
JAMA Author Interviews
Interviews with leading researchers and thinkers in health care about practice-changing research, innovations, and the most pressing issues facing medicine and health care today from JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Latest episodes

May 2, 2024 • 11min
Smoking Cessation After Initial Treatment Failure With Varenicline or Nicotine Replacement
When initial treatment with varenicline or nicotine replacement doesn't work, does increasing dosage improve smoking cessation rates? Paul Cinciripini, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center's Department of Behavioral Science, joins JAMA Executive Editor Gregory Curfman, MD, to discuss guidance on the best strategies for smoking cessation following an initial quit attempt. Related Content: Smoking Cessation After Initial Treatment Failure With Varenicline or Nicotine Replacement

Apr 25, 2024 • 8min
Examining Mortality Disparities by Sexual Orientation Among Female Nurses
Extensive evidence documents health disparities for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) women, including worse physical, mental, and behavioral health than heterosexual women. Sarah McKetta, ScM, MD, PhD, discusses these factors and their link to premature mortality with JAMA Deputy Editor Linda Brubaker, MD, MS. Related Content: Disparities in Mortality by Sexual Orientation in a Large, Prospective Cohort of Female Nurses

Apr 19, 2024 • 9min
Stewardship Prompts to Improve Antibiotic Selection for Pneumonia and Urinary Tract Infection
Can real-time EHR–generated recommendations safely reduce antibiotic use in hospitalized patients with pneumonia or UTI? Shruti K. Gohil, MD, MPH, of the University of California-Irvine, joins JAMA Deputy Editor Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ, to discuss the INSPIRE randomized clinical trial. Related Content: Stewardship Prompts to Improve Antibiotic Selection for Pneumonia Stewardship Prompts to Improve Antibiotic Selection for Urinary Tract Infection Harnessing the Electronic Health Record to Improve Empiric Antibiotic Prescribing

Apr 17, 2024 • 11min
Advancing Climate Action Through Academic Health Systems
Climate action is an urgent public health imperative. Climate change is causing excess morbidity and mortality and posing an increasing threat to mental health and well-being. The US health care sector is a significant contributor to this problem. A. Eugene Washington, MD, of Duke University, discusses accelerating climate action with JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS. Related Content: Accelerating Climate Action Through Academic Health Systems

Apr 6, 2024 • 12min
The Evolution of Screening Tools for Prostate Cancer
The utility of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer detection is impacted by detection of cancers with low risk of mortality. Editorialist Jeffrey J. Tosoian, MD, MPH, discusses a pragmatic approach to prostate cancer screening with JAMA Deputy Editor Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD. Related Content: A Pragmatic Approach to Prostate Cancer Screening Prostate Cancer Screening With PSA, Kallikrein Panel, and MRI Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening and 15-Year Prostate Cancer Mortality

Apr 1, 2024 • 10min
Regional Interventions to Prevent Multidrug-Resistant Organisms
Infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are difficult to treat with increased morbidity, mortality, length of hospitalization, and health care costs. Author Susan S. Huang, MD, MPH, from the University of California Irvine School of Medicine, joins JAMA Deputy Editor Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ, to discuss a new study that used a regional intervention to prevent MDROs. Related Content: Reducing Hospitalizations and Multidrug-Resistant Organisms via Regional Decolonization in Hospitals and Nursing Homes

Mar 25, 2024 • 19min
Mifepristone–Science, Abortion Care, and Politics
The US Supreme Court will soon decide a case challenging the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) approval of mifepristone. Author Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, MBE, University of Pennsylvania, joins JAMA Executive Editor Gregory Curfman, MD, to discuss the science and politics surrounding this significant case. Related Content: The FDA in the Crosshairs—Science, Politics, and Abortion Provision of Medications for Self-Managed Abortion Before and After the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision Understanding the Impacts of the Supreme Court Case FDA v Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

Mar 18, 2024 • 9min
How Do Multimodal Large Language Models Perform on Clinical Vignette Questions?
How did GPT-4 Vision, a model that can work with images and text as input, perform when answering clinical challenge questions from medical journals? Daniel Truhn, MD, MSc, of the University Hospital Aachen in Germany, joins JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, to discuss this topic. Related Content: Comparative Analysis of Multimodal Large Language Model Performance on Clinical Vignette Questions

Mar 12, 2024 • 14min
Does Treating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Reduce Mortality?
Frances R. Levin is a leading expert in ADHD treatment and serves as the Kennedy Levy Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. In this discussion, she delves into a groundbreaking study showing that ADHD medications can significantly reduce mortality rates, including accidental poisonings. Frances highlights the importance of personalized treatment, addressing concerns around stimulant misuse and cardiovascular risks. The conversation also explores innovative research methods that enhance the understanding of ADHD's impact on behaviors and health outcomes.

Mar 5, 2024 • 13min
Delivering Effective Messages in the Patient-Clinician Encounter
Introducing JAMA's new Communicating Medicine series, JAMA Associate Editor Anne Cappola, MD, ScM, discusses strategies for delivering effective messages in the patient encounter with authors Joseph Cappella, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, and Richard Street, PhD, of Texas A&M University and Baylor College of Medicine. Related Content: Delivering Effective Messages in the Patient-Clinician Encounter