Clinician's Roundtable

Guest: Steve Miller, MD Host: Bruce Japsen Doctors know their patients often don't take their medications, whether because they simply forget or procrastinate on obtaining refills. But the lack of compliance with prescriptions has enormous financial ramifications. Dr. Steve Miller, senior vice president & chief medical officer, research and clinical sciences for Express Scripts, one of the nation's largest managers of pharmacy benefits, tells host Bruce Japsen about Express Scripts most recent survey on patient behavior when it comes to pharmaceuticals. He also talks about how, based on this research, improved patient compliance and other factors could save the healthcare system $100 billion a year.

Guest: Dennis Richling, MD Host: Bruce Japsen Employers, insurers and providers are all increasingly focused on keeping patients healthy by encouraging prevention and wellness. Many wellness strategies revolve around behavioral issues, so what is the clinician's role in changing patient behavior, and how does the clinician become more tied to initiatives in the community? Dr. Dennis Richling, senior medical director and vice president at the Trustmark Companies, talks with host Bruce Japsen about the move in healthcare toward wellness initiatives, how the clinician's services are involved, and efforts to make those services reimbursable by insurance.

Guest: Andrew Dennis, MD Host: Maurice Pickard, MD When our guest makes a house call, it's usually because a suspected criminal has barricaded himself, with or without hostages, inside the house. Dr. Andrew Dennis is a sworn police officer and medical director of two Chicago-area SWAT teams. Dr. Dennis is also an attending surgeon in the trauma and burn units at John H. Stroger Jr. Cook County Hospital in Chicago. How is what happens in the emergency department similar to what happens in the field, and how do a surgeon's skills complement the work of law enforcement? Also, host Dr. Maurice Pickard hears how television affects the outcome of gunshot and knife injuries.

Guest: Daniel Sulmasy, Dr. Host: Bruce Japsen While much of the nation's attention has been on expanding medical benefits to millions of Americans under health care reform, President Obama has also taken steps to ensure his medical care delivery is conducted in an "ethically responsible manner." The President does this with the help of a Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, a member of the President's Commission, tells host Bruce Japsen about this panel's role and some of the bioethical challenges the administration may face.

Guest: James Heywood Host: Bruce Japsen For over a decade, patients have been turning to the Internet for health information and support. At least one new online venture gives patients the opportunity to access data about medications and therapies and their effects and outcomes. But this isn't clinical trial data. This is detailed, highly quantified, "real-world" data that patients put on the social networking site Patients Like Me about themselves, in order to connect with others who share their disease and learn from their experiences. Co-founder and chairman Jamie Heywood, a graduate of MIT, talks to host Bruce Japsen about privacy, doctor-patient communication, conflict of interest, and the potential effect on pharmaceutical development of giving patients the opportunity to review their treatments.

Guest: James Scheulen, PA-C Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA In 1975, Jim Schuelen began his career working as a PA in an emergency room. Today he is the chief administrative officer for the Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine and president of Johns Hopkins Emergency Medical Services. He joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to discuss the skill sets, preparation and challenges that are in store for a PA who wants to transition from clinical medicine to hospital management.

Guest: Michael Prislin, MD Host: Bruce Japsen A century after Abraham Flexner recommended medical schools be located within a university, new research indicates that this may have contributed to the proliferation of medical specialties and higher costs. Dr. Michael Prislin, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Vice Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, tells host Bruce Japsen about Flexner's impact on medical specialties, patients and their costs.

Guest: Mark Kaplan, DrPH Host: Bruce Japsen When talk of Canadian healthcare emerges in US political debate, the spin often turns to long lines and waits for medical care and short-changed quality. But there are also those, like Dr. Mark Kaplan, whose study indicates more equity and efficiency for our neighbors to the north than here in the US. Dr. Kaplan, professor of community health at Portland State University, tells host Bruce Japsen about advances in the Canadian health system that might surprise you.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Elisabeth Howard, PhD, CNM Guest: Edie McConaughey, CNM, MS What can a medical student or resident learn from a midwife about childbirth? Dr. Elisabeth Howard and Edie McConaughey, both certified nurse midwives at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, recently completed research on midwives as educators to medical students. They discuss with host Lisa Dandrea Lenell why it's important for these two professions to collaborate even though there may be a difference in philosophy and why midwives are good teachers for future doctors.

Guest: Eric Holden Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA PA Eric Holden hasn't had time to eat or sleep much since arriving in Haiti. He is one of two physician assistants on the team of NYC Medics, a medical volunteer organization treating the sick and injured following the January 12th earthquake in Haiti. In their first two days on the job, he and his team of medical professionals treated more than 800 patients, traveling from makeshift tent city to tent city, providing care where it's needed. Host Lisa Dandrea Lenell talks to Mr. Holden from the front lines of the medical tent, where they have teamed up with the US Army's 82nd Airborne division to treat everything from pelvic fractures to dehydration. They discuss the difficulty of treating patients without the proper drugs and medical supplies.