Episode 95: We Need to Hold Ourselves Accountable

Your partner contacts you and says they've tested positive for syphilis. You follow the protocol which is to go and get tested and treated at a medical clinic. You get there and are informed you have to come back after the weekend. You go to another place and are told you can't be treated. Even with insurance, what are some of the barriers that would hinder this simple process of someone receiving proper treatment? Dr. David Malebranche shares a story no one should have to experience with their health care provider to be seen about possible STI contraction. About the guest: David J. Malebranche, MD, MPH, is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician and expert in men's health, student health, racial inequities in medicine, and LGBT health, as well as the prevention and treatment of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI). He is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Medical Director of Student & Employee Health at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Malebranche is an experienced qualitative HIV behavioral prevention researcher who has completed several studies on sexual health among Black men of diverse sexualities. Dr. Malebranche has published over 50 articles in medical and public health journals such as The Annals of Internal Medicine, The American Journal of Public Health, JAMA, and the Lancet, He is known as a dynamic speaker worldwide and has appeared in documentaries on CNN, ABC News Primetime, TV One, and Black Entertainment Television (BET) for his expertise on HIV in the Black community. Dr. Malebranche served as a member of the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) from 2006 – 2008 and was the HIV clinical expert on WebMD from 2010 - 2012. He also appears in the video series #AsktheHIVDoc, which promotes HIV education on prevention and treatment, and Revolutionary Health, a biweekly YouTube Live health web series that is part of The Counter Narrative Project, an advocacy organization for Black same gender loving men. In 2015, Dr. Malebranche published his first book, a memoir about his father entitled Standing on His Shoulders. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.