Preventive Medicine

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: Alan S. Brown, MD, FACC, FAHA, FNLA
Guest: Sheng Xu, PhD

Sheng Xu, Professor of Nanoengineering, Bioengineering, Computer and Electrical Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, meets with Dr. Alan Brown to discuss his innovative technology to change the way we predict cardiovascular risks.

Host: Hector O. Chapa, MD, FACOG
Guest: Julio M. Jimenez

While many practicing physicians are aware of Mendelian genetics, epigenetics is a much more complicated field of study. What can this field of genetics tell us about chronic health conditions? Dr. Hector Chapa joins Dr. Julio Jimenez, a licensed chiropractic doctor, to discuss the importance of understanding epigenetics.

Guest: Mary Beth Pfeiffer

With cases being reported in every state and across 80 countries, Lyme disease has become one of the fastest growing vector-borne illnesses in the world. But have you ever wondered how this global health threat came to be? That’s what journalist Mary Beth Pfeiffer investigates in her book, Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change, and with the ReachMD team.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Guest: Kenneth Davin Fine, MD

Dr. Brian McDonough brings up an age-old question: can listening to music cure your ailments? In an attempt to put this long-lived discussion to rest, Dr. McDonough welcomes Dr. Kenny Fine, a physician-musician of 15 years.

Host: John Russell, MD
Guest: Richard Wender, MD

From oncologists to primary care, physicians are witnessing an alarming trend in younger patients: the rising risk of colorectal cancer. To investigate this growing threat, Dr. John Russell speaks with Dr. Rich Wender, Chief Cancer Control Officer at the American Cancer Society. Dr. Wender discusses the new colorectal cancer screening guidelines set forth and the methods behind the conclusion. While comparing past guidelines, Dr. Wender considers changes in our society and environment that may be contributing to increased cancer risks in younger generations.

For more information and to review the new guidelines, go to cancer.org

Host: John Russell, MD
Guest: Paul M. O'Connor

Sodium bicarbonate (more commonly known as baking soda) has been used as a raising agent when baking delicious sweets for years. But as new research suggests, taking a daily dose of baking soda could also be used as a therapeutic agent. Tune in as Dr. John Russell speaks with Dr. Paul O'Connor, Renal Physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, about his recent investigation into how this common household product could treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Have we been fed misinformation about how our food choices affect our bodies? Listen in as Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with mythbuster and co-founder of the Florida Wellness Center Dr. Julie Gatza, who proposes a new spin on the most common misconception surrounding healthy eating.

Host: Andrew Wilner, MD, FACP, FAAN
Guest: Lawrence Robbins, MD

With all headache patients being unique, it's important to come up with an individualized treatment plan. But how do you go about doing that?

Joining Dr. Andrew Wilner is Dr. Lawrence Robbins, Director of the Robbins Headache Clinic in Riverwood, Illinois, to discuss the different approaches you can take when selecting acute, preventive, and behavioral therapies for migraine patients.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

With a wide spectrum of symptoms, treating depression often becomes frustrating—not only for the patient, but for the primary care physician as well. Joining Dr. Brian McDonough is Dr. Paul Gross, founder of the TMS Center of Lehigh Valley, to address the difficulties of properly identifying depression. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Green also exposes the impactful therapy Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which has been linked to improving other diseases beyond depression.

Host: John Russell, MD
Guest: Judd Hollander, MD

In the early 1900s, about 40% of doctor visits were made in a patient’s home. Today, with the rise of telehealth technologies, more than 7 million patients are once again receiving care in the comfort of their own homes.

Join Dr. John Russell as he speaks with Dr. Judd Hollander, Associate Dean for Strategic Health Initiatives at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and Professor and Vice Chair of Finance and Healthcare Enterprises in the Department of Emergency Medicine, on the benefits and risks of implementing telemedicine in your practice.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Is it possible that our emotional baggage is undermining our physical health? Dr. Bradley Nelson, holistic doctor and author of The Emotion Code, joins Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss the various impacts that negative emotions can make toward health maintenance and disease prevention.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Guest: John D. Betteridge, MD
Guest: Philip Stein, MD
Guest: Thomas Judge, M.D.

From the ReachMD studios in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, host Dr. Brian McDonough moderates an expert gastroenterology panel exploring some of the top issues in IBD management: the best time for primary care clinicians to refer patients to GI, challenges to making an early diagnosis, and differences between IBD and IBS.

Panel participants include:

• Dr. John Betteridge, Gastroenterologist at Lancaster General Hospital and Regional Gi Medical Center in Lancaster, PA
• Dr. Tom Judge, Gastroenterologist and Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cooper University Health Care, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
• Dr. Philip Stein, Pediatric Gastroenterologist at St. Christopher's Hospital and faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine

Host: Robert Frankel, MD
Guest: Neilanjan Nandi, MD

From the ReachMD studios in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, host Dr. Robert Frankel talks with Dr. Neilanjan Nandi, Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology and Associate Director of the Gastroenterology Fellowship program at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Nandi shares new insights on how to approach sexual and intimacy issues for IBD patients. Discussion points include quality of life measures, methods for maintaining healthy intimate relationships, respecting boundaries, and top health practitioner resources.

Host: Kathy King, RDN
Guest: Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RDN

Fatty liver disease affects more than thirty percent of Americans, most of whom go undiagnosed due to the typically asymptomatic early stages of the disease.

Joining Dr. Kathy King is Dr. Kristin Kirkpatrick, author of Skinny Liver and Lead Dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. From diagnosis to long-term effects, Dr. Kirkpatrick discusses how fatty liver disease has become an epidemic among the American population and the role of nutrition and lifestyle guidelines.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP
Guest: Adam Ehrlich, MD, MPH
Guest: John D. Betteridge, MD

From the ReachMD studios in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, host Dr. Brian McDonough leads an expert panel focusing on preventive care for IBD patients. Joining the expert panel are:

• Dr. Adam C. Ehrlich, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and Co-Medical Director of the Temple Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program, and
• Dr. John D. Betteridge, Gastroenterologist at Lancaster General Hospital and Regional Gi Medical Center. Drs. Ehrlich and Betteridge discuss the issues surrounding IBD with a focus on preventative care in patients.

Discussion points include micronutrient deficiencies, immunosuppression, methods to maintain a well-balanced nutrient-rich diet, and communication strategies between PCPs and GI specialists to improve patient care.

Host: Barnett Mennen, MD
Guest: Sarah Hallberg, MD

Carbohydrates are our main source of energy and provide important nutrients for good health. However, they are also the main culprit behind elevated blood sugar and are problematic for diabetic patients trying to control their blood sugar levels.

Host Dr. Barry Mennen sits down with Dr. Sarah Hallberg to talk about carbohydrate restriction as a key to successful weight loss programs. She prescribes that adherence to a low-carb, high-fat diet is vital to patients for controlling their diabetes, with the possibility of being able to come off medications over time.

Dr. Sarah Hallberg is the Medical Director at Virta Health and Founder of the Indiana University-Arnett Health Medical Weight Loss Program in Lafayette, Indiana.

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD
Guest: Katherine Baicker

In early 2008, Oregon opened a waiting list lottery for a limited number of spots in its Medicaid program. From the 90,000 people who signed up, the state drew approximately 30,000 names of people who were allowed to apply to its Medicaid program. The results of this lottery have been studied over subsequent years, allowing researchers the ability to analyze the effect of expanding access to public health insurance on health care use and patient outcomes.

Host Dr. Maurice Pickard talks with Katherine Baicker, Dean and the Emmett Dedmon Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. She is one of the leaders of the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, which investigated the effects of the Oregon Medicaid lottery. They discuss some of the conclusions from this study, including how a person’s increased exposure to health care through insurance coverage appears to produce significant, multifaceted, and nuanced benefits to one's health.

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: Maurice Pickard, MD
Guest: Danielle Ofri, MD

Despite modern medicine’s infatuation with high-tech gadgetry, the single most powerful diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which can uncover the lion’s share of illnesses. However, what patients say and what doctors hear are often two vastly different things.

Host Dr. Maurice Pickard chats with Dr. Danielle Ofri, Associate Professor of Medicine at NYU and author of What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear. The two discuss ways in which refocusing conversations between doctors and their patients can lead to better health outcomes.