Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Robert Tennant, MA Financial incentives to implement electronic health records are a welcome payment to the nation's physicians. But the proposed rules and regulations to implement this system under the economic stimulus are creating complexities and challenges physicians may face in the coming years. Physicians might want to first listen to words of advice from Robert Tenant, senior policy advisor for the Medical Group Management Association, which represents group practices and other organizations representing some 275,000 physicians.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Wright Pinson, MD Healthcare reform may bring more medical care services to patients, which means more and complex business for the nation's physicians. But are doctors prepared to be the best business people now and in the future for their patients? Dr. Wright Pinson, deputy vice chancellor for health affairs and CEO of the Hospitals and Clinics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells host Bruce Japsen about master's programs in healthcare business, like Vanderbilt's Masters of Management in Health Care program.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Jack Lasoski, PA-C How do employees working in large facilities know it's safe to return to work after being injured on the job? More than likely they must get clearance from one of the 2000 physician assistants working in occupational medicine across the country. Jack Lasoski, director of health services for the United States Enrichment Corporation in Paducah Kentucky, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to talk about the history of PAs in occupational medicine, the typical day of a PA in this field, and the challenges and changes taking place within the specialty.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Krystie Lennox, PA-C More than 10 million surgical and non surgical cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States in 2008. Many of those procedures were performed by physician assistants. Krystie Lennox, the co-founder of the Aesthetic Extender Symposium, talks with host Lisa Dandrea Lenell about the state-by-state rules related to PAs performing cosmetic procedures, how to become part of this expanding specialty, and how to stay informed in this fast changing area of medicine.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Roderick Hooker, PhD, PA-C How does a doctor know when it's the right time to add a physician assistant to the office staff? There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when making the decision to add new employees. Dr. Roderick Hooker, co-author of the book Physician Assistant Policy and Practice, 3rd Edition, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to discuss the cost effectiveness and productivity of the PA in a primary care practice, as well as how to build a cooperative relationship between a supervising doctor and a PA.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Julian Bailes, MD The National Football League has placed its strictest rules yet on managing concussions. What is the medical profession to make of such a policy and what are its broader implications for players' long-term health and for future medical research? Dr. Julian Bailes is a founding member of the Brain Injury Research Institute, which is affiliated with the Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University and possesses a brain and tissue bank that houses 20 brains for future research. He is also professor and chairman of the department of neurosurgery at West Virginia University School of Medicine. Dr. Bailes tells host Bruce Japsen about important research into the short and long-term impact of brain injuries.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Michael Ong, MD In the healthcare debate, we've heard a lot about the equation between improving quality and cutting costs. But new research takes the opposite view that sometimes increased spending leads to better outcomes. Host Bruce Japsen, who also writes about healthcare for the Chicago Tribune, talks with Dr. Michael Ong, assistant professor of medicine in residence in the UCLA Division of General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research at the David Geffen School of Medicine, about his research.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Phillip Begg, PhD The physician assistant program began in the United Kingdom in 2004 with five students. Today, four universities have a PA program, with more than 200 students expected to graduate by 2012. Dr. Phillip Begg, associate dean at the University of Wolverhampton in Wolverhampton, England, talks with host Lisa Dandrea Lenell about the successes and obstacles to the beginning of this PA program, and why the program is essential to the United Kingdom's national health service.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Bob Nease, PhD Why do Americans choose healthcare options that cost more but may not even do more or be in the best interest of their own health? Dr. Bob Nease, chief scientist at Express Scripts, tells host Bruce Japsen about what appears to be a troubling phenomena researchers are calling the behavioral economics of healthcare.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Ruth Ballweg, PA-C The rate of dental disease in Alaska is the highest in the United States. In order to combat the problem, Medex has started a dental therapy program in the area called DENTEX. Ruth Ballweg, director of the MEDEX Northwest program, discusses with host Lisa Dandrea Lenell how Medex became involved with dental care, the progress of the program and their plans to expand the DENTEX program into other states.