CW Hall Archives - Page 13 of 30

Telemedicine – Top Docs Radio

October 16, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Telemedicine - Top Docs Radio

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Telemedicine

We sat down with legal expert on healthcare matters, attorney, Sidney Welch, of the Polsinelli law firm on our monthly episode with Medical Association of Georgia. What is it? How is it utilized? And, what are the licensing, regulatory, and legal concerns around it?

Georgia Composite Medical Board (GCMB) has stressed that it is essential for telemedicine patients in the state to receive the same high standard of care they would in a traditional office setting. GCMB adopted a number of telemedicine rules in 2014 that “allow the Composite Board to take disciplinary action against licensed physicians and allied health professionals who practice telemedicine if they do not provide the minimum standard of care.”

Georgia’s rules require physicians and other allied health care professionals who deliver care by way of telemedicine to…

Be the ones who provide all of the treatment and/or consultations via telehealth.
Have access to the patient’s medical history if they are providing the services.
Have personally seen and examined the patient if they are referring the patient to a telehealth provider.
Maintain records on the patient’s evaluation and treatment if they are providing a service via telehealth and to provide a copy of those records to the referring physician.
Provide telehealth services only within their specialty.
Give their name, credentials and emergency contact information to the patient when they provide a telehealth treatment or consultation.
Provide the patient with “clear, appropriate, accurate instructions” on follow-up care.

Controlled substances for pain or chronic pain treatment cannot be prescribed through telehealth – but a physician or a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant can order appropriate labs or other diagnostic tests.

The physician who provides the care via telemedicine must make a “diligent” effort to ensure that the patient is seen and examined in person at least once a year by a Georgia-licensed physician or other appropriate health care professional.

Special Guest:

Sidney Welch, JD, of Polsinelli

Coach Mark Speaks

October 13, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Coach Mark Speaks

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CW Hall and Coach Mark Speaks (Mark Todd)

Coach Mark Speaks

This week I sat down with entrepreneur, coach, and mentor, Mark Todd of Coach Mark Speaks. He shared his story of how he longed to be an entrepreneur as a young kid, tried as a college student and failed, then found a talent he possessed and leveraged it into a successful business.

We talked about how he and a friend decided to start a night club while they were college students, with hopes of building on their love of DJ’ing. Unfortunately, with no experience, no mentors, and limited capital, the partners could not support the business to keep it open during the early start-up phase. While trying to keep the business open, Mark lost his car, used his student loan funds, and was doing anything he could to make his rent.

While trying to save money promoting his business, Mark began creating the graphic design pieces he would distribute about his club. It was then he realized he had a knack for it and once the club shut down, he pivoted and started working to build his graphic design business. 15 years later he came by to talk about what it was that made him achieve success and have the life he always wanted.

He is now spending much of his time authoring (and reading) books on how to succeed and overcome challenges and giving away his time to coach and mentor entrepreneurs and individuals looking to improve their lives.

Coach Mark isn’t an athletic coach although he can help you win the biggest race of your life. He isn’t a life coach, but he can help you live the best life you could ever possibly imagine. Coach Mark is a believability coach. He helps others to increase what they believe is possible for them. That self-belief will help determine how far anyone can go in life.

As a successful entrepreneur over the last 15 years, Coach Mark has built 2 exceedingly successful million-dollar businesses. Driven by his desire to acquire and share knowledge, Coach Mark retired from the day to day operations of his businesses before the age of 40 and decided to spend the rest of his life serving others by sharing his philosophy of continual self improvement. It’s Coach Mark’s belief that life gets better when you get better, and his goal is for each and everyone he encounters to continually get better. You can stay in touch with Coach Mark by visiting www.powerinahalfhour.com or on FB – Mark Starr, or on IG & Twitter @coachmarkspeaks

Special Guest:

Coach Mark Todd of Coach Mark Speaks, Inc

Pet Health – Top Docs Radio

October 9, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Pet Health - Top Docs Radio

00:00 / 00:33:22

Apex Animal Hospital

On this episode I sat down with Dr. Kimberly Cary and her office manager, Jamie Cary. We talked about their rapidly-growing Austell animal hospital that has seen rapid expansion of their patient base due to referrals from happy clients.

Kimberly explained there are numerous health issues that can be transmitted between humans and their pets or that both humans and our pets can suffer from that we can benefit from being aware about. Examples are ringworm, Lyme disease, giardiasis, rabies, and others.

The Carys talked about measures we can take to reduce the risk of our pets contracting these illnesses as well as how we can limit the risk of being affected ourselves. In many cases, simple preventive measures are very effective at protecting both pet and owner. These include annual exams and keeping vaccinations up to date.

Problems related to tick- and flea-borne diseases can easily be prevented by a regular dose of topical or edible medications. And in areas of high likelihood of ticks, there is a vaccination available for dogs to prevent Lyme disease.

The practice offers a full array of pet services and has been specially designed to accommodate both dogs and cats to minimize the stress they experience when they have to be seen or stay in the animal hospital. The office is located on East-West Connector in Austell, GA near Floyd Road.

Special Guests:

Dr. Kimberly Carey, DVM of Apex Animal Hospital

Doctorate Veterinary Medicine (with honors), Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine
Values educating pet owners who are her clients to help them best care for their pets
President, Cobb County Veterinary Medical Association
Owner of 2 cats and a dog of her own

Georgia Dental Association

October 8, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Georgia Dental Association

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Oral Health — Becky Weinman, Evis Babo, and Tom Broderick talk oral health

Georgia Dental Association

On this week’s episode we featured president of the Georgia Dental Association and practicing Savannah orthodontist, Tom Broderick, along with members, Evis Babo and Becky Weinman, both Atlanta-based general dentists.

We discussed the mission of the Georgia Dental Association, along with various initiatives the association is working on to foster oral health for Georgians such as the Mission of Mercy. With this program, members of the association from around the state join forces to contribute their time and resources to provide free dental care to citizens who are economically-challenged but that are in need of dental care.

As our guests described, in many cases these patients are able to get smiles restored with dentures or other procedures that allow them to more successfully apply for jobs they might not have been able to before. We also talked about how the association members are engaging providers in elderly residential and care facilities to teach them how to better meet basic preventive care needs.

The panel explained the importance of each of us establishing a “dental home” where we go for regular preventive care and assessment (ideally 2x per year). The reason for this, as Becky described, is that cavities and some other problems can develop and progress a great deal in a year’s time. By identifying and treating developing problems quickly, the treatment needed to correct these issues is typically very easy and comparatively inexpensive compared to advanced measures such as crowns or extractions.

Weinman, Babo, and Broderick also shared information about the fact that dentists utilize these regular visits to assess the patient for problems such as oral cancer, diabetes, and other health problems that have signs that can be seen in the mouth. In this way, the patient gains another provider who can help catch serious developing health problems and seek treatment while there is an opportunity to reverse them or treat them more easily.

Special Guests:

Tom Broderick, DDS, President of Georgia Dental Association

Evis Babo, DMD, of Peachtree Smile Center

Becky Weinman, DDS, of Buckhead Dental Associates

Buying or Selling a Business

October 6, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Buying or Selling a Business

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Dave Ragland and Joe Schum talk Buying/Selling Businesses

Buying or Selling a Business

We continued our monthly series with IRC Wealth, talking about buying or selling a business. Dave Ragland and Joe Schum came by with Chet Burgess of Burgess & Associates to share some expertise regarding how to approach choices that arise when coming into a large sum of money through the sale of a business. An example of this was an IRC Wealth client company that was an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) that sold.

In this case, the employees were seeing pretty sizable amounts of money coming their way from 5 figures to as much as $500,000-1,000,000 or more. Dave and Joe talked about the importance of sitting down with a financial expert to identify the best plan for what to do with those funds to get the greatest value for the employee’s needs.

The group also talked about the importance of establishing a sound operating agreement for partners in a young business that will accommodate the various possibilities for separation for the partners, whether it’s a sale, or a partner opting to leave, or other potential situations.

Chet, a CPA and tax expert, shared how important it is to select a corporate structure that provides the greatest long-term flexibility for a business that will facilitate selling later or transitioning a business to heirs or other partners.

We also discussed options for the business owner who would like to offer rewarding compensation plans that inspire a sense of ownership and increased productivity, without having to give away shares of stock in the privately-held company.

Special Guests:

David Ragland, CEO/Founder of IRC Wealth

Masters of Accounting, University of Georgia, Terry College of Business
Former Manager–Tax, Ernst & Young
Previous CFO, Allied Foods, Inc
Previous CFO, Afterburner

Joe Schum, VP of Business Development of IRC Wealth

Bachelor’s of Science, Economics/Commerce, Niagara University
Previous VP of Sales, Midwest Medical Enterprises, DVT/Lite
Board of Advisors, Safe Haven Museum & Education Center
Board Member, Visions Anew Institute

Chet Burge, Founder of Burge & Associates

BS Accounting, Bob Jones University
Previous Senior Accountant, Price Waterhouse
Former P/T CFO/Partner, Three Taverns Brewery

Telehealth

October 1, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Telehealth

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Telehealth

This week we sat down with Adrian Davis, CEO of MyIdealDoctor, a telehealth company. Adrian shared how he had spent the early years of his career in health technology and equipment sales and distribution. With the passage of the ACA he and several of his associates saw an opportunity to help meet a need for access to medical care, taking advantage of technology.

They launched the company to begin to help patients to be able to speak directly with a physician from wherever they are using phone, smart phone/mobile device, or via a computer connection. Their initial focus has been upon episodic patient needs centered around non-emergent complaints such as respiratory infections, minor cuts, sore throats, etc.

In many cases the physician is able to use the camera on the device, along with interview, to make a diagnosis and prescribe medication to treat the problem. Additionally, if the patient’s complaint is too severe or worrisome to be able to handle the problem remotely, they make recommendations to seek care in a nearby urgent care center or emergency department.

In this way MyIdealDoctor is able to have an impact on the volume of patients being seen in the urgent care and more importantly, in the emergency rooms, allowing them to focus on more acutely-ill patients.

The company has focused their initial service model on corporate health, providing their care model to businesses offering the service as a component of their employee health plans. MyIdealDoctor will be providing their service to the general population soon.

Special Guest:

Adrian Davis, CEO/ Co-founder of MyIdealDoctor

BS, Microbiology, University of Georgia
Co-founder/Partner, United Medical Enterprises
Previous GI/Ultrasound Territory Manager, Philips
Former IV Therapy Territory Manager, Baxter Healthcare

Clostridium Difficile – Top Docs Radio

September 30, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Clostridium Difficile - Top Docs Radio

00:00 / 00:25:50

Clostridium Difficile

On this week’s episode we talked about one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections: Clostridium Difficile, or “C. Diff.” I sat down with Dr. David Dickensheets, infectious disease specialist with Infectious Disease Services of Georgia in his Cumming, GA office.

According to the CDC nearly half a million persons experienced a Clostridium difficile infection last year. Their website explains:

“Approximately 29,000 patients died within 30 days of the initial diagnosis of C. difficile. Of those, about 15,000 deaths were estimated to be directly attributable to C. difficileinfections, making C. difficile a very important cause of infectious disease death in the United States. More than 80 percent of the deaths associated with C. difficile occurred among Americans aged 65 years or older. C. difficile causes an inflammation of the colon and deadly diarrhea.

Previous studies indicate that C. difficile has become the most common microbial cause of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and costs up to $4.8 billion each year in excess health care costs for acute care facilities alone. The new study found that 1 out of every 5 patients with a healthcare-associated C. difficile infection experienced a recurrence of the infection and 1 out of every 9 patients aged 65 or older with a healthcare-associated C. difficile infection died within 30 days of diagnosis.”

Clearly it’s a big problem. Dr. Dickensheets shared some great information on how the infection is diagnosed and why it’s so hard to eradicate from a hospital environment. He also talked about an interesting treatment approach–the fecal transplant.

That’s right, in some instances, patients have been able to resolve the infection by having fecal material from a healthy human instilled into their bowel, allowing a repopulation of normal flora bacteria that compete with the C. Diff., helping to eliminate the infection.

Special Guest:

Dr. David Dickensheets, MD, of Infectious Disease Services of Georgia

Doctor of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University
Residency, Roger Williams Medical Center
Fellowshp, Brown University
Board Certified in Infectious Disease

The Ice Box and Encore Recycling

September 29, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

The Ice Box and Encore Recycling

00:00 / 00:58:30

Business Radio — Gary Blase and Jordy Gamson talk shredding autos and effective brand marketing

The Ice Box and Encore Recycling

Guest co-host, Bo Wilkins from SoundRiver Advisors sat in with me as we interviewed one of the founders of The Ice Box, Jordy Gamson, and his good friend, Gary Blase, of Encore Recycling. Learn how valuable the right promotional product can be for keeping your company top-of-mind for your customers. And, learn about technology that can grind a car—yes, a CAR, into bits in 8 seconds.

Check back soon for more info!

Special Guests:

Bo Wilkins, Partner, SoundRiver Advisors

Former Executive Managing Director, Wealth Management, Reliance Trust Company
Former Partner, Nease, Lagana, Eden, & Culley
BA, History & German, Hampden-Sydney College
CLU – Chartered Life Underwriter; ChFC – Chartered Financial Consultant; CAP – Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy

Jordy Gamson, CEO/Co-founder, The Ice Box

Gary Blase, Managing Member of Encore Recycling

Pharmacogenomics

September 28, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Pharmacogenomics

00:00 / 01:06:00

Pharmacogenomics

This week on Health Connect South Radio we featured Bob Bean, CEO of Harmonyx, a technology company specializing in pharmacogenomics. Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs. This relatively new field combines pharmacology (the science of drugs) and genomics (the study of genes and their functions) to develop effective, safe medications and doses that will be tailored to a person’s genetic makeup.

As we have learned on previous episodes of the show, taking medications correctly is vital to achieving a positive outcome. In fact, incorrectly taking a medication or taking certain combinations of medications can actually make you very sick or even kill you.

Add to that this fact–our genetic code can affect how our body responds to a given medication we’re taking. For example, 30% of people who take Plavix, the popular anti-platelet medication to prevent stroke, get no effect from taking the drug due to a particular genetic mutation. Consider the money spent by 1/3 of patients taking this medicine and it’s literally doing nothing in their body.

Harmonyx employs a non-invasive cheek swab which collects a DNA sample which is then tested for that individual’s genetically-driven response to a prescribed medication. Depending on the results, it may be possible for the pharmacist and physician to identify another medication from that particular medicine family that will have the desired effect and/or avoid possible negative responses to the original med.

The test is available at participating pharmacies and can provide useful information for patients taking statin medication, ADHD meds, pain medication, and anti-platelet medication. The test will reveal if the patient’s body will respond as expected or if they may experience adverse effects due to the way their body processes the prescribed medication.

In this way the patient is able to get medical treatment that is likely to have the desired outcome while avoiding probable negative effects and/or spending money and taking a medicine that literally does nothing for them.

On this episode I also shared the conversation I had with Ebola survivor, Dr. Ian Crozier, who was a keynote speaker at the 2015 Health Connect South event. Ian was providing care to Ebola patients in Sierra Leone when he contracted the disease. He had the good fortune of being flown to Emory Hospital in Atlanta for intense specialized care. In spite of significant damage to numerous organs including kidneys, eyes, and even his brain, Ian survived and shared his poignant story with the attendees of this year’s event.

I was very pleased to get to meet him and speak with him for a few minutes.

Special Guests:

Bob Bean, CEO of Harmonyx