Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: David Wright, MD How do new devices get into clinical settings? Join host Dr. Larry Kaskel speak with Physician and Inventor Dr. David Wright about the challenges in bringing new medical technologies to the clinical setting.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: David Wright, MD Our guest, Dr. David Wright shares news of a new device currently being tested to screen for mild congnitive impairment, one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer's. Is this a device you should have in your office? Join host Dr. Larry Kaskel to find out.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Michael Reiner, MD Learning how to read nonverbal cues can make you a better physician. And your poker skills may just improve while you are at it! Host Dr. Leslie Lundt is joined by full-time family physician and part-time professional poker player, Dr. Michael Reiner to discuss how he combines medicine and poker.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Stephen C. Ellen, MD Today we have many options to treat depression: the SSRIs, Cymbalta, Effexor, Emsam, Wellbutrin, just to name a few. How do you know when to move beyond the SSRIs? When is it time to refer to a psychiatrist? What if there are no psychiatrists available to your patients? Host Dr. Leslie Lundt welcomes Dr. Stephen Ellen to discuss the new age of psychopharmacological treatment of depression.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Stephen C. Ellen, MD SSRIs are among the most common medications prescribed in the world. What have we learned since Prozac was introduced in 1987? Psychopharmacologist Dr. Stephen Ellen discusses pros and cons of SSRIs with host Dr. Leslie Lundt.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Ronald M. Davis, MD A growing body of research shows much of the growth in medical care spending over the last five years comes from a marked increase in patients receiving treatments for chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. But these costs could be contained through education and healthy lifestyles. AMA president and preventive medicine specialist Dr. Ronald Davis tells The Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about strategies to promote healthy lifestyle and the need for progress in this regard.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Ronald M. Davis, MD Medical spending in the United States is rising faster than our overall economy, and projections suggest this trend will continue. Rather than turn to cost controls or insurance companies to reign in the cost of health care, the nation's largest doctor group is drawing up its own strategies to contain spending and add value to our system. Dr. Ronald M. Davis, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), tells host Bruce Japsen about AMA strategies to contain medical spending.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Ronald M. Davis, MD Covering the nation's uninsured took on unprecedented meaning in the 2008 presidential election, but it wasn't just the likes of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain who talked about plans to expand health benefits. The American Medical Asociation, too, has a plan and is spending an unprecedented amount of money, time and attention toward a campaign to cover the uninsured. Dr. Ronald Davis, President of the AMA, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about the AMA's uninsured campaign and its plan to solve one of the nation's top issues.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Mark Watson Dr. Watson, co-author of the Lap-band Companion Handbook, discusses the reasons for writing this informative text. He also outlines various key sections of the book and illustrates why this is such a useful resource for both practitioners and patients.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Mark Watson Dr. Watson, co-author of the Lap-Band Companion Handbook and a general surgeon with years of experience performing the Lap-Band procedure goes through the practical aspects of Lap-Band surgery: Who is a candidate, what to look for in a surgeon and a bariatric program, what are the financial realities of this type of procedure, and what type of outcomes can one expect.