories and hard-hitting analysis by one of the nation’s most thoughtful physicians, The Digital Doctor examines healthcare at the dawn …
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 to provide more Americans access to affordable quality health insurance and to reduce health care spending. But have these goals actually been met, and if not, what will it take to get there?
On this episode of Voices From American Medicine, Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with James Capretta, a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, studying health care, entitlement, and US budgetary policy, as well as global trends in aging, health, and retirement programs. Mr. Capretta has directed several major studies, including one on reforming US healthcare according to market principles and consumer choice.
Host: Renée Simone Yolanda Allen, MD, MHSc., FACOG
Mid-level providers such as nurse practitioners help fill gaps in health care coverage across the country. Yet while NPs have the ability to work independently in a variety of ways including administering treatments, providing consultations, and authorizing use of medical equipment, several practice barriers impede their efforts to provide highest quality care.
Host Dr. Renee Allen chats with Patrick Washington, a board-certified nurse practitioner in Family Medicine, about the roles NPs play in the healthcare industry and ways to overcome practice obstacles in the era of health care reform.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Robin Zon, MD, FACP
Value-based, patient-centered care has become the destination for all branches of medicine, and is the philosophy driving modern payment reform initiatives like MACRA. But the unique care delivery needs in each specialty challenge the notion that one payment model can serve everyone. And nowhere has this become more relevant than in the field of oncology.
Dr. Matt Birnholz joins Dr. Robin Zon, practicing oncologist and vice president and senior partner at Michiana Hematology-Oncology in South Bend, Indiana. Dr. Zon serves as Chair-Elect of ASCO's Government Relations Committee was Past Chair of the Clinical Practice Committee, which alongside other stakeholders at ASCO developed a Patient-Centered Oncology Payment (PCOP) model. Recently, Dr. Zon presented this information at the recent AMA House of Delegates meeting in June. She speaks to the phases of this model, how it can function as a defined APM under MACRA, and its demonstrated positive impacts on oncology care pathways.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes Dr. Charles Pollack, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Jefferson Institute of Emerging Health Professions at Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine. Dr. Pollack's team recently formed the Center for Medical Cannabis Education & Research, tasked with providing expert-developed, unbiased information to clinicians and patients about the medical uses of marijuana and cannabinoid-focused therapies.
The two discuss current clinical recommendations for cannabis based on the available research, and where the benefits and risks collide amidst mass public interest.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Lawrence Kosinski, MD
The advancement of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) has catapulted Alternative Payment Models into the spotlight for identifying new value-based approaches to care. But questions persist as to the roles that specialists can and should play in the design and implementation of APMs, how these models will cut healthcare costs, and which administrative partnerships are needed to make them successful.
Dr. Lawrence Kosinski, a practicing gastroenterologist with The Illinois Gastroenterology Group, is pioneering one such APM that applies an innovative method for tracking patients between clinic visits. The model, called SonarMD, for which Dr. Kosinski is founder and Chief Medical Officer, provides a web-based platform that pings patients beyond practice settings to help get ahead of issues before they become emergencies.
[Read the Article]
According to a new study, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in the United States, Canada, and Europe are increasingly being legalized, but remain relatively uncommon. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania examined the legal status of both procedures and available data on attitudes and practices from the late 1940s to present day.
They found that public support for euthanasia and PAS in the United States had increased through the 1990s, but has since plateaued. More than 70 percent of cases of euthanasia and PAS worldwide involved patients with cancer. Typical patients are older, white, and well-educated. Motivations for requesting PAS include loss of autonomy and dignity, inability to enjoy life and regular activities, and other forms of mental distress. Pain is mostly not reported as the primary motivation.
Although the ethics and legality continue to be controversial, cases of these procedures remain relatively rare. Researchers did not find evidence that vulnerable patients have been receiving euthanasia or PAS at higher rates.
[Watch more videos of The JAMA Report]
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
From the floors of the Villanovans in Healthcare event at Villanova University, Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Jermaine Bromell, Founder and CEO of Better Health Network, a startup dedicated to providing health support services for underserved communities in partnership with faith-based organizations. The two discuss ways for companies and non-profits to better address health disparities in larger communities through direct support and targeted referral services.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Guest: Michael Russomano
In many discussions that focus on achieving quality improvements for clinical care, the roles of healthcare industries are often either excluded or, worse yet, painted as oppositional to patient interests. But a new model of health care delivery positions the industrial sector as a key partner in the interprofessional team, with a common mission to improve patient outcomes nationwide.
From the Villanova Healthcare Speaker Event, Dr. Matt Birnholz speaks with Michael Russomano, President, CEO, and Global Business Head of Wyeth Nutrition, a Nestle business. Mr. Russomano, who also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer's Association, joins Dr. Birnholz to discuss opportunities for the healthcare industry to partner with clinical, administrative, educational, and patient advocacy groups in advancing quality of care.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Guest: Daniel Tropeano
How do we manage the rising costs of healthcare while still maintaining a high level and quality of care? With more costs falling on the consumer these days, one of the biggest challenges in healthcare is dealing with these increased expenses.
From the Villanova Healthcare Speaker Event, Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with Daniel Tropeano, Executive Director of United Healthcare, about the challenges insurance companies are facing with the growing costs of healthcare.
This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Eric Dishman, newly appointed Director of the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program at the National Institutes of Health. This initiative seeks to galvanize a million American volunteers to offer their electronic health information to be coalesced in a national database that will advance research in the discovery of disease cures and prevention.
Guest: Lawrence Sherman
What happens when you suddenly become a patient and are faced with a life-threatening illness? How do the interprofessional members of the medical team work together to help you recover as safely and quickly as possible?
From the Villanovans in Healthcare Speaker Event, join Lawrence Sherman, Senior Vice President of TOPEC Global, as he talks about innovative and collaborative interprofessional approaches to care stemming from lessons learned through his own experience as an educator-turned patient.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Deven McGraw, Deputy Director for Health Information Privacy at the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, where she oversees compliance with HIPPA regulations governing portability of patient data, patient privacy concerns and the growing threat of health data breaches.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss the current landscape and future milestones for engaging ACEP's younger cohort of physicians is Dr. Paul Kivela, Vice President of ACEP. Dr. Kivela is managing partner of the Napa Valley Emergency Medical Group in California. Dr. Kivela has been actively involved in the ACEP council for more than 15 years and has worked with the Reimbursement Committee on fair payment issues and has been an ACEP councilor or alternate since 1994.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Katherine Baicker, PhD, the C. Boyden Grey Professor of Health Economics at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard. An expert on the health and economic impacts from gaining insurance coverage, she discusses her noted study of the Oregon Medicaid Experiment as well as the impact of the Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
Host: Tim Rush
The Veterans Health Administration operates one of the largest healthcare systems in the world, and provides training for a majority of American clinicians across all levels of practice. Joining host Tim Rush to discuss the state of the VA is Dr. David Shulkin, Under Secretary of Health for the United States Department Veteran Affairs. As the Chief Executive of the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Shulkin leads the nation’s largest integrated health care system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.76 million Veterans each year. Prior to being nominated by President Obama and being confirmed by the United States Senate as Under Secretary of Health, Dr. Shulkin served in numerous chief executive roles including serving as President at Morristown Medical Center, Goryeb Children’s Hospital, and Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute, and the Atlantic Health System Accountable Care Organization. Dr. Shulkin also previously served as President and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.
For more information on careers at VA, please visit http://www.vacareers.va.gov
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Mary Jo Assi, PhD, Director of Nursing Practice and Work Environment at the American Nurses Association which represents the nation's 3.4 million nurses. They discuss the expanding scope of the nursing work force in the ACA era, as well as the organization's current focus on workforce safety.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Michael Botticelli, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy at the White House. The nation's "Drug Czar" talks about ONDCP's quest to battle the rising tide of opioid addiction and overdoses, now the leading cause of accidental death in America, by targeting resources towards more effective treatments and interventions.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Marc Edwards, MacArthur Foundation Fellow and Virginia Tech-based Civil Engineer who uncovered the Flint water crisis, where residents were poisoned from high levels of lead and other contaminants through the municipal drinking water. Dr. Edwards discusses his efforts to uncover the crisis, and his team's efforts to mitigate the water contamination crisis and related health issues.
Guest: Anthony S. Fauci, MD
This week on Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Fauci is world renowned for his work battling HIV/AIDS and discusses the current efforts at NIAID, along with other global agencies, to contain and control the Zika pandemic.
Host: Frank Russomano
Interest in health policies related to drug pricing has spiked in recent times. While remarkable research discoveries have positively escalated the pharmaceutical industry with release of more novel drugs, the question on how drugs should be priced is continually resurfacing. How are high drug costs justified when they become financially inaccessible to many patients, and what measures are being put in place to address these access gaps?
Host Frank Russomano welcomes Andrew Rosenberg J.D. of the CME Coalition and Thomas Sullivan, President of Rockpointe Corporation and editor of Policy and Medicine, to discuss recent developments in drug pricing.
Host Frank Russomano welcomes Andrew Rosenberg J.D. of the CME Coalition and Thomas Sullivan, President of Rockpointe Corporation and editor of Policy and Medicine. - See more at: https://reachmd.com/programs/voices-from-american-medicine/all-things-educational-panel-discusses-independent-cme-sunshine-act-reporting/7901/#sthash.CkKA6uPe.dpuf
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Dean Ornish, Founder and President of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He analyzes the new USDA nutritional guidelines and discusses the mounting empirical evidence linking sound nutrition and integrative medicine to the prevention and reversal of chronic disease.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Edward Ellison, Executive Medical Director and Chairman of the Board for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. He is also National Sponsor of the newly-announced Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine which is being designed to train future clinicians based on Kaiser's coordinated care and value-based delivery model.
Host: Frank Russomano
There has been ongoing dialogue about the guidance needed to provide clarity on the reporting of indepedent medical education payments and the Sunshine Act. In this discussion, expert panelists analyze the definition of indirect payments and their exclusion as applied to CME-related payments and transfers of value. Additionally, they examine when payments to medical associations, physician speakers/lecturers, and related entities may or may not be reportable.
Host Frank Russomano welcomes Andrew Rosenberg J.D. of the CME Coalition and Thomas Sullivan, President of Rockpointe Corporation and editor of Policy and Medicine.
Drug diversion is the illegal distribution or abuse of prescription drugs or their use for unintended purposes. The diversion of prescription drugs may occur at any point as prescription drugs are distributed from the manufacturer to wholesale distributors, to pharmacies, and ultimately to the patient. Though this problem is nearly universal among healthcare instititions, many don't have adequate processes in place to detect it. Moreover, concerns about civil and regulatory liability, as well as negative publicity, often impede healthcare organizations from reporting instances of drug diversion.
Dr. Howard Zucker, New York State Department of Health Commissioner, speaks with noted provider drug diversion expert Kimberly New, JD, BSN, RN about how prevalent the problem of drug diversion is, the signs of potential drug diversion activity, and how to set up a robust facility program to avert potential diversion events.
This program is provided on behalf of the New York One and Only Campaign, a public health effort led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Safe Injection Practices Coalition (SIPC) to raise awareness among patients and healthcare providers about safe injection practices.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The model of emergency medicine enshrines the principles of universality, portability, freedom of choice, and equity in care for all those who walk through the door. Yet despite accounting for only 2% of healthcare costs nationwide, emergency departments receives criticism for contributing to the financial crisis of American health care. Are these criticisms justified, or does the ED coversely represent a potential solution?
Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss emergency medicine's current and future roles in healthcare policy, accounting, and quality improvement is Dr. James C. Mitchiner, attending emergency physician at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor and clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. He is also medical director at Michigan’s federally designated health care quality improvement organization. Dr. Mitchiner received the Colin C. Rorrie Jr., PhD Award for Excellence in Health Policy for a career dedicated to advocating for more efficient, affordable healthcare in America.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Kana Enomoto, Acting Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the division of the HHS dedicated to mental health disorders and addiction. She talks about SAMHSA's initiatives aimed at improving access to treatment, improving treatment outcomes and expanding the nation's behavioral health work force.
Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO
States are cracking down on physicians and pharmacies in an attempt to curb a nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse. While some measures are improving the situation in hard-hit areas such as Florida, opponents say that the new laws are also keeping needed medications out of the hands of patients. How are states responding to this dual-issue, and do the ends of diminishing drug overdoses justify the means of restricting drug access to those who need them?
Host Jennifer Caudle, DO welcomes guests Nick Schilligo and Mark Bailey, DO, PhD to Everyday Family Medicine to discuss the pros and cons of updated opioid prescription regulations nationwide. Mr. Schilligo is Associate Vice President of State Government Affairs for the American Osteopathic Association, while Dr. Mark Bailey is Professor of Neurology and Pain Medicine specialist at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. This program was recorded on site at the American Osteopathic Association's annual medical education conference, OMED2015 in Orlando, FL,
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Stuart Altman, PhD, Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Dr. Altman is an expert on universal health coverage and discusses his recent work as Chair of the IOM Committee assessing progress on recommendations made in the 2010 Institute of Medicine Report on The Future of Nursing, which advocates for a stronger role for nurses in the expanding health care system.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Neel Shah, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harvard Medical School and Founder of Costs of Care, a global NGO dedicated to helping delivery systems provide better care at lower costs. He's also the co-author of Understanding Value Based Care, which seeks to promote cost awareness in the medical profession.
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.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Dr. Matt Birnholz is joined by Dean Wilkerson, Executive Director for American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Mr. Wilkerson provides an overview of ACEP's highest priority initiatives and ongoing efforts from the organization's leadership to help advance emergency medical care nationwide. Topics of discussion include the following:
- Increasing awareness toward outcomes measures and reporting for improved quality of emergency care.
- Defining emergency medicine's vital role in the 'Medical Neighborhood' models of patient care.
- Understanding the controversies over balance billing in emergency departments, how this affects both patients and clinicians, and what can be done about it.
For more information about ACEP's strategic goals and activities, visit www.acep.org.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Gary Cohen, 2015 MacArthur Fellow and Founder and President of Health Care Without Harm. His work is focused on motivating the health care industry to “do no harm” by reducing the use of toxic materials and fossil fuels to positively impact climate change.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Daniel Z. Sands, Founder of the Society For Participatory Medicine which seeks to advance the patient/provider experience through better health IT. Dr. Sands is one of the early developers of secure e-mail systems and patient portals for clinicians as well as patients, and advocates for transformation of the health care system through better integration of health IT.
This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Raymond Hurd, Regional Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the Medicare Open Enrollment period. He discusses the expanded number of plans available to seniors, and also warns of the threat of fraud and scams targeting the Medicare population.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Mollyann Brodie, Sr. Vice President of Executive Operations and Executive Director of Public Opinion Research at the Kaiser Family Foundation, where she oversees the non-profit's public polling efforts. Dr. Brodie conducts the Foundation's monthly tracking poll which charts the mood of the nation on a variety of health policies and provides unbiased polling data for policy makers.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, on the need to support federal polices that serve to protect population health in the communities where people live.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. John Ball, VP Emeritus of the American College of Physicians and Chair of the Committee on Diagnostic Error in Health Care at the National Academies of Medicine, which determined that diagnostic errors are a major contributor to patient harm and need to be addressed by all stakeholders in the health care system.
Host: John J. Russell, MD
No substance on earth is as hotly debated as marijuana. Opponents claim it’s dangerous, addictive, carcinogenic, and a gateway to serious drug abuse. Conversely, fans claim it as a wonder drug, treating cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, glaucoma, arthritis, migraines, PTSD, and insomnia. In Stoned: A Doctor's Case for Medical Marijuana, palliative care physician Dr. David Casarett investigates with researchers, doctors, and patients around the globe how marijuana works—and doesn’t—in the real world. Dr. John Russell hosts a discussion with Dr. Cararett on this fascinating work.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Darshak Sanghavi, Director of the Preventive and Population Healthcare Models Group at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation which has launched the "Million Hearts" campaign to reduce cardiovascular disease. The 5-year campaign is CMS's largest experiment to date on pay-for-performance practice models and is supporting practices to follow the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association Risk Assessment guidelines to help patients avoid a million heart attacks or strokes.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Christine Cassel, President and CEO of the National Quality Forum, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving health and health care through developing better health quality measures and data-sharing.
This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Foreign Secretary for the National Academy of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences and recent Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Hamburg discusses the changes initiated at the FDA under her leadership and the enormous challenge of keeping the nation's drug and food stream safe in a globalized supply chain.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Susannah Fox, Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Ms. Fox presides over the HHS Idea Lab and Health Datapalooza, where tech innovators and health policy makers come together to create solutions to healthcare's biggest problems. She previously served for 14 years as Director of the Internet and Life Project at Pew Research Center, analyzing health impacts of an increasingly internet-connected populace.
This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2009. Dr. Frieden discusses the most pressing challenges at the CDC, including antibiotic-resistant infections, the opioid abuse epidemic, and the recent Ebola epidemic, as well as efforts underway to combat these public health threats.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Sean Cavanaugh, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He is responsible for overseeing the regulation and payment of Medicare fee-for service providers, privately-administered Medicare health plans, and the Medicare prescription drug program. Medicare provides health coverage to 50 million elderly and disabled Americans, with an annual budget of over $550 billion.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Eric Green, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, the world's largest organization dedicated solely to genomics research. Dr. Green was on the team that mapped the human genome and talks about new initiatives at NIH to create better platforms for storing and sharing big data in this new era of scientific research.
Host: Frank Russomano
The role of continuing medical education (CME) within government is an important and ever-changing area of high interest and scrutiny among many stakeholders. The CME Coalition is an advocacy group working directly with government officials, lobbyist and other healthcare interest groups to help define and refine what CME is, and the role supporters have in medical education.
Host Frank Russomano, reporting from the floor of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions Annual Industry Summit in Philadelphia, speaks with Andrew Rosenberg and Thomas Sullivan. Mr. Rosenberg is Founding Partner of Thorn Run Partners and Senior Advisor for the CME Coalition. Thomas Sullivan is President of Rockpointe Corp., a science-based medical education company, and editor of Policy and Medicine, a website devoted to legal, regulatory, and compliance issues affecting the pharmaceutical and device industry.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr Kenneth Brigham, cofounder and past director of the Emory/Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute, on the future of predictive health. They discuss the use of genomics, biometrics, and nanotechnology to identify disease risks early in life and perhaps prevent the future onset of disease.
This week, hosts Mark and Margaret speak with Harvard professor Dr. C. Michael Gibson, Founder and Chairman of WikiDocs.org, an open source website designed to facilitate collaborative authoring of medical content within the international community of healthcare professionals.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Jim Daley, Director of IT for BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, and Immediate Past Chair of the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange or WEDI, a leading authority on the use of health IT to improve health care delivery and efficiency. Mr. Daley discusses the industry challenges of switching to ICD 10 coding for health billing, and why the switch is so vital to improving outcomes.
This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. William Dietz, Director of the Sumner M. Redstone Center for Prevention and Wellness at the Milken Institute of Public Health at George Washington University. Dr. Dietz is an internationally recognized expert on nutrition, prevention and obesity. He talks about the threat to public health and the economy posed by the obesity epidemic and efforts to combat the problem.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Leah Binder, Chief Executive Officer of the Leapfrog Group, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving safety in the hospital setting. She discusses the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and the Hospital Safety Score which coalesce patient safety data to rank hospitals for quality and safety across the country.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Margaret Anderson, Executive Director of FasterCures, an action tank dedicated to saving lives by speeding up and improving medical research systems. They discuss the ongoing threat to NIH research due to funding reductions, but also the game-changing potential of new technologies and increased patient engagement to advance biomedical research.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Editor-in-Chief of Psychiatric News, the journal of the American Psychiatric Association. He discusses their recent publication, "Understsanding Mental Disorders" which is a layperson's guide to diagnoses listed in the DSM-5.
This week, Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Glenn Steele, President and CEO of Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, a physician-led, integrated health system serving 2.8 million patients across 44 counties. Dr. Steele discusses Geisinger’s integrated health services organization lauded for its innovative care delivery models and cost containment strategies that have yielded better outcomes and high-value care.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, having held the same position under former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is also Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and is co-founder and Chief Strategist of the Millennium Promise Alliance.
Professor Sachs is widely considered to be one of the world's leading experts on economic development and the fight against poverty. His work on ending poverty, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices, has taken him to more than 125 countries.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
Guest: Ray Saputelli
Healthcare costs in the U.S. are among the highest in the world, yet health outcomes remain in the bottom tiers compared to other developed countries. How might the care delivery model be changed to affect change in this regard, and who is leading the way?
Joining host Alicia Sutton to examine one state's efforts to replace volume of care with value in care, driving down costs while improving outcomes, is Ray Saputelli, Executive Vice President of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Robert Wachter, Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine at U.C. San Francisco. He is considered the founder of the "hospitalist" movement and is author of The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age which examines challenges being experienced in the rapid transition to digital medicine.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. John Lumpkin, Sr. VP and Director of Targeted Teams at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Lumpkin runs the RWJF project targeting childhood obesity and talks about the myriad strategies aimed reducing the obesity epidemic among the nation's children.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Henry J. Aaron, the Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Senior Fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He analyzes the case before the Supreme Court, King versus Burwell, which challenges the legality of the tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and the potential impact of the High Court's decision.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Sherine Gabriel, Dean of the Mayo Medical School at the prestigous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, as well as a new medical school to be opened in Arizona. Dr. Gabriel talks about shifting their patient-centered medical training to incorporate 21st century needs including genomics, social determinents of health, and prevention.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Yulun Wang, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of InTouch Health. Dr. Wang launched his career at the intersection of healthcare and technology with the founding of Computer Motion, Inc. and the invention of AESOP, the first FDA-cleared surgical robot. Under his leadership, Computer Motion went public in 1997 and later merged with Intuitive Surgical to forge the multi-billion dollar surgical robotics industry. In 2002, Dr. Wang founded InTouch Health, which has been recognized as one of the fastest growing healthcare and technology companies in the world.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with John Nosta, founder and president of Nostalab, a digital health think tank. Mr. Nosta, is also a member of the Google Health Advisory Board and looks at the coming digital health trends, nanotechnology and genomics that are going to transform health outcomes of the future.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
Guest: Jennifer Golbeck, PhD
How will new computational techniques leveraging "big data" analytics impact healthcare systems and medical practices, and where should this data come from? Alicia Sutton welcomes Jennifer Golbeck, director of the Human Computer Interaction Lab and associate professor at the College of Information Studies of the University of Maryland, to discuss present and future directions in big data usage for medicine and society.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Adriel Bettelheim, Managing Editor for Health at CQ Roll Call/Economist which boasts the largest press corps on Capitol Hill. Mr. Bettelheim discusses the legislative landscape impacting the Affordable Care Act as well as the emerging payment reforms aimed at reducing health care spending.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Sara Collins, PhD, Vice President of Health Care Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund, a non-partisan foundation dedicated to promoting a high-functioning health care system. Dr. Collins discusses the Fund's recent report showing a marked improvement in the reduction of the uninsured in America since the first open enrollment and the increased utilization of health care among the previously uninsured.
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
The controversy over vaccinations and whether or not to regulate their administration has reached a boiling point in the United States with the recent measles outbreak originating in Disneyland, and prominent politicians like Senator Rand Paul and Governor Chris Christie have weighed in to support the anti-vaccine community's appeal for individual choice. What are the ethical, sociological, and political ramifications of these developments in the national vaccination debate, and how should the medical community respond? Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss the vaccination controversy is Dr. Arthur Caplan, Professor and founding Director of the Division of Medical Ethics in NYU Langone Medical Center’s Department of Population Health.
Host: Frank Russomano
“One cannot understand policy without appreciating the philosophy that is driving it.” That’s a passage taken from author Philip Klein's book, Overcoming Obamacare: Three Approaches to Reversing the Government Takeover of Health Care. Mr. Klein is commentary editor of the Washington Examiner, where he writes about domestic politics and policy, and runs the opinion section. He joins host Frank Russomano to discuss strengths and limitations of the Affordable Health Care legislations, and the plausible alternatives that would need to be implemented before considering an overhaul of current policies.
This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with cardiologist, genomics and telemedicine expert Dr. Eric Topol, Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute. They discuss his latest book, The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine Is In Your Hands, in which he predicts the "medicalization of the smart phone" is poised to truly democratize medicine by putting the power of diagnostics and monitoring in the patient's own hands.
This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Steven Brill, journalist, entrepreneur, and author of Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Back-Room Deals, and the Fight to Fix our Broken Healthcare System. Mr. Brill's work has made national headlines upon its recent release, contending that the American healthcare system is woefully inadequate despite the country's $3 trillion dollar expenditure which outpaces than the next 10 biggest spenders combined.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
How divergent are cultural perspectives in the healthcare system, and how does this affect both the delivery of medical care by clinicians and the paths toward health and wellbeing for patients? Dr. Simon Kitto, Medical Sociologist, Director of Research in Continuing Professional Development and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Wilson Centre for the University of Toronto, joins host Alicia Sutton to explore workplace culture from several vantage points, such as professional-to-patient value systems and group behavior dynamics, toward better understanding health outcomes.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
Host Alicia Sutton welcomes Dr. Arif Kamal, Director of Quality and Outcomes at the Duke Cancer Institute, to talk about ways in which clinicians can become more involved or even take the reins of leadership in quality improvement initiatives within their health systems. The discussion pays close attention to the burgeoning field of Big Data, and how its rapid entry into healthcare impacts quality improvement efforts.
Host: Alicia A. Sutton
The Patient Centered Medical Home. What is it? How do practices become PCMH-recognized? And how do PCMH models change the way medical education is crafted and delivered to clinicians? Host Alicia Sutton welcomes guests Jennifer D'alessandro and Scott Weber to explore these and other questions. Ms. D'alessandro is Assistant Director of Education at the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. Mr. Weber is CEO of MED-IQ, a leading provider of continuing medical education.
Host: Alan S. Brown, MD, FACC, FAHA, FNLA
Joining host Dr. Alan Brown is Michael B. Bottorff, Pharm.D., Professor and Chair in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at South College School of Pharmacy in Knoxville, Tennessee. Dr. Bottorff will be reviewing generic medications, from manufacturing processes to approval measures.
Guest: Neil Stone, MD
Host: Alan S. Brown, MD, FACC, FAHA, FNLA
Why is metabolic syndrome so important if it's not a disease? What have we learned from clinical trials about treating metabolic syndrome with lifestyle and/or drugs? And, what hurdles does the clinician face in trying to improve metabolic syndrome variables in the individual patient? Join Host Dr. Alan Brown as he welcomes Dr. Neil J Stone who will answer these questions and more. Dr. Stone is the Bonow Professor of Medicine at The Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University and Distinguished Physician and Medical Director of the Vascular Center of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
Guest: Sean Yanchunas, Pharm.D, MBA
Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by guest Sean Yanchunas, Clinical Content Manager and Workflow Subject Matter Expert at Catholic Health East Hospital Systems, to talk about the links between pharmacy and medical informatics.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Presenting this session of Grand Rounds is Dr. Mark J. Friedman, clinical professor of medicine and director of the Heart Failure Program 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
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. Mark J. Friedman, clinical professor of medicine and director of the Heart Failure Program 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: Janet Wright, MD
Guest: Jeffrey Anderson, MD
Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are common because of a number of factors, not the least of which is a lack of exposure to sunlight. What role does vitamin D play in ensuring cardiovascular health, and should clinicians routinely test patients for such deficiency? Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, vice-chair of research in the department of medicine and associate chief of cardiology and director of cardiovascular research at Intermountain Medical Center, discusses current evidence about vitamin D and the heart, but says more prospective studies are needed to determine whether vitamin D plays an associated or causal role related to cardiovascular health. Is routine vitamin D supplementation useful for protecting cardiovascular health, or should clinicians wait for more evidence? Dr. Janet Wright hosts.
Produced in Cooperation with
Guest: Thiruvinva Dharmarajan, MD FACP AGSF
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
Patients in hospital settings are often screened and promptly treated for venous thromboembolism, or VTE, but perhaps less commonly in long-term care, even though these patients may be at risk. Dr. T.S. Dharmarajan, clinical director of the division of geriatrics at Montefiore Medical Center (North Division) in the Bronx, New York, discusses the medical conditions in long-term care that put patients at risk for VTE, and ways to assess patients for the condition. What anticoagulation medications and treatments may be used for treating VTE in long-term care? Should long-term care clinicians treat VTE as aggressively as hospitals often do, or are there other unique considerations clinicians should keep in mind for managing patients at risk for VTE in long-term care? Dr. Eric Tangalos hosts.
Guest: Louis Aronne, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Treatment regimens for diabetes and obesity are merging. Healthcare professionals are taking a new view to the management of diabetes including rearranging diabetes medication regimens from a glucose control and weight-neutral perspective. What do healthcare professionals need to know to help their patients manage their diabetes? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, clinical professor of medicine at Cornell Medical College, Dr. Louis Aronne, as they discuss considerations of drug therapies as weight neutral for treating their patients with type 2 diabetes.
Guest: Juan Pablo Frías, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Patients living with type 1 diabetes who are involved in athletics present particular challenges to approaching to their management, medication regimen and nutrition. How can healthcare professionals help their type 1 athletes optimize their performance and manage their diabetes? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, director of research at TeamType1, Dr. Juan Frias, as they discuss restrictions, research, monitoring and adjusting insulin therapy for endurance type 1 athletes.
Guest: William Polonsky, PhD, CDE
Host: Timothy Bailey, MD
A majority of type 2 patients do not understand the benefits of structured self-monitoring of blood glucose and healthcare professionals lack the time to explain the values and the time to review the values themselves. What is the benefit of structured self-monitoring of blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes? Join guest host Dr. Timothy Bailey and his guest, founder of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, Dr. William Polonsky, as they discuss the challenges and barriers for both healthcare professionals and patients with structured self-monitoring of blood glucose.
Guest: Candis Morello, PharmD, CDE
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Medication adherence is one of the most challenging aspects of managing patients with diabetes. The majority of diabetes patients taking more than one oral agent do not adhere to their prescribed regimens. What is the key to successful adherence to drug regimens in patients living with diabetes? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, associate professor of clinical pharmacy at UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Candis Morello, as they discuss results from a recent study on medication adherence for patients living with diabetes.
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The United States is in the grip of an epidemic of prescription drug overdoses. Over 27,000 people died from overdoses in 2007, a number that has risen five-fold since 1990 and has never been higher. Prescription drugs are now involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.
For health professionals, policymakers and legislators, addressing this problem is complicated. While they push for education, prevention, and enforcement to reverse this epidemic, they must also ensure that patients with a legitimate need for these medications still have access to them. This important session of the CDC's Public Health Grand Rounds addressed these challenges and explored the innovative state and federal policies and interventions that are showing promise in reducing injury and death from this epidemic.
This is Part 3 of a 45-minute lecture in three parts.
Part 1 >>
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/.
And for those interested in receiving continuing education credits for the live broadcasts of Public Health Grand Rounds, register at http://www2a.cdc.gov/TCEOnline.
CDC's participation in the activity is not meant to serve as …
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The United States is in the grip of an epidemic of prescription drug overdoses. Over 27,000 people died from overdoses in 2007, a number that has risen five-fold since 1990 and has never been higher. Prescription drugs are now involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.
For health professionals, policymakers and legislators, addressing this problem is complicated. While they push for education, prevention, and enforcement to reverse this epidemic, they must also ensure that patients with a legitimate need for these medications still have access to them. This important session of the CDC's Public Health Grand Rounds addressed these challenges and explored the innovative state and federal policies and interventions that are showing promise in reducing injury and death from this epidemic.
This is Part 2 of a 45-minute lecture in three parts.
Part 1 >>
Part 3 >>
To view the complete video recording of this and other CDC Public Health Grand Rounds sessions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/
And for those interested in receiving continuing education credits for the live broadcasts of Public Health Grand Rounds, register at http://www2a.cdc.gov/TCEOnline.
CDC's participation in the activity is not meant to serve as an …
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
The United States is in the grip of an epidemic of prescription drug overdoses. Over 27,000 people died from overdoses in 2007, a number that has risen five-fold since 1990 and has never been higher. Prescription drugs are now involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.
For health professionals, policymakers and legislators, addressing this problem is complicated. While they push for education, prevention, and enforcement to reverse this epidemic, they must also ensure that patients with a legitimate need for these medications still have access to them. This important session of the CDC's Public Health Grand Rounds addressed these challenges and explored the innovative state and federal policies and interventions that are showing promise in reducing injury and death from this epidemic.
This is Part 1 of a lecture in three parts.
Part 2 >>
Part 3 >>
To view the complete video recording of this and other CDC Public Health Grand Rounds sessions, visit http://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/
And for those interested in receiving continuing education credits for the live broadcasts of Public Health Grand Rounds, register at http://www2a.cdc.gov/TCEOnline.
CDC's participation in the activity is not meant to serve as an …
Guest: Matthew Wayne, MD, CMD
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
Regulations regarding nurses as prescribing agents of physicians in long-term care facilities are more restrictive than in the hospital setting, because controlled substance licenses are not currently approved for nursing homes in most states. These restrictions can make it challenging for long-term care patients to receive timely access to narcotics. Dr. Matthew Wayne, medical director, geriatric medicine, University Hospital Richmond Medical Center in Richmond Heights, Ohio, and assistant professor of medicine at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, suggests revisions to some provisions of the Controlled Substances Act in order to ensure long-term care patients have access to pain medications when they need them the most. What hurdles are the most significant impediments to improving patient care with appropriate access to narcotics, and how can medical professionals best navigate the waters until revisions are made to the current law? Dr. Eric Tangalos hosts.
Guest: Edward Damiano, PhD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Guest: Steven Russell, MD, PhD
The latest research into the use of glucagon and insulin in a closed-loop system is promising for the management of type 1 diabetes. How will the use of a bihormonal system benefit patients, and what is the path of treatment? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guests, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, Dr. Edward Damiano, and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Steven Russell, as they discuss the challenges of a closed-loop system.
Guest: R. Keith Campbell, BPharm, MBA
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Changes in both care and treatment of diabetes reflect trends in healthcare that may need revision. How can healthcare professionals benefit from new pharmacotherapies for their patients living with diabetes? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, professor of pharmacy, Keith Campbell, as they discuss trends in healthcare that may require revisions for the care of people living with diabetes.
Guest: Michael Steinman, MD
Host: Janet Wright, MD
One of the characteristics of our older patients with heart failure is that they often have other conditions and therefore take multiple medications. How can we reduce the risk of adverse drug events among patients with heart failure and other comorbidities? Dr. Michael Steinman, associate professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center discusses the challenge of managing medications for older patients with heart failure and offers his ideas on how to reduce drug interactions and encourage adherence. How can we better coordinate care between physicians to optimize care for patients with heart failure? Dr. Janet Wright hosts.
Produced in Cooperation with
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
Guest: Steven Handler, MD, PhD, CMD
Because residents in long-term care facilities often have comorbidities, polypharmacy can be an issue. What are the most common types of adverse drug events that can occur among long-term care patients taking multiple medications? Dr. Steven Handler, assistant professor in the department of biomedical informatics and the department of geriatric medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the medical director for long-term care health information technology for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says the current methods for monitoring medications in nursing homes are inadequate for protecting against adverse drug events, and suggests ways to improve medication safety in long-term care. What tools might help practitioners in long-term care better detect and prevent adverse drug events? Dr. Eric Tangalos hosts.
Guest: Timothy Jost
Host: Bruce Japsen
Consumer groups for decades have criticized and wondered how much money health insurance companies actually spend on medical care. Under the health care reform law, they will actually come closer to knowing thanks to the so-called medical-loss ratio provisions of the legislation. Host Bruce Japsen talks with Washington and Lee University School of Law health reform expert Timothy Jost about the impact medical-loss ratio rules will have on physicians and their patients.
Guest: Roland Goertz, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
If patients take advantage of flexible spending accounts to help pay for their medical care, the health reform law is triggering some changes for them and doctor practices. Most notably, over the counter items like pain relievers and allergy meds will require a prescription. Host Bruce Japsen talks with Dr. Roland Goertz, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians about how patients and their doctors can prepare for these health reform law changes.
Guest: Mark Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH
Host: Bruce Japsen
An estimated 4 out of 5 serious medical errors involve miscommunication that occurs when care is 'handed off' from one care provider to another. Dr. Mark Chassin, president of the Joint Commission, the organization that's studied handwashing and potentially dangerous acronyms and abreviations, tells host Bruce Japsen about how the Commission's Center for Transforming Health Care and 10 hospitals and health systems across the country are working to improve patient care by improving communication between 'senders' and 'receivers.'
Guest: Carmella Evans-Molina, MD, PhD
Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD
As the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United States grows, researchers are investigating hundreds of ways to treat and cure diabetes. Some of these methods include exogenous insulin, while other ideas being explored require more complex changes in our understanding of cellular biology. Dr. Carmella Evans-Molina, assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, who holds a faculty appointment in the division of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism and the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Diabetes Research, joins us to discuss molecular mechanisms of diabetes, and potential methods of prevention related to these mechanisms. Dr. Bruce Bloom hosts.
Guest: Robert Henry, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
The potential benefits of a new class of medications, sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter-2 therapy (or SGLT-2s), for type 2 diabetes is promising, but where will they fit in the treatment of diabetes and what are the risks? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, professor of medicine at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego, California, Dr. Robert Henry, as they discuss the mechanism, benefits and potential cardiovascular risks of this new class of medication.
Guest: Tatjana Rundek, MD, PhD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Hundreds of millions of people may have insulin resistance worldwide. What is the connection between insulin resistance and the risk of ischemic stroke? Dr. Tatjana Rundek, associate professor of neurology and director of the clinical translational research division in the department of neurology of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, Florida, discusses her research on the risk of developing ischemic stroke among non-diabetic patients with insulin resistance with host Dr. Maurice Pickard. How can lipid-lowering medications help reduce the risk of stroke for non-diabetic patients with insulin resistance, and are any other medications on the horizon for these patients?
Guest: Hugh Tildesley, MD
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
Metformin is often the first line of therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes: it is relatively inexpensive, available, and has proven efficacy. However, metformin is contraindicated for patients with renal insufficiency, a common comorbidity in diabetes. Do the benefits of metformin outweigh the risks for those with renal insufficiency, or should we use caution when considering metformin for these patients? Dr. Hugh Tildesley, clinical professor in the department of medicine, division of endocrinology at the University of British Columbia at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, considers the safety of metformin in patients with diabetes. What approach should clinicians use when considering metformin for patients with type 2 diabetes who have some degree of renal impairment? Dr. Lee Freedman hosts.
Guest: Emmanuel Baetge, PhD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Current stem cell therapy research is leading the way into producing functional pancreatic, insulin-producing cells. How will this translate into clinical trials and human therapy for diabetes from a scale, delivery and efficacy position? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest Dr. Emmanuel Baetge, chief scientific officer of Viacyte, Inc., as they discuss the benefits of stem cell research therapy for diabetes.
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: Robert Cuddihy, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
There have been impressive results with incretin-based therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes: improved A1C, beta-cell preservation and weight loss are some of the benefits. But do healthcare professionals need to temper their enthusiasm for this novel therapy? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, medical director of the International Diabetes Center, Park Nicollet Health Services, Dr. Robert Cuddihy, as they discuss whether incretin-based therapy holds promise of a truly disease-modifying therapy.
Guest: Eric Whitaker, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
An initiative sprouting on the South Side of Chicago that was once led by First Lady Michelle Obama aims to become a national model for re-educating communities on everything from appropriate emergency department usage to outpatient care and healthy life choices. Dr. Eric Whitaker, executive vice president of strategic affiliations and associate dean of community-based research at the University of Chicago Medical Center, tells host Bruce Japsen about the Urban Health Initiative and what it aims to achieve.
Guest: Karen DeSalvo, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Five years after Hurricane Katrina, the horrific memories of disaster and devastation remain, but the healthcare system has created a legacy of resilience for the city's safety net and a potential national model beyond the primary care medical home. Dr. Karen DeSalvo, professor of medicine at the Tulane School of Medicine and a leader in the health system's post-Katrina recovery, tells host Bruce Japsen about the new community-based effort that has since been created to improve medical care delivery in New Orleans.
Guest: Frederick Wendt, RPh
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
As medication costs continue rising, what strategies can help long-term care facilities reduce drug expenditures, while still providing the best quality of care for patients? Fred Wendt, RPh, vice president of pharmacy services for Senior PharmaStrategies in Burleson, Texas, says one of the most significant pharmacy issues in long-term care is the Drug Enforcement Administration's current position on the nursing facility staff as agent of the physician, with regard to controlled substances. How is the role of the consultant pharmacist changing in long-term care? What programs can help long-term care facilities reign in drug costs, while maintaining high quality care for patients, particularly in the area of diabetes? Dr. Eric Tangalos hosts.
Guest: Angela Gardner, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
As healthcare reforms take place, changes are also in the offing in the emergency department amid demands that EDs be able to turn attention from treatment of routine conditions to disasters and other true emergencies. Dr. Angela Gardner, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, tells host Bruce Japsen about tomorrow's needs for the emergency department, which will have a greater role as health reform is implemented and patients seek primary care.
Guest: Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Long after the clean-up process from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is complete along the Gulf of Mexico, we'll still be examining the health effects of this catastrophe. While there is a wealth of information on the health effects of specific contaminants, the effects are less known regarding mixtures of contaminants. What are some of the immediate and potential long-term health risks (both mental and physical) of this disaster? Dr. Maureen Lichtveld, professor and chair of the department of environmental health sciences at the Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, discusses the role of physicians in this type of public health disaster. How are we identifying the populations most at risk of experiencing health effects from the oil spill, and what are some of the most effective risk communication strategies for these populations? What types of surveillance methods are being used? What can we learn from this disaster to be more prepared for the next? Dr. Maurice Pickard hosts.
Guest: Patrick Hagan
Host: Bruce Japsen
As doctors and hospitals enter an era of healthcare that will demand high quality at a competitive price, factory-style efficiency is an answer that's working, at Seattle Children's Hospital. The hospital's president, Patrick Hagan, tells host Bruce Japsen about how doctors and hospitals can replicate the kind of factory efficiency used at companies like Toyota and Boeing to improve medical care service for their patients, and perhaps even boost their productivity and profits.
Guest: Sanjay Kaul, MD, MPH
Host: Janet Wright, MD
Atrial-fibrillation, or a-fib, affects nearly 2.5 million patients in the US, and is one of the more common forms of arrhythmia. The antiarrhythmic armamentarium has been expanded to include dronedarone, which was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of a-fib. What's the efficacy and safety of dronedarone, compared to other antiarrhythmic agents, and how should you use it? Dr. Sanjay Kaul, director of the Vascular Physiology and Thrombosis Research Laboratory at the Burns and Allen Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, describes the profile of patients who should be considered candidates for dronedarone therapy. Will dronedarone replace the current gold standard for treating a-fib, amiodarone, and if not, where does dronedarone fit into the management algorithm for a-fib? Dr. Janet Wright hosts.
Produced in Cooperation with
Guest: Bruce Troen, MD
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
Vitamin D deficiency has been receiving a deluge of media coverage lately, and physicians are likely to hear many related questions from patients, especially long-term care residents and their families. What are the latest developments in vitamin D research, and how can adequate vitamin D levels help prevent falls among our older patients? Even more fundamentally, how do we define vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency? Dr. Bruce Troen, professor of medicine, research scientist at the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, and director of the molecular gerontology program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida, describes the crucial role that vitamin D plays throughout the body, beyond its well-known role in the musculoskeletal system. How common is vitamin D insufficiency among geriatric and nursing home residents? What is the best regimen and dosage to overcome vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency? When should calcium be supplemented to help prevent fractures? Tune in to hear host Dr. Eric Tangalos and this week's guest sift through the latest information on vitamin D.
Host: Bruce Japsen
Guest: Mark Frohlich, MD
The cancer treatment Provenge, known as a "therapeutic vaccine," was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April, 2010 as a novel way to attack prostate tumors. But this is more than the story of a new treatment. Host Bruce Japsen learns about the long path to FDA approval for this unique therapy that some see as a watershed development in oncology, from Dr. Mark Frohlich, senior vice president of clinical affairs and chief medical officer of Dendreon Corporation, the Seattle-based biotech company that manufactures Provenge.
Guest: Jay Luxenberg, MD
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
It can be challenging for caregivers to diagnose depression in long-term care medicine, even though depression in facilities such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities is common. How can long-term care physicians recognize the early signs and symptoms of depression, and determine when pharmacologic or other forms of therapy are most appropriate? What quantitative screening tests and management tools are helpful for physicians to use in diagnosing and treating depression? Dr. Jay Luxenberg, director of medical services at the Jewish Home in San Francisco, and clinical professor in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, weighs the options of antidepressant therapy versus other non-pharmacologic treatments for patients with depression in long-term care facilities. What evidence demonstrates the efficacy of bright light therapy, family involvement and other activities in improving the symptoms of depression? Dr. Eric Tangalos hosts.
Guest: William Thies, PhD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Some 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, with more cases sure to develop as the baby boomer generation ages. New potential discoveries are on the horizon. But, as Dr. William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer for the national office of the Alzheimer's Association, tells host Bruce Japsen, significant challenges and obstacles also lie ahead for these potential ground-breaking discoveries.
Host: William Anderson, PharmD, MBA
Guest: Christopher Stanley, MD, MBA
How can we align incentives among all healthcare stakeholders to encourage high-quality care, better outcomes and lower overall healthcare costs, ultimately leading to a more efficient healthcare system? How does health information technology provide the infrastructure for measuring outcomes, to provide the necessary data to create incentives for best practices? Dr. Christopher Stanley, senior medical director UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, underscores the idea that aligning incentives extends far beyond pay for performance or value, and is about matching goals among patients, providers and payers. How can economic or quality of care incentives work together to improve patient outcomes? Dr. Stanley discusses some pilot programs to better align incentives, including the patient-centered medical home model. Dr. William Anderson hosts.
Sponsored by
Guest: Anne Louise Peters, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Initiating insulin therapy for type 2 patients provides its own set of challenges and opportunities. New insulin preparations and a better understanding of insulin physiology may provide physicians more options in effectively tailoring insulin therapy to the needs of their patients. Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, director of clinical diabetes programs at the University of Southern California, Dr. Anne Peters, as they discuss the benefits of initiating insulin therapy for type 2 patients.
Guest: Steve Miller, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Doctors know their patients often don't take their medications, whether because they simply forget or procrastinate on obtaining refills. But the lack of compliance with prescriptions has enormous financial ramifications. Dr. Steve Miller, senior vice president & chief medical officer, research and clinical sciences for Express Scripts, one of the nation's largest managers of pharmacy benefits, tells host Bruce Japsen about Express Scripts most recent survey on patient behavior when it comes to pharmaceuticals. He also talks about how, based on this research, improved patient compliance and other factors could save the healthcare system $100 billion a year.
Guest: Marcia Angell, MD, MACP
Host: Martin Samuels, MD
Dr. Marcia Angell moved into the field of medical journalism from a career in pathology. She was the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, and since leaving that post, has written frequently in professional journals and public press on a wide range of topics. Outspoken and frequently controversial, Dr. Angell joins host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss her career.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Host Dr. Charles Turck talks with Dr. Karen Weiss, project lead for the FDA's Safe Use Initiative, and Dr. Dale Slavin, senior policy analyst. How is the FDA working to ensure that medications are used optimally once they’re available to the public? This program explains this collaborative initiative to address various types of preventable harm from medications.
Guest: Kaiser Fung
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
In this rebroadcast of the March 17th show, your hosts talk to Kaiser Fung, author of the book Numbers Rule Your World: The Hidden Influence of Probability and Statistics on Everything You Do, about controversies in PSA screening, mammogram guidelines, personalized medicine and placebos. Plus: Smartphones, primary care salaries, and more.
Guest: John (Jack) L. Leahy, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Where do thiazolidinediones, or TZD's, fit in our clinical approach to treating patients with type 2 diabetes? TZD's used early in the course of the disease seem to be a powerful therapy with a substantial reduction in the progression of type 2 diabetes. What does this tell us about the pathogenesis of diabetes? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, professor of medicine and chief of the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism of the University of Vermont, Dr. Jack Leahy, as they discuss the pathogenesis of diabetes and the role of thiazolidinediones in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Guest: Andrew Ahmann, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
We now have many choices of oral agents in the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients. But choosing the type and where they fit in the treatment algorithm can be a challenge. Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, director of the Harold Schnitzer Diabetes Health Center, Dr. Andrew Ahmann, as they discuss the different classes of oral agents, benefits and treatment algorithms in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Guest: Rebecca Patchin, MD
Guest: Joseph Kim, MD, MPH
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
Dr. Rebecca Patchin, American Medical Association board chair, gives the view from Capitol Hill after several days of testifying and speaking with legislators about the various needs of healthcare reform. Topics include reimbursement rates, health insurance and others. Also on this week's program, Dr. Matt Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg speak with Dr. Joe Kim from the HIMSS Conference in Atlanta about some of the latest in medical IT offerings.
Guest: Gary Wadler, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Even after steroids scandals in Major League Baseball and more than 30 athletes were withheld from the winter Olympics in Vancouver for breaking anti-doping rules, why do athletes still engage in pharmacological cheating? The latest concern among sport officials is a new erythropoietin called Hematide, still in investigate trials. Dr. Gary Wadler, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List and Methods Sub-Committee, talks to host Bruce Japsen about the never-ending battle against the abuse of pharmacology in order to enhance athletic ability.
FDA is recommending new safety measures to improve the safe use of long acting beta agonists (LABAs).
Guest: Darrel Regier, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
It's been over 15 years since the publication of the Fourth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The DSM-V is due to be published in May 2013, and for the first time, the American Psychiatric Association invited input from the wider medical community and the general public. Anyone could go to the website, view the draft criteria alongside DSM-IV criteria, as well as the rationale behind the proposed changes, and add their comments, through April 20, 2010. Dr. Darrel Regier, executive director of the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education and director, division of research, at the American Psychiatric Association, tells host Bruce Japsen about what's due to change in the Manual, and the ramifications for research, treatment, payment, and — ultimately — outcomes.
Guest: Matthew Riddle, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Multiple choices of insulin therapy have provided a decided advantage to both the healthcare provider and patient living with diabetes. What are the specific benefits of customizing insulin therapy for our patients? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, Dr. Matthew Riddle, as they discuss the benefits of standard versus individualized insulin therapy.
The FDA has issued a public health advisory regarding serious medication errors that have arisen when consumers used Maalox Total Relief, the upset stomach reliever and anti-diarrheal medication,by mistake, when they had intended to use one of the traditional Maalox liquid antacid products.
Host: Janet Wright, MD
Guest: Michael Ho, MD, PhD
Medication adherence is a significant problem in the US. Patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension or high cholesterol can be particularly susceptible to non-adherence, because patients may not experience symptoms that would seem to justify taking medication, and thus may not notice any immediate benefits from their medications. What are some of the other barriers to medication adherence? Dr. Michael Ho, associate professor in the department of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver, has examined the prevalence of non-adherence, and says that good communication and patient education can go a long way toward encouraging patients to take their medications. Tune in to hear other strategies cardiologists can use to address the issue with patients, including utilization of health information technology. Dr. Janet Wright hosts.
Host: Roy Levit, MD
Guest: Allen Verne, MD
What are the advantages to using private practices, as opposed to academic institutions, for testing medications? Dr. Allen Verne, president of the American Retina Foundation and founder of the Bay Area Retina Associates, discusses in-office drug studies he is involved in, including one on diabetic retinopathy and another on photodynamic therapy, and why these studies can be particularly useful in determining the most effective treatments for patients with retinal conditions. Dr. Verne also discusses the process of separating the interests of the pharmaceutical companies sponsoring studies and those participating in the study. What are the financial and time costs to the practices involved in in-office medication studies? Dr. Roy Levit hosts.
Guest: Debra Simmons, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
The ALLHAT hypertension study results indicated that less costly, traditional diuretics are more effective than newer medicines at lowering high blood pressure and preventing some forms of heart disease. Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, endocrinologist and director of the endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism training program at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Dr. Debra Simmons as they the results and implications of the Antihypertensive Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack (ALLHAT) clinical study.
Guest: Matthias von Herrath, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Development of a combination therapy is showing significant promise in type 1 diabetes when caught in the early stages. What are some immuno-therapies currently being evaluated for treating type 1 diabetes? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, director of the Center for Type 1 Diabetes Research at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Dr. Matthias von Herrath, as they discuss histopathology, antigen-specific therapy, anti-CD3d antibodies and more.
Guest: Nancy Bohannon, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Will insulin pumps become the preferred therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes who are not at goal? New insulin pump technology and patch pumps are offering a whole new level of customization, an ability to improve glucose control and quality of life. Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, endocrinologist and director of clinical research at St. Luke’s Hospital, Dr. Nancy Bohannon as they discuss new insulin pump technology.
President Barack Obama has argued that healthcare reform is essential to the future economic health of the United States. But the economics of both healthcare and reform are daunting. Is it possible to pay for healthcare coverage for all Americans without moderating our rapidly rising healthcare costs? And what do we know about the best ways of achieving cost savings? In a roundtable discussion moderated by Dr. Atul Gawande, three experts in health economics — Drs. Elliott Fisher, Jonathan Gruber, and Meredith Rosenthal — explore the most promising ways of slowing the growth of healthcare costs, their potential effects on medical practice, and the likelihood that the current healthcare reform effort will be a step in the right direction.
Guest: Robert Henry, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
The ACT NOW study examined whether treatment of impaired glucose tolerance in pre-diabetic patients with pioglitazone could prevent or delay the development of type 2 diabetes. Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego, Dr. Robert Henry, as they discuss the results and implications for clinical care.
Guest: Christopher Cannon, MD
Host: Jack Lewin, MD
Previous trials, including the ENHANCE trial, have raised doubts about the clinical benefits of adding ezetimibe to high-dose statin therapy. The ARBITER 6-HALTS trial added further weight to the results of ENHANCE, wherein the ARBITER trial demonstrated that extended-release niacin was superior to ezetimibe as adjunctive therapy to high-dose statins in slowing atherosclerosis. However, this study was not based on clinical outcomes, but rather on measuring carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). In addition, the ARBITER trial was relatively small, based on 208 patients completing the trial. Are these data enough to impact clinical use of ezetimibe and niacin, or should we await results of further large-scale trials? Dr. Christopher Cannon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and editor-in-chief of the American College of Cardiology's Cardiosource, weighs in on these questions and more regarding adjunctive therapy to high-dose statins, with host Dr. Jack Lewin.
President Barack Obama has placed US healthcare reform at the top of his domestic agenda, and months of legislative work on the issue have resulted in five bills — three in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate — that proponents believe will move the country in the direction of universal coverage, a fairer insurance system, and slower escalation of health care costs. In part 3 of a symposium co-sponsored by the Journal and the Harvard School of Public Health, health policy expert Mark Pauly explores the promise and limitations of the bills and the outlook for reform. The discussion is moderated by Arnold Epstein of the Journal and the Department of Health Policy and Management at HSPH.
To listen to Part 1 of this discussion, click here.
President Barack Obama has placed US healthcare reform at the top of his domestic agenda, and months of legislative work on the issue have resulted in five bills — three in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate — that proponents believe will move the country in the direction of universal coverage, a fairer insurance system, and slower escalation of health care costs. In part 2 of a symposium co-sponsored by the Journal and the Harvard School of Public Health, health policy experts Katherine Baicker and Jacob Hacker explore the promise and limitations of the bills and the outlook for reform. The discussion is moderated by Arnold Epstein of the Journal and the Department of Health Policy and Management at HSPH.
To listen to Part 3 of this discussion, click here.
President Barack Obama has placed US healthcare reform at the top of his domestic agenda, and months of legislative work on the issue have resulted in five bills — three in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate — that proponents believe will move the country in the direction of universal coverage, a fairer insurance system, and slower escalation of healthcare costs. In Part 1 of a symposium co-sponsored by the Journal and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), health policy expert Henry Aaron explores the promise and limitations of the bills and the outlook for reform. The discussion is moderated by Arnold Epstein of the Journal and the department of health policy and management at HSPH.
To listen to Part 2 of this 3-part discussion, click here.
Guest: Stan Brock
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
The need for quality medical care outstrips the capacity of local providers in many cities and towns across the United States. Remote Area Medical (RAM) is one organization working to meet this demand, recruiting volunteers in medicine, dentistry, optometry and beyond to donate their time and energy by participating in coordinated free health care events. At a major health camp in Los Angeles in August, over 15,000 people turned out to receive care, but RAM was only able to provide services to less than half of the people who showed up. The problem? In California, as in nearly every other state, state laws prohibit physicians and other care providers from coming across state lines to secure a temporary medical license to participate in these health camps. With the leadership of founder Stan Brock, RAM is working hard to loosen these restrictions and provide an opportunity for altruistic practitioners to lend a hand. Mr. Brock details these efforts and explains what you can do to help in a conversation with hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matthew Birnholz.
Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Birnholz assess the back-and-forth over the most recent HIV vaccine trial, and give you their reaction to a new …
Guest: Joseph Ma, PharmD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Pharmacogenomics is applied to select medications with the goal of optimizing drug therapy: maximizing efficacy, minimizing toxicity, and minimizing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability. Join guest host, Dr. Candis Morello and Dr. Joseph Ma, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, as they discuss the impact of pharmacogenomics in diabetes therapy.
Guest: Lisa Kroon, PharmD, CD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
The new class of medications known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, which stimulate the pancreas to make more insulin after eating a meal, may be changing the way we treat people with type 2 diabetes. Join guest host, Dr. Candis Morello and her guest, professor of clinical pharmacy in the School of Pharmacy at the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Lisa Kroon, as they discuss the use of DPP-4 therapy in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
The US economy has been in recession for more than a year, the unemployment rate is climbing, the ranks of the uninsured are growing rapidly, and healthcare provider organizations are feeling the squeeze. What help can the federal government offer as part of the economic stimulus package? What will the increasing pressure mean for proposed healthcare reforms? And is there any silver lining in the clouds for the future of the US healthcare system? In a roundtable discussion moderated by Dr. Thomas Lee, three experts in health policy, economics, and healthcare delivery — Drs. James Mongan, Jonathan Oberlander, and Meredith Rosenthal — explore the current and likely effects of the recession on US healthcare and the prospects for systemic change.
In this continuing roundtable discussion, moderator Dr. Atul Gawande, surgeon and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, is joined by Deborah Denno, professor of law at Fordham University; Dr. Robert Truog, professor of medical ethics, anesthesiology, and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and Dr. David Waisel, associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, in a conversation about lethal injection, the current protocol, possible alternatives, and the role of healthcare professionals in putting convicted criminals to death.
This is the second of a two-part discussion. To listen to Part 1, click here.
In this roundtable discussion, moderator Dr. Atul Gawande, surgeon and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, is joined by Deborah Denno, professor of law at Fordham University; Dr. Robert Truog, professor of medical ethics, anesthesiology, and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and Dr. David Waisel, associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, in a conversation about lethal injection, the current protocol, possible alternatives, and the role of healthcare professionals in putting convicted criminals to death.
This is the first of a two-part discussion. To listen to Part 2, click here.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
The FDA periodically releases documents in print and on its website that are geared toward healthcare professionals. New drugs, medical devices, safety notifications and product recalls: all are meant to help healthcare professionals protect patients. But channeling information through only the print medium may miss a large segment of an increasingly tech-savvy audience. How, then, does the FDA attract the more visual learners among us? The answer: a television and satellite broadcast show called FDA Patient Safety News. Host Dr. Charles Turck speaks with FDA PSN co-anchors Mark Barnett and Anita Rayner about how their broadcast show helps healthcare professionals protect patients when using medical products.
To follow Patient Safety News updates on ReachMD, visit the FDA PSN series page.
And to see video versions of these stories, visit the FDA Patient Safety News website at www.fda.gov/psn.
Guest: Sarah Lorentz, PharmD
Host: Candis Morello, PharmD, CDE
Why are people living with diabetes more likely to die with flu and pneumonia? During flu epidemics, this risk is particularly high when additional risk factors present such as cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. Join guest host Dr. Candis Morello and her guest, pharmacist specializing in ambulatory care, Dr. Sarah Lorentz, as they discuss the reasons immunizations for patients with diabetes are so crucial.
Host: Candis Morello, PharmD, CDE
Guest: Brookie Best, PharmD
New drug delivery technologies are changing one of the key therapeutic challenges of insulin delivery in the management of diabetes. Join guest host Dr. Candis Morello and her guest, Dr. Brookie Best, assistant clinical professor of pharmacy and pediatrics at University of California San Diego, as they discuss the emerging new technologies being developed in this space.
Guest: Sheri Fink, MD, PhD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
It has been several years since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc up and down the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the storm continues to leave a nasty legacy in its wake. As the levees broke and the city of New Orleans descended into chaos, the medical staff at Memorial Medical Center wondered whether help would come to evacuate their patients to safety. With conditions turning more extreme by the day, and supplies running short, the medical team faced truly extraordinary circumstances. What follows is a narrative of ethical twists and turns, the lessons from which are still being extracted to this day. ProPublica reporter Dr. Sheri Fink has worked tirelessly to investigate the saga at Memorial over the past two and a half years. She joins hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz to share this story.
Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Greenberg will cover a range of other topics during the show, including the ongoing debate over patient responsibility: what kind of incentives might encourage patients to meet personal health goals, and who should provide these incentives? They will also pay tribute to a health care stalwart in the United States Senate, the late Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Guest: Vivian Fonseca, MD, FRCP
SGLT2 is responsible for glucose re-absorption in the kidney and decreasing SGLT2 function promotes glucose excretion to help reduce blood sugar levels, making it an attractive area for the treatment of diabetes. Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest, professor of medicine at Tulane University, Dr. Vivian Fonseca, as they discuss the new class of medications being investigated for the treatment of type-2 diabetes.
Guest: John Buse, MD, PhD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
Diabetes therapeutics such as glucose and weight control are major physiological functions of the new glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists. But is there evidence to suggest that GLP-1 may also have some cardiovascular benefits? Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and Dr. John Buse, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, as they discuss the emerging cardiovascular actions of incretin hormones.
Guest: Kenneth Edelin, MD
Host: Martin Samuels, MD
In 1974, one year after Roe v Wade, Dr. Kenneth C. Edelin, a young black doctor, was the chief resident in obstetrics at Boston City Hospital. Three months before completing his residency, Dr. Edelin was indicted for manslaughter after he surgically terminated a pregnancy. Convicted and sentenced to a one-year probation by a secret grand jury, before the decision was overturned by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts a year later, Dr. Edelin's case drew national attention. Dr. Edelin is emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine and author of the book, Broken Justice: A True Story of Race, Sex and Revenge in a Boston Courtroom. He joins host Dr. Martin Samuels to discuss his personal involvement in this landmark legal case and the issues it raised, which remain points of discussion in American society today.
Guest: David A. Kessler, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
We know that the basic ingredients in our food have played a major role in the progression of our country's obesity epidemic -- it's not all about our genetics and our sedentary lifestyle. Yet, armed with this knowledge, and amid a bevy of weight loss pills, exercise routines and diet fads galore, we continue to have trouble controlling what we eat and how much of it we eat.
One competing strategy to beat these struggles centers on brain circuitry and how we respond to food: the activation of reward neurocircuitry, increasing attention to and arousal by food stimuli and other food-related cues like advertising. Can we impart several simple ideas on our patients to improve their control mechanisms for food desires and food intake? Dr. David Kessler says we can.
Dr. Kessler, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 1990 to 1997, former dean of the medical schools at the University of California, San Francisco and Yale University and author of the new book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, joins hosts Dr. Matthew Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg for a fascinating discussion about why many of us overeat and what we can …
Guest: Jack Grider, PhD
Host: Mark DeLegge, MD
What is the underlying mechanism of propulsion in the digestive system, and how is motility stimulated? How are some newer pharmacotherapies looking to target serotonin to treat conditions such as IBS and constipation? Dr. Jack Grider, professor in the department of medicine, division of gastroenterology at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, talks about future pharmacotherapy directions that either suppress or encourage motility in the digestive system. Hosted by Dr. Mark DeLegge.
Guest: Rep. Peter Roskam, (R-IL)
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
It seems every day there is a new batch of developments in the political tussle over health care reform. Many members of the medical community are frustrated at the tenor of the debate in Washington, and concerned that the issues sacred to physicians and other medical professionals appear to have taken a backseat to others involved here. Even for those of us who see the need to change our health care system, it has been a fast moving and oft-confusing period filled with questions: are we moving too quickly on an issue that warrants the full attention of Congress and all of the major players involved? how can physicians do more to ensure that their voices are heard during this frenzied debate? Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matthew Birnholz welcome someone with a front-row seat to the health care reform process, Congressman Peter Roskam, of the 6th district in Illinois and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has designed one of the health care reform bills that is currently circulating the Capitol.
Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Birnholz also discuss two interesting doctor-patient issues percolating in the media: one is a experimental program at Beth Israel …
Guest: Rahul Parikh, MD
Host: Matt Birnholz, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
President Obama recently gave a speech at the annual meeting for the American Medical Association (AMA) in Chicago. The speech thrust the AMA squarely into the national spotlight as an organization that represents physicians around the country. While the president's discourse with the AMA drew a lot of attention to the issue of health care reform, it has also renewed the conversation in some circles of the medical community, where doctors are wondering whether the AMA speaks to their best interests as practicing physicians, as well as to the best interests of their patients. Dr. Rahul Parikh, a pediatrician based in California, recently wrote an article on the subject for the Health Care Blog. He joins hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz to examine this question of professional organizations' representation of physicians. As we move toward a series of defining moments in the health reform debate, is the voice of the physician being heard during this ongoing conversation? If not, what can we do to make our professional concerns known?
Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Greenberg will also delve into an interesting ethical discussion of the medical care received by high-profile individuals. In recent weeks, Apple CEO Steve Jobs …
Guest: William Chey, MD
Host: Mark DeLegge, MD
Guest: Mark Pimentel, MD
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, affects a significant number of patients and can be challenging to treat. How might antibiotic therapy benefit IBS patients, and how is antibiotic therapy a unique option for treating IBS? Should physicians empirically treat IBS patients with antibiotics? Joining us to debate these questions are Dr. William Chey, professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, and Dr. Mark Pimentel, associate professor of medicine at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Mark DeLegge hosts.
Guest: Carol Paris, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD and Larry Kaskel, MD
We've heard a lot about health system reform in recent months. One possible mode of health care reform is the single-payer approach, but advocates of single-payer believe their principles have not received fair consideration from lawmakers, in large part because of the lobbying influence of the health care industry. Critics of single-payer argue that quality of care will go down and that the model will breed excess demand for medical services; advocates counter that it is the only way to provide comprehensive, cost-effective medical coverage for all. Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Larry Kaskel welcome single-payer supporter Dr. Carol Paris, a psychiatrist practicing in southern Maryland, to articulate how she and her colleagues in the single-payer camp believe health care should be organized in the United States.
Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Kaskel will also discuss physicians who are blogging about their malpractice trials, and a new study that indicates pagers may be more error prone than we expect. Is it time for physicians to abandon their beepers in favor of a litany of other mobile communication options?
Guest: Robert Henry, MD
Host: Steven Edelman, MD
The physiological effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) are exciting because of the potential clinical relevance in treating two of the major abnormalities that contribute to type 2 diabetes: impaired insulin secretion and excessive glucagon secretion. GLP-1 also appears to have effects on gastric emptying and appetite suppression. Join host Dr. Steven Edelman and his guest Dr. Robert Henry, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and chief of both the section of endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes and the Center for Metabolic Research at the VA Medical Center in San Diego.
On July 28th, 2009, the FDA issued an advisory recommending that consumers do not use body building products marketed as containing steroids or steroid-like substances, due to potential serious health risks. Listen now for the full advisory.
Guest: Julie Cantor, MD, JD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD and Larry Kaskel, MD
Friends and family of Dr. George Tiller recently laid the prominent abortion physician to rest, after he was shot and killed while serving as usher during a Sunday church service in Wichita, Kansas. Authorities have charged a man with murder in the case, but Dr. Tiller's death has sparked a fresh debate about the role of physicians and other health care providers in abortion cases, as well as other areas of medicine where moral and religious convictions may overlap with our duty to the health and well-being of our patients.
One aspect of this debate revolves around efforts from the administration of President George W. Bush to bolster federal conscience protection statutes for health care providers, regulations which were implemented by the department of Health and Human Services in the final weeks of his time in the White House. The Obama administration began the process of determining whether to rescind the regulations. For more insight into the legal wrangling over this issue, hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Larry Kaskel welcome Dr. Julie Cantor, adjunct professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Kaskel and Dr. Greenberg will also delve into concerns about health insurance adminstration, sharing …
Guest: Michael Rybak, PharmD, MPH, PhD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Vancomycin has come full circle in recent years. First used as an alternative to penicillin nearly a half-century ago, it was surpassed by methicillin and other semisynthetic penicillins that were regarded as less toxic. Paradoxically, the subsequent rise of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has reestablished vancomycin as the primary antibiotic treatment for MRSA infections. With this in mind, what do we know about its pharmacodynamics that allows us to institute optimal monitoring strategies for this drug? Host Dr. Charles Turck welcomes Dr. Michael Rybak, associate dean for research, professor of pharmacy and medicine, and director of the Anti-Infective Research Laboratory at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Guest: Eric Elliott
Host: Bruce Japsen
What if prescription costs were tied to outcomes and how patients do on their prescriptions? It's already happening. Eric Elliott, president of CignaPharmacy Management, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about new ways health benefits companies are working to provide more effective treatments.
Guest: J. James Rohack, MD
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD and Larry Kaskel, MD
News out of Washington, DC, last week has many sectors of health care abuzz about the possibility of meaningful reforms to our system: President Barack Obama announced the initial framework of a commitment from six of the major players in the healthcare industry to cut nearly two trillion dollars in health care costs over the next 10 years. If the plan moves forward as it is currently stands, what will be the lasting impact on our work and our practices? Dr. James Rohack, president-elect of the American Medical Association and a leading figure in these high-level meetings at the White House, joins hosts Dr. Larry Kaskel and Dr. Michael Greenberg to share his perspective on the progress toward significant changes in healthcare.
Dr. Kaskel and Dr. Greenberg will also reflect on the H1N1 frenzy over the past few weeks, and muse about the apparent gravitation toward Wikipedia among physicians who use the Web as a medical resource.
Host: Janet Wright, MD
Guest: Salim Yusuf, DPhil, FRCPC
Start with one part diuretic. Add one part ACE inhibitor, and sprinkle in one part beta blocker. Then add a dose of statins, and top it off with a portion of antiplatelets. Here we have the proposed recipe for a singular pill that some experts believe will eventually help us stick a fork in heart disease. Yet there are pharmacologic concerns and certainly clinical trials to pass before this drug comes to a practice near you. That said, it's fair to wonder: how close are we? Dr. Salim Yusuf, professor of medicine and the director of the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is the lead author of one of the most recent polypill clinical trials, presented at the American College of Cardiology's 2009 Scientific Sessions. Dr. Yusuf joins host Dr. Janet Wright to give us an update on the global effort to create a polypill that will improve compliance, increase convenience and reduce cost.
Host: Janet Wright, MD
Guest: Noel Bairey Merz, MD
Research tells us that more than 80 percent of American women have used hormonal contraception during their lives. Though evidence suggests hormonal contraception could offer anti-atheromatous effects, the verdict is far from in. Further, we have a lot to learn about the long-term risks for thrombosis, arrythmogenesis, vasomotion and beyond. As we study the potential links between contraceptive hormone use and cardiovascular disease, where should our priorities lie? Host Dr. Janet Wright poses this question as part of a fascinating conversation with Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, director of the Women's Heart Center and the Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center, and the Women's Guild Endowed Chair in Women's Health at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Host: Todd Mahr, MD
Guest: Warner Carr, MD
What phases does the FDA use to approve a new medication, and why does this process take several years? Why must the active and excipient components of the medication, as well as the device, complete all of the testing phases? Dr. Warner Carr, allergist at Allergy and Asthma Associates in Mission Viejo, California, shares insight from his role as a new drug reviewer at the FDA. How do physicians play a vital role in the drug-approval process by providing clinical feedback to the FDA? Dr. Todd Mahr hosts.
Host: Shira Johnson, MD
Guest: Stephen Schwartz, PhD
Approximately 8000 men are diagnosed every year with testicular cancer in the United States. A first-of-its-kind study looked at whether or not marijuana use increases the risk. Dr. Stephen Schwartz, one of the researchers on the study and professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington, discusses his findings with host Dr. Shira Johnson. The two discuss how the research was conducted, who took part, and what needs to be done in the future to find more definitive answers.
Guest: Evelyn Hermes-DeSantis, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Pregnancy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is linked to several risks. Women of childbearing age are often encouraged to avoid pregnancy. But when pregnancy does occur, how can clinicians balance improvement of outcomes with considerations for the maternal and fetal health? Joining Dr. Charles Turck to discuss these issues and more is Dr. Evelyn Hermes-DeSantis, director of the Drug Information Service at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and clinical associate professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Guest: William Zellmer, MPH
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Every year, things change in healthcare. Looking retrospectively over the past 40 years in clinical pharmacy, we've seen nothing less than a revolution in the way we practice. Yet pharmacy practice, in many ways, remains dichotomous, when assessing our distributive and clinical duties. Host Dr. Charles Turck asks, Can we, and should we, find a way to reconcile these roles? And how do the changes of the past four decades project over the next 40 years? William Zellmer, former deputy executive vice president for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, explores these questions and much more.
Guest: Charles Cefalu, MD MS
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
What are the various types of anemia found in long-term care settings, and which types are the most common? What are some of the underlying causes of both chronic and acute anemia? Dr. Charles Cefalu, clinical professor and chief of the section of geriatric medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, talks about how physicians can be alert to symptoms of anemia, which are often non-specific. What is the relationship between falling and anemia? Dr. Eric Tangalos hosts.
Guest: Keith Black, MD
Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD
Despite our best efforts at surgery and chemotherapy for patients with glioblastoma, survival time is often far too limited. One novel weapon in our arsenal could be a vaccine that bolsters the immune system in the body's fight against these tumors. As we move forward with research toward a vaccine, what are the keys to boosting its efficacy? How much additional time could a vaccine buy for our glioblastoma patients? Host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill probes these questions and more with Dr. Keith Black, professor of neurosurgery and chair of the department of neurosurgery, and director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Black also describes the fascinating process by which the research team collects tissue from each patient, which is subsequently applied toward the formation of a vaccine customized for the individual's condition.
Host: Jack Lewin, MD
Guest: Mark McClellan, MD, PhD
It takes a substantial measure of time, money and manpower to bring a new drug from the bench to the marketplace. One key aspect of this sequence is the drug approval process, overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, former commissioner of the FDA and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to discuss a range of issues within the FDA's approval process: from essential boosts in funding, to more transparency about conflicts of interest, to the imperative need for comprehensive, real-time surveillance of long-term drug outcomes, how can the agency devote more attention to each of these areas of concern?
Guest: Thomas Lee, MD, MSc
Host: Martin Samuels, MD
What change can we realistically expect of the national healthcare delivery system, given the existing institutions and agendas, the economy and the current presidential administration? Will the practice of medicine fundamentally change? To discuss these and other topics, host Dr. Martin A. Samuels welcomes Dr. Thomas H. Lee. Dr. Lee is an internist, cardiologist, and CEO of Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Guest: Nancy Toedter Williams, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
For patients who are unable to receive nutrition or medications orally, enteral feeding tubes offer one alternative method of delivery. Successful administration through a feeding tube requires awareness of potential problems with drug efficacy, adverse symptoms or a clogged tube. Dr. Nancy Toedter Williams, associate professor of pharmacy practice at Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy, talks with host Dr. Charles Turck about the key considerations when administering medications through a feeding apparatus.
Guest: J. Randolph Hecht, MD
Host: Jay Goldstein, MD
How have treatments for colorectal and pancreatic cancers advanced in recent years, and are novel treatments reducing the mortality rate of patients with these cancers? Dr. J. Randolph Hecht, director of the GI Oncology Program at the UCLA Health System and clinical professor of medicine in the hematology-oncology division at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, looks at some of the newer pharmacological agents and methods being used to treat these gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Jay Goldstein hosts.
Guest: John Docherty
Host: Bruce Japsen
Cancer cells can be made to become more vulnerable to treatments like chemotherapy, and there are therapeutics under development which are designed to impact this so-called microenvironment of tumor cells. John Docherty, president of Toronto-based Helix BioPharma, tells host Bruce Japsen about a new wave of treatments and therapies in the biotechnology industry that could better target cancer cells and in turn help patients deal with the side effects of chemotherapy.
Guest: Patrick Frias, MD
Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP
Although sudden death in the pediatric population is rare, there has been a great deal of discussion recently over the possibility of an increase in risk of sudden cardiac death among individuals taking stimulant medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dr. Patrick Frias, a pediatric cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Sibley Heart Center Cardiology in Atlanta and associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, explores this discussion with host Dr. Jennifer Shu. How can we best evaluate our patients' risk for sudden death before initiating medical treatment for ADHD, and how often should we monitor their cardiovascular status?
Guest: William Zellmer, MPH
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Clinical pharmacy became a part of the modern medical lexicon in the 1960s, with pharmacy schools and pharmacists making an effort to become more patient-centered. From the role of the pharmacist in patient service, to the influence of technology in pharmacy practice, to the way our patients view our profession, how have things changed for the better? William Zellmer, former deputy executive vice president for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, surveys the past 40 years in clinical pharmacy with host Dr. Charles Turck. Where can we improve upon the lessons of the last several decades?
Guest: Frank Romanelli, PharmD, MPH
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Much of the debate surrounding lethal injection and its role as a form capital punishment in the United States stems from concerns of whether the drug combinations we choose-and how we administer them-engender a degree of unnecessary suffering. When weighing the ethics of lethal injection against the need for criminal justice, and even considering the legality of the participation of health care professionals in these procedures, how can we reconcile all of this with our overarching mission to promote health versus facilitating death? Dr. Frank Romanelli, assistant dean of education and associate professor of pharmacy at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, surveys an array of issues with host Dr. Charles Turck.
Guest: James Stolzenbach, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Despite the wide adoption of statins that are practically in the U.S. drinking water, there are still Americans who are not being treated with lipid-lowering therapies. So what's the answer? Dr. James Stolzenbach, who oversees clinical research in the area of dyslipidemia and renal drug development at Abbott Laboratories, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about combination therapies and other new drugs being pursued by the pharmaceutical industry to manage cholesterol.
Guest: James Stolzenbach, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Consumers and their doctors all know about LDL and the need to lower the so-called bad cholesterol. But what about the treatments beyond those that lower LDL? James Stolzenbach, who oversees clinical research in the area of dyslipidemia and renal drug development at Abbott Laboratories, tells host Bruce Japsen about new developments in treating and managing cholesterol beyond lowering LDL.
Guest: David Kass, MD
Host: Larry Kaskel, MD
The medication Viagra has been shown to have positive impact on the heart in recent research. Host Dr. Larry Kaskel discusses with Dr. David Kass, the Abraham and Virginia Weiss Professor of Cardiology and professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the history of Viagra as a medicine developed for the heart. Dr. David Kass explains the results of his research with mice and how sildenafil triggers an important heart protein, RGS2, and why this enzyme may prevent heart failure. Tune in to hear the next chapter of Viagra as a shield against high blood pressure damage and its potential for future cardiovascular protective effects.
Guest: John Inadomi, MD
Host: Jay Goldstein, MD
Non-cardiac chest pain and chronic cough are just two of the extraesophageal manifestations of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. What other symptoms should we look for? If a patient displays characteristics of GERD, such as esophogeal regurgitation, is that patient also likely to experience extraesophogeal manifestations of GERD? Dr. John Inadomi, the Dean M. Craig Endowed Chair in Gastrointestinal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, explains what distinguishes extraesophogeal manifestations of GERD from GERD symptoms. Do proton pump inhibitors treat both GERD and its extraesophogeal symptoms? Dr. Jay Goldstein hosts.
Guest: Michael Bresler
Host: Shira Johnson, MD
There are many vasoactive medications available to treat hypertension in an acute setting. Join Dr. Michael Bresler, professor in the division of emergency medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of Emergency Medicine at the Mills-Peninsula Health System, to discuss the potent arsenal of acute care medications at your disposal. Dr. Shira Johnson is the host for this informative session on the use and misuse of vasodilators.
Guest: Rowen Zetterman, MD
Host: Mark DeLegge, MD
Acetaminophen, vitamin supplements and antibiotics are just a few of the medications that can cause liver injury. What are the signs of drug-induced liver injury? Are the effects immediate, or do the effects become noticeable after an extended period of time? Dr. Rowen Zetterman, professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, provides an overview of factors that might lead to drug-induced liver injury. Dr. Mark DeLegge hosts.
Guest: Matthew Wayne, MD, CMD
Host: Eric Tangalos, MD
What risks does polypharmacy pose for elderly patients, and how should physicians manage medications in the population of their patients over age 65? Dr. Matthew Wayne, assistant professor of medicine at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, discusses the typical symptoms that might indicate an adverse drug reaction, and suggests ways physicians can recognize these symptoms. What factors should physicians keep in mind when prescribing medications to a patient in their last few years of life? Dr. Eric Tangalos hosts.
Guest: Samuel Gandy, MD
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
What medications are approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease? Dr. Samuel Gandy, professor and director of the Farber institute for neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University, discusses state of the art pharmacologic treatments for Alzheimer's disease with host Dr. Lee Freedman. What are the benefits to each medication, and how can physicians prevent side effects from these medications? How do diet and lifestyle influence the condition?
Guest: Barry Davis, MD, PhD
Host: Matthew J. Sorrentino, MD, FACC, FASH
Hypertension is the most common underlying risk factor for the development of congestive heart failure. Dr. Barry Davis, the Guy S. Parcel Chair in Public Health and director of the Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, will review a recent analysis of the ALLHAT hypertension trial showing that diuretics significantly reduced the occurrence of new-onset heart failure in individuals with both a preserved and reduced ejection fraction. Hosted by Dr. Matthew Sorrentino.
Guest: Gary Conkright
Host: Bruce Japsen
Reducing medication errors is a global challenge but the good news is that there are increasingly new and innovative ways companies are looking to find solutions to error reduction. Gary Conkright, chief executive officer of medication safety company InformMed tells host Bruce Japsen about a tool designed by nurses as the latest in the coming wave of potential products in the medication error solution space.
Guest: Scott Riccio
Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD
Guest: Scott Gottlieb, MD
While new science continues to evolve the development of drugs and cures, the scientific principals we use to evaluate the drugs is arguably obsolete. Host Dr. Bruce Bloom is joined in this segment by Scott Riccio, founder and director for Accelerate Progress, a not-for-profit "action-tank" focused on bringing new promising and potentially lifesaving therapies to cancer patients, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a practicing physician and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Listen in to learn how clinical trial models might be changed to better evaluate the success of new drugs that target subsets of the population with certain cancers, and expedite translatable cures.
Host: Doug Weaver, MD
Guest: Peter Berger, MD
It is no longer a question of whether antiplatelet therapy should be used following implantation of a drug-eluting stent, but rather to what extent and to what duration. With this in mind, many new challenges arise, from bleeding risks to drug intolerance and product cost. Host Dr. Doug Weaver welcomes Dr. Peter Berger, associate chief research officer and director of the Center for Clinical Studies at the Geisinger Clinic in central Pennsylvania, to discuss how we’re moving to address these concerns. Dr. Berger also details a series of related procedural circumstances—dental surgery, bronchoscopy, certain orthopaedic procedures and more—in which antiplatelet therapy need not be discontinued.
Guest: Paul Holman, MD
Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD
Many of our patients who suffer from significant back pain put off surgery as long as they can, relying primarily on medical and physical therapy while hoping to avoid an elaborate operative procedure. Yet as with so many areas of medicine today, minimally invasive techniques are providing new options for patients with back pain, and others who face spine surgery. As with all new procedures, we have to ask, What are the fundamental risks and rewards? Dr. Paul Holman, a neurosurgeon for the Methodist Neurological Institute at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, hones in on key features of the newest approaches to minimally invasive spinal surgery: the expanding range of patients who are candidates for these procedures, common complications and the evolving technology that makes this all possible. Dr. Mark Nolan Hill hosts.
Host: Mark DeLegge, MD
Guest: William J. Sandborn, MD
The current treatment paradigm for Crohn's disease is a pyramid approach, where patients are given the safest medications before pursuing more aggressive strategies. New evidence suggests that Crohn's disease should be treated with the most effective medications first, such as anti-TNF therapies. But is a top-down strategy safe enough for most patients? Dr. William Sandborn, professor of medicine and gastrointestinal research at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, describes the results of new Crohn's disease trials and research. Is using steroids to treat Crohn's disease an idea of the past, or are steroids still effective for certain patients? Dr. Mark DeLegge hosts.
Host: Ketan Sheth, MD, MBA
Guest: I. Leonard Bernstein, MD
The Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma has revised its allergy diagnostic testing parameters. What are the parameters trying to establish? What are the advantages of intracutaneous, skin prick, and in vitro testing for diagnosing allergies? Dr. I. Leonard Bernstein, co-director of the allergy research laboratory in the department of medicine at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and co-author of the parameters, explores allergy diagnostic testing options with host Dr. Ketan Sheth.
Guest: Stephen P. Spielberg, MD, PhD
Host: Bill Rutenberg, MD
Medicines for malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS are all available for children, but none are formulated specifically for the younger patient population. Recently, the World Health Organization generated an essential drug list for kids. How will they follow up on this effort? Dr. Stephen M. Spielberg, professor of pediatrics, pharmacology and toxicology at Dartmouth Medical School, and principal investigator for the Institute for Pediatric Innovation's Pediatric Pharmaceutical Reformulation Project, joins host Dr. Bill Rutenberg to discuss some of the challenges ahead: formulation, dosing, preservation, delivery and beyond.
Guest: Denise L. Faustman, MD
Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD
We spend billions each year to research possible cures for type I diabetes, but the cure may already be on the shelf. Join host Dr. Bruce Bloom and his guest, Dr. Denise L. Faustman, associated professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Immunobiology Laboratories at Massachusetts General Hospital, as they explore the first clinical trial using generic drugs to try to cure type I diabetes.
Host: Jay Goldstein, MD
Guest: Richard Fedorak, MD
Steroids used to be the standard treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. But now biologic and immunosuppresive therapies are often used. How can we increase the efficacy of these medications? What combinations work best? Dr. Richard Fedorak, professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Alberta in Canada, discusses IBD treatments with host Dr. Jay Goldstein.
Guest: Kate Phillips, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Warfarin is one member of the anticoagulant class that presents a challenge to clinicians. Low-molecular weight heparins can be equally tricky, especially when it comes to dosing decisions in the obese, the renally compromised, and in patients with evolving pharmacokinetic profiles. How can we tailor our clinical approach to specific subtypes of patients who require anticoagulant therapy? Dr. Kate Phillips, clinical specialist in cardiology and anticoagulation at the Boston Medical Center, details special considerations for our approach to care. Dr. Charles Turck hosts.
Guest: Kate Phillips, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Several factors impact our ability to safely and effectively prescribe warfarin and other anticoagulants. These issues include genetics, weight, renal impairment, and the potential for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. How can we continue to improve our recognition of these factors that affect our patients' capacity to metabolize anticoagulants? Dr. Kate Phillips, clinical specialist in cardiology and anticoagulation at the Boston Medical Center, speaks with host Dr. Charles Turck about the challenges of anticoagulant therapy dosing, as well as the variation in response to therapy, based on ethnicity and other factors.
Guest: Jeffrey Settleman, PhD
Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD
Cancer cells almost always defeat drug therapies. Can combination therapies prevent or overcome drug resistance? Join host Dr. Bruce Bloom as he discusses the research and clinical issues of cancer treatment with Dr. Jeffrey Settleman, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and scientific director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.
Guest: Devon Herrick, PhD
Host: Bruce Japsen
The drug bill for consumers continues to grow, but there are things they can do about it and doctors have ways of helping their patients in this regard. Dr. Devon Herrick, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, tells host Bruce Japsen about the latest developments doctors and their patients should be aware of when it comes to paying for their prescriptions, including how to be a smart shopper.
Guest: Mark Herrmann, JD
Host: Larry Kaskel, MD
Guest Mark Herrmann tells us what it means when a prescription drug or medical device is described as "off-label". Mr. Herrmann also explains that a physician can legally prescribe any drug for any purpose and that his exposure for malpractice liability is based upon whether he met the legal "standard of care", not whether he complied with the drug or device's approved use as authorized by the FDA.
Guest: Mark Herrmann, JD
Host: Larry Kaskel, MD
Mark Herrmann, a partner at the internationally recognized law firm of Jones Day and a defense attorney for drug and device companies in product liability cases, discusses the legal concept of preemption. How does this doctrine protect drug and device manufacturers from tort litigation? Mr. Herrmann explains the preemption issue which is to be decided in a Supreme Court case later this year. He also outlines the public policy cited by supporters and detractors in this conversation with host Dr. Larry Kaskel.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Jason Woo, MD, MPH
The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act generally requires drugs to be both safe and effective prior to marketing and widespread use. But, despite this act, not all marketed drugs have undergone FDA approval. Dr. Jason Woo, associate director for Scientific and Medical Affairs in the Office of Compliance for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, discusses measures the FDA has undertaken to address the issue of these drugs on the market. Hosted by Dr. Charles Turck.
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Guest: Charles Lee, MD
What specific action is the FDA undertaking to combat the marketing of unapproved drugs, and how can healthcare professionals play a role in tackling this public health issue? Dr. Charles Lee, a medical officer within the Division of New Drugs and Labeling Compliance at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, speaks with host Dr. Charles Turck about the FDA's top priorities in corralling products that pose key safety concerns, or do not measure up to efficacy standards or manufacturing practices.
Guest: Ronald Hall II, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
A drug that's been around for decades, vancoymcin is the medicine of choice for treating MRSA infections. While intravenous dosing recommendations are usually weight-based, vancomycin is often prescribed using a flat-dose strategy. Given the growing obesity epidemic in our country, it's worthwhile to ask whether we're underdosing our patients when we write for vancomycin using the conventional flat-dose. Dr. Ronald Hall II joins host Dr. Charles Turck to evaluate vancomycin dosing by weight.
Guest: Susan Foster, MSW
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Up to 85 percent of all prescriptions purchased by patients on the Internet involve controlled substances, compared with just over 10 percent thru regular pharmacies. These figures, coming from independent, non-profit research, warn of serious problems of misuse by those who obtain drugs from the Web. What can be done-and what are we doing-to stop these sales? The National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, has studied this issue extensively. Susan Foster, vice president and director of policy research and analysis at CASA, led the authoring of the Center's most recent report. She talks with host Dr. Charles Turck about what we can do to prevent unsupervised use of these medicines and better protect our patients from the associated dangers.
Guest: Peter Zed, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
A range of factors likely contribute to the incidence of medication-related visits to the emergency room: a prescriber's instructions, a patient's adherence to those instructions, the drugs themselves, and much more. How serious are many of these events? How can medical professionals help prevent these episodes? Host Dr. Charles Turck probes these questions and beyond with Dr. Peter Zed, a pharmacotherapeutic specialist in emergency medicine and an associate professor in the department of emergency medicine and the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Guest: Peter Zed, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
A patient's misuse of their medication lands them in the emergency room: It's a common problem, the sources of which are now under extensive study. What does new research tell us about medication-related adverse events that turn into trips to the emergency room? Host Dr. Charles Turck considers the impact--financially, logistically and beyond--of these hospital visits with Dr. Peter Zed, a pharmacotherapeutic specialist in emergency medicine and an associate professor in the department of emergency medicine and the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Guest: Luke Probst, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
What is the best method for adjusting drug doses for your patients with kidney disease? Research working to answer this question has produced a series of interesting observations: What are these concepts and how does this help us evaluate the problem at hand? Dr. Luke Probst, a pediatric pharmacy specialist and a clinical assistant professor in the departments of pediatrics and medicine at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, speaks with host Dr. Charles Turck about the need for accurate dose applications to eschew long-term sequela.
Guest: Luke Probst, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
How do you adjust drug doses in your patients with kidney disease? Two main strategies might come to mind: the Cockcroft-Gault equation or the modified diet in renal disease. Is one more applicable for your patients?Dr. Charles Turck welcomes Dr. Luke Probst, a pediatric pharmacy specialist and a clinical assistant professor in the departments of pediatrics and medicine at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University.
Guest: Frank Leone, MD
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
Smoking-related morbidities and health complications are well-established. Even with social trends impinging on the freedom to smoke in convenient locations, many of our patients still can't kick the habit. Host Dr. Lee Freedman learns more about effective pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic ‘quit smoking' remedies from Dr. Frank Leone, associate professor of medicine and director of the Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Guest: Frank Leone, MD
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
The morbidities and health complications from smoking are certainly well established. But even with social trends increasingly making the life of a smoker more difficult, many of our patients still can’t kick the habit. Joining your host Dr. Lee Freedman, to discuss smoking cessation therapies is Dr. Frank Leone, pulmonologist and director of Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Programs at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Leone covers the origins of the habit, nicotine addiction, and how to best approach patients with both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments.
Guest: Kristine A. Rapp
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
While relationships are changing between physicians and pharmaceutical companies, doctors still need pharma to provide direction with comparative drug efficacy, among other things. Kristine Rapp, vice president of global ethics and compliance at Hospira, Inc., speaks about the need for continuing medical education and other learning tools to be presented with impartiality and fairness. Dr. Maurice Pickard hosts.
Host: Roy Levit, MD
Guest: Paul Tornambe, MD
Dr. Roy Levit welcomes Dr. Paul Tornambe to The Revealing Retina. Dr. Tornambe is in private practice in the San Diego/La Jolla area, and has written over a dozen peer reviewed papers on vitreo retinal disease. He lectures worldwide and is a Journal Referee for the AJO, Archives of Ophthalmology, Retina, British Journal of Ophthalmology, and the German Journal of Ophthalmology. He is a past president of the American Society of Retina Specialists. Dr. Tornambe will discuss the fact that because most residents eventually become board certified, the overall certification rate for the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) is not a discriminating educational outcome measure. He will talk about resident performance from program match to certification.
Guest: Sarah Tomasello, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
How can we optimize erythropoetic therapy in patients with anemia of chronic kidney disease? How widespread is the problem of hyporesponsiveness to erythropoetic-stimulating agents? Dr. Sarah Tomasello, clinical associate professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a clinical specialist in nephrology at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey, joins host Dr. Charles Turck.
Guest: Sarah Tomasello, PharmD
Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
How are erythropoietic-stimulating agents (ESA) most helpful for patients with chronic kidney disease? What target levels of iron should clinicians maintain before starting ESA therapy, and what challenges will we encounter in this process? Host Dr. Charles Turck probes these questions and more with Dr. Sarah Tomasello, clinical associate professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a clinical specialist in nephrology at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey.
Guest: Samantha Collier, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Quality measurement is becoming more known with grades of hospitals, nursing homes and doctor groups becoming more prevalent. But how about prescription drugs? Dr. Samantha Collier, the chief medical officer of HealthGrades, one of the nation’s largest independent healthcare ratings companies, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about ranking prescription drugs, the latest effort in rating medical care.
Host: Ketan Sheth, MD, MBA
Guest: Stuart Stoloff, MD
For the first time in 10 years, the guidelines for allergy management have been significantly updated. With the goal of optimizing asthma control for every patient, how were the new guidelines created, and how should they be applied? Dr. Stuart Stoloff, a family practitioner from Carson City, Nevada, and member of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program’s Expert Panel 3, speaks with your host, Dr. Ketan Sheth on the creation of the new guidelines and their application in the exam room.
Guest: Todd Park
Host: Larry Kaskel, MD
Todd Park, cofounder and Chief Athenista at AthenaHealth, one of the fastest growing web-based practice management and electronic medical record companies, joined host Larry Kaskel at the Health Summit in Las Vegas. Todd discussed his vision of the future medical landscape. Join us to find out how companies like AthenaHealth try to help doctors master the ever growing changes that they must face.
Guest: Benjamin Hippen, MD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Dr. Benjamin Hippen speaks about the Iranian system that allows an individual's kidney to be sold by the donor, whom we can also think of as the vendor. Examination has shown that the recipients are on a level playing field and there is no tourism or fraud. The responsibility for recruiting potential vendors becomes separated from the responsibility for approving the vendor's medical and surgical candidacy. But moral concerns in the US may have to be resolved in the future by a hybrid system that combines features of both systems.
Guest: Benjamin Hippen, MD
Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Dr. Benjamin Hippen reviews the kidney transplantation policy failure in the United States. The cost is now 21 billion dollars in Medicare commitment to end-stage renal disease and 50 percent of those on the transplant waiting list will likely die before receiving an organ. This situation is getting worse by the day. Iran is the only country in the world that has no organ shortage. Is their system of legal organ "vending" worth examining?
Guest: Tangerine Brigham
Host: Michael Greenberg, MD
Dr. Michael Greenberg welcomes Tangerine Brigham, Deputy Director of Health for the San Francisco Department of Health and Director of "Healthy San Francisco," a landmark plan to provide health care to San Francisco's 73,000 uninsured city residents. Now available at multiple clinics across the city, this program is intended to give people a medical home, a primary doctor and medical services ranging from basic preventive care to pharmaceuticals to surgeries.
Guest: Don Catlin, MD
Host: Gary Kohn, MD
In the Spy vs. Spy-like game of catching the athletes using illegal performance-enhancing substances, Dr. Don Catlin, chief executive of Anti-Doping Research in Los Angeles, and the former head of UCLA Olympic Analytical Labs, is among the world's foremost authorities on drug testing. He speaks with host Dr. Gary Kohn about the TE ratio marker as an indicator for pharmaceutical testosterone use, and a finding that may provide some genetically gifted individuals a license to cheat.
Guest: Prabhat Jha, MD, PhD
Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD
International research predicts that, in the next decade, India will surpass a frightening landmark: one million annual smoking-related deaths. What are the unique challenges of spreading information on the dangers of smoking throughout India? How is India working to reduce the scourge of smoking-related illnesses? Dr. Prabhat Jha, professor of health and development, and founding director of the Centre for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto, details his extensive findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, on the current smoking epidemic in India. Dr. Mark Nolan Hill hosts.
Guest: Prabhat Jha, MD, PhD
Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD
Dr. Prabhat Jha, professor of health and development, and founding director of the Centre for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto, details his extensive findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, on the current smoking epidemic in India with host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill. Is India's hospital and healthcare system equipped to deal with the breadth of smoking-related illnesses? Dr. Jha also talks about the efforts of India's tobacco industry to squash his scientific data, and explains how the Indian government can resist the push of tobacco industry lobbyists.
Guest: Prabhat Jha, MD, PhD
Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD
By the year 2010, experts predicted that India would suffer nearly one million smoking related-deaths per year. How do the traditional cultural influences, as well as the more modern Western influences, impact smoking patterns in India? Do the primary causes of death from smoking differ from those in the United States? Dr. Prabhat Jha, professor of health and development, and founding director of the Centre for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto, details his extensive findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, on the current smoking epidemic in India. Dr. Mark Nolan Hill hosts.
Guest: Randal Mills, PhD
Host: Bruce Japsen
2008 was a watershed year for stem cell-based treatment, with the first product of this kind going before an FDA review for approval. Learn more from Randal Mills, PhD, chief executive officer of Osiris Therapeutics, as he unveils details of his company’s stem cell-based medicine with host Bruce Japsen. How might the submission of this medicine for FDA approval start us down the path toward an array of stem cell products?
Guest: Randal Mills, PhD
Host: Bruce Japsen
While politicians debate whether there should be federal funding of embryonic stem cells, they might be over-looking a key point: the fact that all of the momentum in stem cell research is not in cells derived from human embryos at all. Randal Mills, the chief executive officer of Osiris Therapeutics tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about how all of the major clinical research in the U.S. is in adult stem cells.
Guest: Melanie Calvert, PhD
Host: Gary Kohn, MD
Quality of life as related to patient care; how do you measure it, teach it, and use it? Join host Dr. Gary Kohn as he explores the topic with Dr. Melanie Calvert, a research fellow at the University of Birmingham and PhD biochemist who's worked with clinicians, industry, and academics researching the role quality of life plays in assessing patient outcomes and health policy decision making.
Guest: Darrell Kirch, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Will there be a doctor in the house when we need one? A shortage of U.S. physicians is putting academic medicine to the test when it comes to this question. Dr. Darrell Kirch, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about the support needed for teaching hospitals and medical schools how to satisfy the nation's supply of physicians.
Guest: Darrell Kirch, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
The need for a sustained investment in medical research is critical to patient care. But annual budget cuts to the National Insitutes of Health have continued for years now. Dr. Darrell Kirch, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about funding needs for perhaps the most critical of government agencies for medical research.
Guest: Darrell Kirch, MD
Host: Bruce Japsen
Dissecting the various agents for healthcare reform in the United States, one key area of participation must come from those who teach and train our medical professionals of tomorrow. How can academic medicine take a leading role in the healthcare reform debate? Dr. Darrell Kirch, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, probes this question and more with host Bruce Japsen.
Guest: Melda Dolan, MD
Host: Paul Raeburn
The FDA has recently put a black box warning on ultrasound contrast agents, suggesting that they could pose risks to patients. A researcher who says the FDA had little basis for its decision is now reporting a study that finds that contrast agents are overwhelmingly safe--and that their benefits far outweigh any possible risk. Paul Raeburn hosts.
Guest: Steven Kravet, MD, MBA
Host: Lee Freedman, MD
Measuring the proportion of primary care physicians, we know the United States lags far behind other developed nations. How does this impact cost value and overall utilization of our health care system? Steven Kravet, MD, MBA, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, weighs in on the status of primary care with host Dr. Lee Freedman. How can we revitalize primary care medicine nationwide?