Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Ron Waksman, MD In this segment, Dr. Ron Waksman talks with host Larry Kaskel about the use of intravascular MRI to detect vulnerable plaques in the heart or carotid artery. He compares the type of information and reliability between angiograms and other imaging techniques and he also discusses how an internist can stablize vulnerable plaque.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: David Bailey, PhD More than 40 drugs have been demonstrated to interact with grapefruit juice, primarily drugs that are first-pass metabolized. Join host Dr. Larry Kaskel and guest Dr. David Baily to discuss the serious nature of potential grapefruit juice/drug interactions and how best to communicate the required cautions to patients. Then learn of current research working to identify other natural foods that may modulate the absorbtion of drugs.

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD Guest: Carol Haraden, PhD Institute for Healthcare Improvement Vice President and patient safety expert, Carol Haraden, PhD, comments on the state of quality improvement and patient safety in the U.S. and abroad, and discusses the necessary tools and processes that can improve flow in the hospital setting and reduce harm.

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD Guest: Carol Haraden, PhD Institute for Healthcare Improvement Vice President and patient safety expert, Carol Haraden, PhD, comments on some of the priority initiatives of the organization such as the introduction of "change packages" for healthcare insitutions to evaluate and improve care quality. While the allure of this tool is undeniable, says Haraden, quality teams should resist the impulse to label any list of good changes a package or bundle. She clarifies what a bundle is and is not, and suggests tips for using bundles most effectively to get results.

Host: Michael Benson, MD Guest: Scott Finlay How can you get your own .md top-level domain, and what are the benefits of a .md? Host Dr. Michael Benson discusses the services provided through a .md web address with Mr. Scott Finlay, CEO of MaxMD, provider of .md domain names in the United States and worldwide.

Host: Michael Benson, MD Guest: Scott Finlay The internet is a wonderful educational resource for patients, except for two minor details. First, much of the information is not accurate. Also, the facts that are true are not tempered with perspective and may not be relevant for a specific patient. What if there were a better way to provide high quality information for your patients via the web? In this segment, host Dr. Michael Benson discusses telemedicine over the secure internet with guest Mr. Scott Finley, Chief Executive Officer of MaxMD.

Host: Michael Benson, MD Guest: Scott Finlay Did you know that e-mailing your patients over the normal routes that you use for business or personal correspondence is strictly prohibited under HIPAA? Why? If true, how can e-mail ever be used to communicate with patients? Today we will be discussing HIPAA compliant, secure e-mail with Mr. Scott Finley, Chief Executive Officer of MaxMD. Scott is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the army for eight years where he commanded two aviation companies of attack helicopters covering the Fulda Gap in West Germany. After leaving the army and before starting MaxMD, he served as managing director for both the North American Equity Trading and Global Equity Finance divisions of Lehman Brothers.

Host: Michael Benson, MD Guest: Scott Finlay What’s in a name? Over the internet: plenty. Spam, viruses, identity theft. And above all, e-mail is not HIPPA compliant. What can doctors to do to safely communicate with their patients over the internet? Today we will be discussing the .MD domain with Mr. Scott Finlay, Chief Executive Officer of MaxMD.

Host: Michael Benson, MD Guest: Richard Karas, MD, PhD What do our animal friends have to tell us about the effects of hormones on cardiovascular risk? Does a mouse or monkey really have anything to teach us? Our guest today is Dr. Richard Karas, Professor of Medicine, at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. He has several titles including: Co-Director, Molecular Cardiology Research Center, Director, Preventive Cardiology and Director, Women’s Heart Center at the New England Medical Center. He received his MD from Tufts and his Ph.D in Physiology from Harvard.

Host: Michael Benson, MD Guest: Richard Karas, MD, PhD First we hear that estrogens increase the risk of heart attack, then we hear, “not so fast.” What is a doctor to do? Who would benefit from estrogen in the menopause and who should avoid it? Our guest addressing these topics is Dr. Richard Karas, Professor of Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. He has several titles including: Co-Director, Molecular Cardiology Research Center, Director, Preventive Cardiology and Director, Women’s Heart Center at the New England Medical Center.