Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD Guest: Michael Polifka, MD Dr. Michael Polifka speaks about balancing volunteerism and private practice and the rewards of providing care during the tsunami that led to reinventing his career. Although the spectrum of diseases in the third world is very different from the United States, a physican at the bedside in Ghana knows that he or she is making an extraordinary difference to patients.

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD Guest: Michael Polifka, MD Dr. Michael Polifka discusses Project Hope, which gave him the opportunity to provide medical care in third world countries where there was none. Their mission to "train the trainers" will have long term benefits on the care of the underserved as well as improving the global image of our country.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Marc Halley, MBA Are you planning on starting up or purchasing a new medical practice? If so, you will not want to miss this segment in which medical practice consultant Marc Halley talks about the considerations that should go into starting or purchasing a practice. Do you want partners? Where do you want to live? What are the market conditions? How will you finance the practice? Who should you entrust to be your advisors? Join Dr. Larry Kaskel in learning both the questions you need to ask and what steps you need to take to start your medical practice.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Marc Halley, MBA What are the economic conditions that might interest the local hospital in purchasing your medical practice? How much is your practice worth? Why are other physicians selling, and should you think about selling? Join host Dr. Larry Kaskel as he talks with practice consultant Marc Halley about the process of selling your medical practice to the local hospital.

Host: Bill Rutenberg, MD Guest: Steven P. Stanos, Jr., DO What else can you do to help rid your patient of chronic pain? Send them to camp. Boot camp. Pain boot camp. In this segment, learn about an interdisciplinary method to evaluate and treat pain from our guest Dr. Steven Stanos, Medical Director of the RIC Center for Pain Management. In pain boot camp, a team of physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, nutritional consultants work together with the patient in a formal assessment and pain management program.

Host: Bill Rutenberg, MD Guest: Steven P. Stanos, Jr., DO What are the neurological mechanisms of chronic pain? How and when does acute pain transform to chronic pain? How can a physician know if their patient can be treated safely with narcotics? Join host Dr. Bill Rutenberg talk with the Medical Director of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Center for Pain Management, Dr. Steven Stanos for a chronic pain update.

Host: Susan Dolan, RN, JD Guest: Miles Varn, MD PinnacleCare is a professional health advisory firm. Hear Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Miles J. Varn, as he discusses how PinnacleCare offers its members a vast array of services.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Steven Kravet, MD, MBA 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?

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Steven Kravet, MD, MBA How does the relationship between health utilization and the availability of primary care providers impact health care utilization trends? Steven Kravet, MD, MBA, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, explores potential opportunities to relieve some of the logistical and financial burdens of our health care system with host Dr. Lee Freedman.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Kathleen Jaeger, JD Given the tremendous savings that generic drugs provide their patients, you would think doctors would know to turn to generics, but that is not always the case. To help educate them, some health care companies are turning to what is called counter detailing. Kathleen Jaeger, president and CEO of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about counter detailing efforts by the generic drug industry, health plans and others as a way to spur more interest in cheaper medications.