Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Howard Bauchner, MD For 127 years, the Journal of the American Medical Association has been one of the nation's best-known medical journals. This summer, its 16th editor, pediatrician Dr. Howard Bauchner, takes over editorial oversight from Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, who has served as the Journal's editor since 2000. Dr. Bauchner talks to host Bruce Japsen about the steps he plans to take in order to lead the publication into a new era of medicine, and a new digital age of medical publications.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Tom X. Lee, MD A new primary care model is making news across the country that offers personalized medicine, like the concierge healthcare that is becoming more common, but at a much more affordable price. Dr. Tom Lee, founder of One Medical Group, with offices in San Francisco and New York, is looking to set a nationwide example for primary medical care by offering personalized consierge services to several thousand patients while taking a variety of insurance plans (including Medicare), tells host Bruce Japsen about this model.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Rebecca Skloot In 1951, cancer killed an impoverished young African American mother named Henrietta Lacks. Cells biopsied from her tumor, without her or her family's knowledge, went on to be critical in establishing an important cell line, known as HeLa, that has been part of a medical revolution. HeLa cells have been used in the discovery of the polio vaccine, cancer treatments, and countless other discoveries. Writer Rebecca Skloot chronicled this saga of medical ethics, money, and family in a bestselling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. She talks with host Bruce Japsen about the novel foundation she established in the Lacks family's name — the Henrietta Lacks Foundation — in order to give back to Henrietta Lacks' family and others who have made contributions to medical research without their consent.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MPH When a patient visits the doctor's office, time is precious. But, given the rising cost of medical care in the United States, making time for direct and open conversation with patients about healthcare prices has never been more important. Dr. Jeffrey Kullgren of Penn Medicine tells host Bruce Japsen about the need for doctors to find a moments in their busy schedules for patient education on comparative costs of care.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Carolyn Robinowitz, MD While much of the nation's attention is focused on new medical benefits under the healthcare overhaul signed into law by President Obama, mental health advocates are stepping up attention to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which began providing benefits to millions of patients with addictions, depression and other mental illness. The act was designed to put mental health services on equal footing with other medical services. Dr. Carolyn Robinowitz, past president of the American Psychiatric Association, tells host Bruce Japsen about this law and its importance for physicians and their patients.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Timothy Jost Consumer groups for decades have criticized and wondered how much money health insurance companies actually spend on medical care. Under the health care reform law, they will actually come closer to knowing thanks to the so-called medical-loss ratio provisions of the legislation. Host Bruce Japsen talks with Washington and Lee University School of Law health reform expert Timothy Jost about the impact medical-loss ratio rules will have on physicians and their patients.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Roland Goertz, MD If patients take advantage of flexible spending accounts to help pay for their medical care, the health reform law is triggering some changes for them and doctor practices. Most notably, over the counter items like pain relievers and allergy meds will require a prescription. Host Bruce Japsen talks with Dr. Roland Goertz, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians about how patients and their doctors can prepare for these health reform law changes.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Barbara Levy, MD As health reform brings a focus on the budget for Medicare, a little-known but influential group with links to the AMA and specialty societies is getting a closer look. It's called the Relative Value Scale Update Committee and it is at the center of a debate over whether doctors have too much control over the flow of taxpayer dollars in the Medicare program. Dr. Barbara Levy, chair of the RUC tells Bruce Japsen about how this group works and the importance of what it does. In a previous segment, he spoke with Tom Scully, senior counsel in Alston & Bird, LLP, in Washington, DC, and former head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, about the other side of this debate.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Mark Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH An estimated 4 out of 5 serious medical errors involve miscommunication that occurs when care is 'handed off' from one care provider to another. Dr. Mark Chassin, president of the Joint Commission, the organization that's studied handwashing and potentially dangerous acronyms and abreviations, tells host Bruce Japsen about how the Commission's Center for Transforming Health Care and 10 hospitals and health systems across the country are working to improve patient care by improving communication between 'senders' and 'receivers.'

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Thomas Scully, JD In a two-part series, as health reform brings a focus on the budget for Medicare, we look from two sides at a little known but influential group convened by the American Medical Association. It's called the Relative Value Scale Update Committee and some critics say it has too much control over the flow of taxpayer dollars in the Medicare program. Tom Scully, senior counsel in Alston & Bird, LLP, in Washington, DC, and former head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, tells host Bruce Japsen about problems with the AMA's role in the so-called RUC. In an upcoming program, Bruce Japsen talks with Dr. Barbara Levy, chair of the Relative Value Scale Update Committee.