Health Care Radio Archives - Page 3 of 10

Radiation Oncology – Top Docs Radio

August 21, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Radiation Oncology - Top Docs Radio

00:00 /

Radiation Oncology

On this week’s show I sat down with Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Chad Levitt. We talked about how he decided he wanted to go into radiation oncology as his chosen field of practice. He shared how he enjoyed the fact that the specialty allowed him to call on his liberal arts schooling, helping him to be able to be perceptive to his patients’ needs and concerns, and allowing him to communicate effectively with them in a period of significant stress.

Chad explained how important it is for oncology physicians to make time to insure their patients’ questions are answered and that their concerns have been addressed. He believes the patient needs to be well-informed so they can hopefully experience less anxiety and allow them to make educated choices about their care. He stated the patient should be the “Captain of the Ship” and the health team the crew that helps them get to where they want to go.

We talked about the importance of getting 2nd and even 3rd opinions when facing life-changing illnesses such as cancer. Chad shared that it is vital to do so before engaging in treatments that cannot be undone. Given the political and personal alliances that can be present in a given hospital ecosystem, it is wise to seek 2nd opinions in hospitals or systems that are outside that of the primary physician to allow for likelihood of a more objective opinion.

Special Guest:

Dr. Chad Levitt, MD, of Radiotherapy Associates of Forsyth

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits – Top Docs Radio

August 15, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits - Top Docs Radio

00:00 /

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

The phrase medical malpractice causes most people’s pulse to quicken. For a physician being named in a medical malpractice case is one of the worst events in their life. This week we discussed medical malpractice in Georgia and how physicians can avoid it.

For the past 23 years, Dan has specialized in representing physicians and hospitals in medical malpractice lawsuits. As one of the founding partners in the Atlanta law firm of Huff, Powell & Bailey, LLC, he has represented defendants in more than 90 jury trials.

Dan has defended and successfully tried cases for every specialty of medicine and numerous hospitals throughout Georgia. His trial record would be a proud career for any defense lawyer and is remarkable because Dan has tried and won this many cases before turning 50. Many of those cases have been against the best plaintiffs’ attorneys in the state. Dan is also a regular contributor to MAG’s quarterly Journal.

Huff shared what malpractice is, and why he chose this area of focus for his legal career. He offered some advice on how healthcare practitioners can avoid a malpractice lawsuit. We discussed his professional advice for how to handle conversations with patient and/or family after a sentinel event has occurred. And we talked about how health professionals need to handle patient records and what to do if served with a lawsuit.

Dan explained how defendants in a suit should behave during the proceedings of the case to reduce the likelihood a jury will rule against them.

Special Guest:

Dan Huff, JD, and co-founder, Huff, Powell, and Bailey

Ketan Patel DPM – Top Docs Radio

August 8, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Ketan Patel DPM - Top Docs Radio

00:00 / 00:48:59

Ketan Patel DPM

For 33 years Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia has served the Atlanta community. Their nationally-renowned group of doctors specialize in the full spectrum of care for the lower extremity at 22 area locations across Metro Atlanta. As members of The Piedmont Clinic the group is noted for excellence in patient care while constantly providing the cutting edge treatment for all conditions of the Foot, Ankle, and Lower Leg.

I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with several of the specialists from Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia. And we have collaborated with the practice on numerous occasions as members of the multi-specialty team working to preserve lower extremities in diabetic ulcer patients.

I know first-hand they provide a high measure of expertise and put their patients’ outcomes first. This week I hosted Ketan Patel, DPM, who practices in the Buckhead office of Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia.

He shared why he chose podiatry as his career, having known most of his young life he wanted to be a healthcare provider. He shared some great information about new technologies he is able to provide access to for his patients, in many cases allowing the patients to resolve their problems without surgery.

We spoke of ways individuals can prevent many of the overuse injuries he frequently sees in his office when we decide to start training, running, or engaging in athletic activities with too much intensity/volume too soon.

It is clear in speaking with Ketan he has a passion for his work and enjoys the positive, collegial culture found across the Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia practice. I look forward to meeting additional members of the group on the show.

Special Guest:

Ketan Patel, DPM, of Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia

BS, Microbiology, University of Georgia
Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine
Previous Chief Resident, Podiatric Medicine, Bon Secours Health System
Speaks Hindi, Gujarati, English

Loving Arms Cancer Outreach – Top Docs Radio

August 8, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Loving Arms Cancer Outreach - Top Docs Radio

00:00 / 00:37:28

Loving Arms Cancer Outreach

Over the past year we’ve talked about cancer on several occasions. We have hosted physician panels, sharing how to prevent cancers and how they’re diagnosed, and treatment options patients have to choose from.

We’ve also spoken with cancer survivors who have come on the share their stories about being diagnosed, and their experiences during treatment and beyond, as survivors.

This week I hosted cancer survivor, Angel DeJesus, office manager for Loving Arms Cancer Outreach. This non-profit cancer support organization was started by two practicing oncology nurses. They had seen how many patients deplete their financial resources paying for their cancer care.

This leaves them with with limited ability to pay for obligations of daily life such as rent/mortgage, utilities, gas to get them to treatment, and more. They started Loving Arms Cancer Outreach to provide some measure of assistance with these needs along with support group services, education, opportunities to volunteer, and others.

Angel shared his poignant story about experiencing a cancer that ultimately cost him is right eye and how he, too, lost his home, job, and savings paying for his cancer care. He explained how Loving Arms Cancer Outreach provided him with their support services and even were able to provide rides to his treatment when he was a patient.

The financial expense and logistics of providing rides to cancer patients was too great for the organization to continue that service. But they continue to offer financial assistance and support group services and others. We are hopeful listeners will help with donations, time, or share this message with folks who may be able to do so.

Special Guest

Angel DeJesus, Office Manager, Loving Arms Cancer Outreach

Health IT and Accelerating Innovation – Top Docs Radio

July 29, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Health IT and Accelerating Innovation - Top Docs Radio

00:00 / 01:02:23

Health IT and Accelerating Innovation

This week I sat down with experts from the healthcare IT sector. John Mamon is the CEO of mPoweredIT, an outsourced IT company that devotes expertise to the small to mid-sized medical practice, helping them manage their computer hardware, infrastructure, and software needs for far less than it typically costs to employ someone dedicated to these functions within the practice.

John talked about how often, in an effort to save money, small practices place responsibility for managing these facets on a practice manager, a clinician within the office, or even the doctors themselves. Clearly this can take away from the core function of the office—taking care of more patients.

He shared a number of important concerns that can expose these offices to risk such as HIPAA requirements, downtime of equipment, ACA compliance, and others. Each of these can create significant cost or loss of productivity when small offices attempt to handle things on their own.

mPoweredIT is able to scale their services to the needs of the practice, providing the full suite of IT management or taking over particular elements on behalf of the practice. The company also partners with several other health experts who can provide additional support in areas such as billing/revenue cycle management, EMR selection, and others, to allow their clients to maximize productivity and profitability at the same time.

John introduced us to Harvey Shuster, of Emergence, a Georgia Medical Accelerator. Harvey, a multiple-time entrepreneur, was one of the founders of Peachtree Software among others. He and his team work with emerging healthcare technology companies, helping them to commercialize and bring to market their devices/technologies more quickly.

Harvey brought along Osama Hashmi, CEO/Founder of VitaminC. This company adds an additional layer of automation and engagement to EMR systems. Their software allows providers to contact patients and encourage follow-up visits where appropriate to facilitate care/outcomes while at the same time helping the practice to maximize its potential for seeing patients in need.

VitaminC integrates well with numerous EMR systems and has proven valuable to primary care doctors and specialists such as dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and others.

Special Guests:

John Mamon, CEO/Founder, mPoweredIT

Associates Degree, Information Technology, Bryant and Stratton College
Previous VP, Professional Services, BMC Solutions
Former Executive VP, CDI Managed Services

Harvey Shuster, COO, of Emergence Georgia Medical Accelerator

MBA, Finance, Drexell University LeBow College of Business
Bronze Star Recipient, US Army
Published Author
Co-founder, Southeast Medical Device Association

Osama Hashmi, CEO/Chief Product Officer, of VitaminC

Doctor of Medicine, College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University
Master of Public Health, University of Georgia
Previous Policy Director, Roosevelt Institute, University of Georgia
Former Research Assistant, Stanford University

Fighting Infections

July 6, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Fighting Infections

00:00 /

GeoVax — Debora Carrier, Michael Hellerstein, Jay Schafer

Fighting Infections

This week we hosted two experts whose companies are fighting infections from different directions. Michael Hellerstein is the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Systems for GeoVax. They’re a biotechnology company that’s developing vaccines for Ebola and HIV.

Debora Carrier combined her experience as a fashion model and a healthcare provider to think of a better-looking scrub uniform that is both better looking and resistant to spreading infections. She founded Twice As Nice Uniforms to give health workers and physicians a more visually appealing choice while at the same time helping reduce the alarming rate of infections acquired in health delivery environments.

Michael talked about how GeoVax has been fighting infections through innovative approaches to vaccine development, utilizing vaccine-like particles to tackle HIV and more recently, Ebola. He shared how prevalent HIV remains today and that more work is being focused on treating the disease versus developing vaccines to prevent it.

He shared how technology has evolved that allows biotech companies to identify genetic components to viruses, which enables them to incorporate pieces of this material and instill it into a harmless organism. Then, as the organism reproduces, it produces a copy of itself that has some characteristics of the pathogen the vaccine is designed to fight. This “recombinant” vaccine doesn’t make the body sick but it does prompt an immune response from the body against the pathogenic virus, providing protection against infection.

GeoVax is able to create particles that are safer to use than vaccines that contain live pathogen, allowing people who may have some immune compromise to get some protection as well in some cases.

The company has used this technology to get a vaccine that is showing some promise for preventing HIV infection. Michael talked about how the clinical trials are progressing and how long it takes to get a vaccine approved for use in people versus the time it takes to develop a medication to treat disease.

Debora talked about her story as a healthcare provider for over 20 years led her to think of a scrub design that looks much better than the bulky, wrinkle-prone scrubs the health community has been using for decades. She talked about how frequently the environment is very cool, prompting workers to wear long sleeves and/or jackets while delivering care.

We discussed how long sleeves prevent washing the lower arms as is recommended and how the fabric can readily carry bacteria and viral material from one patient to another. Debora investigated various athletic materials that can help regulate body temperature in various climes, while at the same time possessing antimicrobial properties.

Twice As Nice Uniforms utilize an American-made material that controls moisture and uses a scrub design that incorporates a removable liner that allows the worker to be comfortable when the rooms are very cool.

In looking at the design of the garments, it’s clear she brought her experience in modeling to bear in the style/cut of the uniforms they’re creating.

Special Guests:

Debora Carrier, CEO/Founder of Twice As Nice Uniforms

AS, Dental Hygiene, William Rainey Harper College
Professional Fashion Model
Registered Dental Hygienist
Founder, CPR Sisters

Michael Hellerstein, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Systems

AB, Biology, Harvard University
Previous Assistant Scientist, Pfizer
Co-Founder, BlueSky Biotech
President, Hellerstein Consulting

Brought to you in part by:

Elder Care

June 6, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Elder Care

00:00 / 01:00:43

Elder Care

This week we hosted experts whose companies address the care needs of our elderly population. We hosted Maria de la Guardia, of Assisted Living Locators, Chris Foster, of LivHome, and Blaine Warketine, of Vimty.

Assisted Living Locators is a company that provides a free service for families in search of an assisted living facility for their loved one. The company forms relationships with facilities around the community, getting to know them, the services they provide, costs, etc. They then get to know the families who connect with them seeking help through an interview process to be better able to recommend a facility based on location, type of services available, living environment, cost, etc.

We talked about the fact that many online services focus mainly on a few facilities with which they have financial arrangements, leaving out many options in the area that could potentially be a better fit for a given patient. Once they have contact information for the family it is shared with other services who then assail the family with calls and emails trying to sell them on centers they represent. Maria shared some questions families should ask when they contact an online service that purports to be the facility they think they’re contacting.

LivHome is a company that helps seniors be able to live their lives in their own home or their family’s home with the care support and equipment needed to do so. The company conducts an in-depth assessment of the needs of the patient(s) in need of supportive care/equipment through interviews with their nursing staff. From there, they can make recommendations and provide the supportive care providers necessary.

Chris shared his story about having been disappointed in the experience with home care for loved ones in the past and that he wanted to provide a high-quality service for the patients who want to be able to live in their own home. We talked about the fact that it’s actually possible to have an elderly patient live in their own or a family member’s home for less than or similar costs to an assisted living center or nursing facility.

Blaine Warketine shared some impressive statistics about how much of overall healthcare spend each year comes from providing high-acuity care in the last days of life, often for patients who didn’t actually want to have aggressive measures. Vimty is a platform that allows patients to conduct video interviews with counselors and family members wherein they are able to state their wishes for end of life care measures, along with context for why they feel the way they do.

We talked about the fact that this record has much more weight and is much more likely to prevent much of the family drama that can occur with the typical written advanced directive document (or worse, in the cases of NO document). Through the Vimty platform, patients have a permanent record that is part of their EMR that can be referenced when end-of-life measures become necessary.

Special Guests:

Maria de la Guardia, of Assisted Living Locators

MBA International Business, George Washington University
Professional Development in Gerontology, Kennesaw State University
Previous Strategy & Policy Development/Industry Analyst
Board of Directors, Strength of Nature

Chris Foster, of LivHome

Certified Senior Advisor, Society of Certified Senior Advisors
Former Member, Board of Directors, March of Dimes of Georgia
President/CEO, SportsCom, Inc.

Blaine Warketine, of Vimty

Doctor of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin
Residency, Orthopedics, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Fellowship, Orthopedic Knee Conditions, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
MBA, Entrepreneurship, University of Utah David Eccles School of Business

Dr. Scott Kelly – Top Docs Radio

June 3, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Dr. Scott Kelly - Top Docs Radio

00:00 /

Dr. Scott Kelly

I sat down with practicing orthopedic physician and author of the book, “What I’ve Learned From You: The Lessons Of Life Taught To A Doctor By His Patients“. He shared the story of how this moving and inspirational book came together. He described how the book was drawn from journaling he did during his medical training over the course of several years.

He has always had a passion for writing and uses the medium as a way to process things that are important to him or that make an impression on him in his daily life. Dr. Kelly talked about how he was going through some things in the attic and came across the journal several years after putting it away and how emotional it was to go back and read his thoughts and experiences from that time in his life.

He thought the interesting experiences and life lessons he picked up through numerous patient encounters would be great for his children to hear about and decided to put it into book for basically for them. He decided to submit the manuscript to publishers and was surprised by the enthusiastic positive response he received.

You’ll enjoy listening to him tell his story and you can readily hear how big of an impact those life experiences had on him that he carries with him today. Check this great interview and learn more at his website.

Dr. Scott Kelly, MD, of Resurgens Spine Center

Healthgrades

May 27, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Healthgrades

00:00 / 01:00:37

Healthgrades

This week, Diana and I sat down with Dr. Brad Bowman and Nickey Scarborough, of Healthgrades. They’re a healthcare IT company that provides several valuable services to the community at large as well as to the healthcare industry. One of Healthgrades’ core offerings relates to transparency and healthcare consumerism. When you need to find a physician to address a particular health need from primary care to a specialist, the company’s website allows the patient and/or their family to conduct a search of their database.

The Healthgrades platform utilizes a number of available data sources to compile a match score that gives a measure of confidence a particular physician has sufficient experience and positive outcomes to be considered as a viable option for providing your care. You can search by provider name, specialty, condition, or procedure, along with location/radius.

Your results will give a list of possible providers, each with a rank for volume of this given procedure they’ve performed, along with a report of any sanctions or board actions that have been taken. Similarly, Healthgrades provides prospective patients with access to outcomes and patient satisfaction data across the gamut of service lines and procedures they offer. Patients can review a given hospital’s rank and compare it to the national average for that procedure.

But, these useful services are only scratching the surface for what Healthgrades is able to do for health systems and hospitals. The company is able to use a wide array of readily-available health and consumer data for patients in a given service area to give valuable predictive insights around outcomes for a given health problem. Things such as number of rooms in your home, whether it’s rented or mortgaged, how financially stable a family is, along with buying habits combined with numerous other data points can give surprisingly accurate pictures of what a given population’s tendency toward ER re-admissions or poor outcomes/compliance with care.

Through an engagement with Healthgrades, using their population analytics, a health system can be very strategic in their marketing efforts to help make that revenue spend be far more likely to help the system achieve its goals and deliver a higher level of care/outcomes.

Special Guests:

Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, of Healthgrades