Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Renu Virmani, MD Drug-eluting stents or bare metal stents: can pathology research give us a clearer picture? An internationally recognized cardiopathologist, Dr. Renu Virmani, sorts through what we know and what don’t know about drug-eluting stents with host Dr. Larry Kaskel. According to Dr. Virmani, the long-term outlook for stents is quite good, with key improvemen...

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Renu Virmani, MD What does pathological data tell us about vulnerable plaque and how can we detect it before it’s too late? Join internationally recognized cardio pathologist, Dr. Renu Virmani talking about what she has discovered in the path lab about patients who have died from plaque rupture. She discusses with Dr. Kaskel the variations in soft and hard plaque, the...

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Mark Willenbring, MD What is the one screening question you can ask your patient to identify if they have a drinking problem? What solutions can you offer as a general physician, outside of counseling programs to help your patient stop drinking? What pharmalogical options are on the market to help patients stop drinking? Do they work? Dr. Mark Willenbring, director of...

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Mark Willenbring, MD Given the pervasiveness of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in the United States, Dr. Mark Willenbring says, “we need to be intervening at a much earlier stage and providing treatment to a much broader range of people then we currently do.” Dr. Willenbring, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's Division of Treatment and...

Understanding the unique stressors of growing up in today’s world is an important part of treating children and adolescents. One of the most challenging events that our children endure is the college application process. Competition for spots at top colleges is at an all-time high. How does this affect our children and their families? Author of Fat Envelope Frenzy, Former Assistant Director of Adm...

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: James Welker, DO The time to first antibiotic dose in patients with community-acquired pneumonia is a core quality measure by which hospitals and physicians are evaluated. Might this time pressure have a negative effect on the accuracy of diagnosis of pneumonia? Dr. James Welker, the Director of the Franklin Square Clinical Research Center, joins host Dr. Leslie Lu...

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Leon Sloman, MD Dr. Leon Sloman has developed a new comprehensive evolutionary model of depression and anxiety which may prompt a radically new approach to psychotherapy. He joins host Dr. Leslie Lundt to discuss IDS – the involuntary defeat strategy.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Christine Rosenbloom, PhD Athletes, always looking for an edge, are experimenting with a litany of products touted as performance enhancers. What are our athletic patients sampling these days? Will these items give them the extra boost they crave? Dr. Christine Rosenbloom, professor of nutrition at the College of Health and Human Sciences at Georgia State Universit...

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Randall Friese, MD Some complications are so common that we overlook them. The lack of sleep in the ICU is a potent example. Host Dr. Leslie Lundt welcomes Dr. Randall Friese, Assistant Professor of Surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and author of a recent study on sleep in the ICU.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Lori Brotto, PhD How do the age of first sexual intercourse and the emotional aspects of that experience contribute to later adult sexual functioning? Dr. Lori Brotto joins host Dr. Leslie Lundt to discuss her research in this area.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Maria Boosalis, PhD, MPH, R.D L.D Selenium functions as a dietary antioxidant and may play a role in many chronic diseases. When should we consider selenium augmentation? Dr. Maria Boosalis joins host Dr. Leslie Lundt to discuss this exciting new area of nutritional research.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Antoinette Moran, MD Adult men typically encounter higher cardiovascular risk levels at an earlier age than their gender counterparts. Can this divergence in risk be traced back to childhood? Host Dr. Lee Freedman discusses the surprising results of recent research into cardiovascular concerns among adolescent males with Dr. Antoinette Moran, professor of pediatrics a...

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: John Crosby, JD What is a D.O.? What is osteopathic medicine? Although it has been around for decades, osteopaths and what they do are often not understood, but osteopathy is a growing field gaining more credibility backed by solid research from John Crosby, executive director of the American Osteopathic Association. He tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about curre...

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: John Crosby, JD In primary care, the medical home is increasingly becoming a key initiative to transform health care. But how can the medical home become a reality for everyone? John Crosby, executive director of the American Osteopathic Association tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about the role of osteopathic physicians in the medical home model.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: John Crosby, JD When it comes to meeting the primary care needs of the U.S. population, it's not just medical doctors that are coming to the rescue in the nation's health care system. The number of osteophathic physicians figures to play a major role in providing primary care to Americans well into the future. John Crosby, executive director of the American Osteopathic As...

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Craig Nichols, MD Testicular cancer has received significant media attention in recent years, thanks in part to the very public cancer battle of cyclist Lance Armstrong during the late 1990s. The treatment aspect of Armstrong’s spirited and ultimately successful drive to beat cancer was led by Dr. Craig Nichols who, at the time, was a professor of medicine in the d...

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Craig Nichols, MD When patients think of testicular cancer, they immediately think of two ramifications: the impact on their fertility and on their sexuality. Are these concerns well-founded? How should we counsel our patients on these issues? Dr. Craig Nichols, medical director of lymphoma and testicular cancer research at Providence Portland Medical Center in Por...

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Craig Nichols, MD Diagnosed in thousands of American men each year, testicular cancer has proven highly sensitive to current treatment regimens. Host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill evaluates the most common therapies for testicular cancer with Dr. Craig Nichols, medical director of lymphoma and testicular cancer research at Providence Portland Medical Center in Portland, Ore....

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Craig Nichols, MD If detected in its early stages, we have great success in curing testicular cancer. What are our most effective screening measures? How should we instruct our patients to be vigilant with their own self-exams, or is this the best approach? Dr. Craig Nichols, medical director of lymphoma and testicular cancer research at Providence Portland Medical...

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Jam Ghajar, MD, PhD Advances in diagnostics for traumatic brain injuries will soon allow us to evaluate these injuries immediately after they occur. With many of our troops suffering these injuries, the United States military is making a push to accelerate development of a new assessment device. Jamshid Ghajar, MD, PhD, president of the Brain Trauma Foundation, the...

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD Guest: Jam Ghajar, MD, PhD Traumatic brain injuries are a major cause for concern for our troops returning home from military conflicts abroad. The development of a new eye-tracking device, initiated and funded, in part, by the United States Department of Defense, will soon provide an immediate assessment of traumatic brain injuries. How might this device change the entir...

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Roberta Greenspan Roberta Greenspan, president of SpecialDocs, Inc., discusses the process of converting a traditional medical practice to a concierge medical practice. Ms. Greenspan explains the growth trend of concierge medicine, and the non-economic motivations of physicians converting their practices to a concierge model. Host Larry Kaskel investigates the differe...

Guest: Ruben Toral Host Dr. Larry Kaskel speaks with Ruben Toral, a recognized leader in medical tourism and healthcare globalization, at the Healthcare Globalization Summit in Las Vegas. What surprises will patients typically encounter when they explore their healthcare options abroad? Can the American healthcare system learn from the presentation of medical care around the world? Mr. Toral exami...

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD Guest: Todd Park Todd Park, cofounder and Chief Athenista at AthenaHealth, one of the fastest growing web-based practice management and electronic medical record companies, joined host Larry Kaskel at the Health Summit in Las Vegas. Todd discussed his vision of the future medical landscape. Join us to find out how companies like AthenaHealth try to help doctors master the ev...

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD Guest: Benjamin Hippen, MD Dr. Benjamin Hippen speaks about the Iranian system that allows an individual's kidney to be sold by the donor, whom we can also think of as the vendor. Examination has shown that the recipients are on a level playing field and there is no tourism or fraud. The responsibility for recruiting potential vendors becomes separated from the responsibi...