Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Tom Zampieri, PhD, PA-C The Department of Veterans Affairs is the single largest employer of PAs in the United States. With 1,600 PAs in the VA workforce, the PA leadership is only a part time field position. Dr. Tom Zampieri, director of government relations for the Blinded Veterans Association, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to talk about the possibility of a full-time director in the VA central office.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Wendell Potter Once an insider in the health insurance industry crafting messages in a battle against health reform, he's now telling secrets in hopes of affecting change. Wendell Potter, a former public relations executive for health insurance giants Humana and Cigna, warns about industry practices he says short-changed doctors and their patients and boosted health plan profits.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Ian Jones, PA-C, MPAS Physician assistants have been practicing in Manitoba, Canada, for only the past 10 years. With a shortage of physicians across the country, the need for PAs is more crucial than ever. Ian Jones, president of the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to discuss the success of PAs within the Canadian medical system over such a short time frame, as well as the job openings available to American PAs just across the border.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Reginald Carter, PhD, PA-C Where is the beginning of the physician assistant profession? Is it in the 1960's, in response to a growing a shortage of physicians? Or does it go back even earlier than that? Dr. Reginald Carter, founder of the PA History Center in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to talk about the pioneers at the roots of the profession and why it's critical to preserve this history.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Reginald Carter, PhD, PA-C Guest: Leila Ledbetter The physician assistant profession is rich in history. The PA History Center at the Duke University Medical Center in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, houses everything from oral histories of early PAs to photographs, personal papers and artifacts at the museum. Dr. Reggie Carter, founder of the PA History Center, and Leila Ledbetter, director and archivist at the Center, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to discuss the importance of the museum to the PA profession and how you can experience it, even if you can't visit in person.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Vergil Slee, MD From the noise on talk shows about death panels that don't exist to acronyms like HMOs or PPOs, the healthcare industry often does not speak to consumers in plain language. How can doctors and other health professionals help the consumer, and should this be a part of health reform? Dr. Vergil Slee, emeritus fellow of the Estes Park Institute, founder of the Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities, and author of Slee's Health Care Terms, now in its fifth edition, tells host Bruce Japsen about the need for medical professionals to speak in plain language for the betterment of patient care.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Linda Blumberg An integral part of covering the nation's more than 46 million uninsured that has been discussed by President Barack Obama and key members of Congress in Washington is the so-called insurance exchange. So what is an insurance exchange, and exactly how would it work? Linda Blumberg, an economist and senior fellow in the Urban Institute's Health Policy Center, tells host Bruce Japsen about movements in states and the federal government to use insurance exchanges as a way to cover more Americans with health benefits.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Tom Dilenge There appears to be movement in the US to bring less expensive versions of biotech drugs to market. But the brand name drug industry wants these so-called biosimilars to adhere to rigorous safety and efficacy standards currently not built into US laws. Tom DiLenge, vice president and general counsel for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, tells host Bruce Japsen about a palatable pathway biotech companies would like to see approved by Congress to bring cheaper biotech drugs to the US market.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Sunil Hattangady, MBA, PhD The wireless movement is a part of more and more consumers' daily lives, from smart phones to laptops. Will this kind of technology soon be ubiquitous in the healthcare field as well? Sunil Hattangady, president of Emblaze Consulting, tells host Bruce Japsen about the coming wireless trends and applications in the healthcare.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Sumant Ramachandra, MD While drug makers and consumer groups lobby Congress and the Obama administration on the best way to bring cheaper versions of biotech drugs to market, a U.S. company is already doing so overseas. How does this work and what are the prospects for biogenerics in the U.S. Dr. Sumant Ramachandra, Chief Scientific Officer at Hospira Inc. tells host Bruce Japsen about the company's work bringing cheaper biotech drugs to market.