Conversations on Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton

I think most of us know that AI is rapidly changing the meaning of that now rather old fashioned-sounding phrase – “I’m going to the doctor’s”. If you go for a scan of some kind – AI’s now involved. Same with making appointments or the patient portals that almost all of us use now – willingly or not. If the AI is well integrated and works well – it saves time. If it isn’t – and that’s too often th...

It’s been a while since we did the episode on women’s health. You can tell by the number – Episode 29.  Since then quite a bit has changed about the management and treatment of menopause. (no – sorry – there is still no way to make menopause disappear). But. I do think it’s time for an update. There have been many new drugs approved for menopause symptoms. And after new studies, Hormone Replacemen...

We all know how fast AI models are moving in almost every industry. Healthcare is no exception. But here in the US – you’re more apt to notice the difference in small ways. How quickly your blood tests are posted in your patient portal or sent to your doctor. In Radiology. For example my last mammogram was AI-read and the results were available to me and my gynecologist less than 2 hours after I w...

Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s stewardship – the  CDC – once the premier health and health data organization in the world - continues to shed scientists, physicians, researchers – and internationally respected leaders. As i record this in early March – the CDC still doesn’t have a Presidentially nominated and Senate confirmed Director. And although much of the agency’s basic public health informati...

Early in the new year – January 7th to be exact – Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of Health and Human Services, quietly posted a new set of food guidelines on the USDA website and an upside-down (or inverted as he called it) Food Pyramid. Replacing the “My Plate” pictograph of the Biden years. The guidelines themselves are updated every 5 years - and at a quickly organized White House news confere...

Donald Trump has changed America in many ways since his second term began a year ago.  But perhaps in none so personally important as our overall health and health care. On February 25th 2025 the Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Nearly a year later he has managed to dismantle or re-direct much of it. Among the multitude of public health agencies adm...

What will happen in the US if cases of a now contained virus – or a totally new one -  suddenly start multiplying by the millions? The CDC has drastically cut back on vaccine research as well as childhood vaccine recommendations. What diseases may come roaring back? Episode 40 drops on Tuesday January 20th with some answers from Daniel Jernigan, MD, MPH - one of the former top officials at the CDC...

It’s not exactly an episode – thus the A-40 label. It’s just me talking to you for a few minutes.  We had some last minute cancellations – which of course can happen as the holidays as well as the end of the business and financial year approach.  The historically long US government shut down also took its toll. On virtually everything. So -- we will resume the usual episodes on the third Tuesday o...

Our neighbor and long-time friend Canada has been the subject of President Trump’s ire -and his tariffs - since he became President again in January. He’s even claimed Canadians would have “much better” health coverage if Canada were somehow to become the 51st US state. Actually, Canada - like almost all other industrialized countries - has a publicly funded, government run health care system. Whi...

UPDATE -2/26 SEE END OF SHOW NOTES As I record this – at the end of the second week in October 2025 – the US government is officially shut down. Senate and House Democrats are demanding negotiations with Republicans and President Trump to restore  major health care cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies for 2026. It’s expected that if these cuts aren’t restored – and re...

UPDATE 1/16/26: Today, January 16th, the Lancet – a prestigious women’s health medical journal – published a review and meta-analysis of 60 studies about Tylenol (acetaminophen)and its potential effect when taken as recommended by pregnant women. The research found no association with autism, intellectual disability or ADHD UPDATE 9/22/25; There was no real study released in late September, as exp...

The cornerstone of any healthcare system is the general practitioner or GP. In the US we’ve renamed the GP to the rather cold sounding “primary care doctor”. Perhaps because so few of us still have that old multi-year connection with our doctor or perhaps because of the way our huge health insurance companies function. In the last podcast – Episode 35 - we talked about the UK’s still ailing health...

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service was founded in 1948 and is considered the mother of all government run health care systems - with Sweden’s slightly later plan for universal coverage just behind. We’ve profiled both systems on this podcast series. But we’re going back to take another look at the NHS --almost exactly one year after labor won a huge parliamentary victory. And the new Pri...

What do we actually know about autism? Not enough according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – the Health and Human Services Secretary.  He’s promised an initial 50 million dollars for his plan to find out what exactly causes autism. With an unusually short turnaround for research proposals . Remember Kennedy first promised he’d have all the answers by September but then extended that to March and now it...

It’s no secret our population is aging fast. According to the US  Census Bureau, 10,000 Baby Boomers hit that 65 landmark year each day. In fact 2025 is predicted to be “peak 65” demographically – with more than 11,000 Boomers crossing the daily line. Unfortunately as we age – more of us develop dementia and Alzheimer’s – with most of the associated costs paid by Medicare. It’s estimated that for...

Most of you know something about the opioid crisis. It’s considered one of the most devastating public health catastrophes of our time. Just to summarize briefly – the first wave of deaths began in the mid 1990s when Purdue Pharma’s newly approved pain drug OxyContin was pushed to doctors. Purdue had lied to the FDA, saying OxyContin was less addictive than other opioids. It was, actually, even mo...

Have you ever been hit by a huge medical bill when you thought your health insurance would be covering most of it? Do you know that unpaid medical bills are one of the top reasons Americans declare personal bankruptcy? Well, meet Frank Lobb. He’s a retired navy pilot whose later managerial background in law and compliance had nothing to do with health care. But some years ago Lobb had a very frust...

UPDATE: The Trump administration has decided Medicare will NOT pay for the popular GLP-1 drugs just for weight loss. It would have cost the government nearly $40 Billion over 10 years. Perhaps the hottest, most divisive topic in health care is obesity. Which in the US appears to have stabilized in 2024 at about 40% of adults. Is obesity a disease or a lifestyle result? How does it affect overall h...

Is women’s health moving backward?   The Supreme Court’s Dobbs Decision in 2022 overturned what most women believed was settled law – the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision - establishing a constitutional right to abortion. Since Dobbs, many states - especially in the South and Midwest - have banned abortions for any reason or tightly restricted them.  Leaving many women in medically dangerous con...

Late word from CMS – Medicare will keep covering telehealth use through March. Congress must OK a further extension. Lots of us became well-acquainted with telemedicine during the pandemic. And while many of us have gone back to office appointments with our doctors – telemedicine remains useful. Especially for mental health issues. How useful? Well – recently I logged onto a fascinating Health Aff...

 Open enrollment for Medicare supplement plans, which continues until December 7, runs somewhat concurrently with the annual sign up period for the Affordable Care Act plans - commonly called Obamacare. The plans became available on state marketplaces on November 1 and the window closes on December 15 for coverage beginning January 1. We explained the major Medicare changes for 2025 in Episode 26...

Once again it’s open enrollment time for Medicare plans - which runs for just 6 weeks each year - from October 15 until December 7th. Millions more Americans who don’t get health insurance through their jobs or Medicaid can find or change so-called Obamacare insurance plans from November 1st through January 15th of next year.  In this episode we’re concentrating on the biggest changes to Medicare...

Health experts in many countries – including the United States – are looking beyond standard health care and medical treatments to some kind of community-based care.  Both as a way to improve people’s general health - and as a way to cut the spiraling costs of medical procedures and new drugs. The Netherlands appears to be well ahead of most countries with its varied efforts to re-invent what is g...

Do you know someone – perhaps in your own family – who has spent time in a rehabilitation facility? Maybe after an illness or operation? Lots of people – and particularly older people who live alone – find themselves in rehab or long term care facilities. These are somewhat different from the assisted living or independent care communities we talked about in Episode 10 - when we explored one famil...

We’re spending some time this summer revisiting the UK’s National Health Service. It’s celebrating its 76th birthday this month – although I doubt anyone would use that exact word. Actually, right after the Labor Party swept the UK parliamentary elections on July 4th – both the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his new Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said flat out that the NHS...