health radio Archives - Page 3 of 9

Exercise is Medicine

May 7, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Exercise is Medicine

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Exercise is Medicine

This week we focused on the value of physical activity to our overall state of wellness. We were joined in studio by Dr. Felipe Lobelo of Emory University, Mike Tinney, of Fitness Interactive Experience, and JP Matzegheit, of Wahoo Fitness. We talked about the physiologic importance of physical activity along with innovative technologies that facilitate inspiring people to get moving.

Physical inactivity now ranks as the 2^nd leading cause of mortality in the world. However, too few health systems and health care providers include physical activity (PA) as part of the prevention and management of obesity and chronic diseases. For 5 years, the Exercise is Medicine (EIM) initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine has helped build local networks to support the systematic inclusion of PA in health care in the US and more than 40 countries in 5 continents via the “EIM Solution”, an evidence-based approach to assessing patients, prescribing appropriate PA and developing community-based PA resources linked to health services and public awareness. The

Large-scale implementation of the EIM Solution across different populations, settings and health care systems is a complex process. The EIM-GRCC serves as a coordinating center for EIM implementation projects by offering state-of –art consultation research and evaluation support, training, policy, cross-national networking and management dimensions of EIM programming to support the initiative.

Fitness Interactive Experience (FIX) has developed a tech platform that incorporates a video game-inspired approach to motivating people to walk and engage in brief periods of other physical activities. FIX provides their application to businesses seeking to improve the health of their employees for use over 6-8 weeks as a fitness challenge. The application uses the popular zombie theme to get the user to walk more each day.

The application interfaces with wearable fitness devices such as FitBit to track physical activity such as walking/running. In order for their character to survive in the game they’ll have to walk while wearing their fitness device to “walk/run” their character to safe zones. The early data from their initial challenges has shown promising statistics regarding the level of participation and engagement by employees using the application.

Wahoo Fitness produces a range of wearable fitness devices designed to give feedback on a variety of physical activities and bio data. The sensors enable athletes to become more efficient runners, swimmers, and riders through the use of accelerometers in the sensors. Additionally, users can train smarter by monitoring heart rate instead of subjective rating of perceived exertion (RPE).

Users are able to compare current training session against previous sessions to evaluate number of reps, cadence, and other training data.

Special Guests:

Dr. Felipe Lobelo, MD, PhD, Emory University, Global Health Department, Exercise is Medicine

Associate Professor, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Previous Lead Epidemiologist, CDC
Doctor of Medicine, Universidad del Rosario
PhD Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia

Mike Tinney, CEO/Founder, Fitness Interactive Experience/ A Step Ahead Challenge

Previous CEO, White Wolf
Former President, CCP America
Nearly 20 years of experience in the video gaming industry from developer to leadership roles

JP Matzigkeit, CEO/Founder of Wahoo Fitness

MBA, University of North Carolina, Kenan Flagler Business School
Previous Advisory Board Chair, Founder and President, Chastain Park Conservancy
Former AVP Compensation, Cox Enterprises
Avid cyclist

ADHD

May 1, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

ADHD

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ADHD

This week I was pleased to sit down with ADHD expert, Elaine Taylor-Klaus of ImpactADHD.com. As a parent of three children who each have experienced some measure of ADHD in their lives, and as a patient who subsequently discovered that she, too, was an ADHD patient.

CDC.gov lists these statistics about ADHD:

Approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011.
The percentage of children with an ADHD diagnosis continues to increase, from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 and to 11.0% in 2011.
Rates of ADHD diagnosis increased an average of 3% per year from 1997 to 2006 [Read article] and an average of approximately 5% per year from 2003 to 2011.
Boys (13.2%) were more likely than girls (5.6%) to have ever been diagnosed with ADHD.
The average age of ADHD diagnosis was 7 years of age, but children reported by their parents as having more severe ADHD were diagnosed earlier.

With just over 1 in 10 children experiencing ADHD or one of its sub-types, it’s a significant disruptor of quality of life for many, many people. We talked about how frustrating it can be for parents of hyper-active ADHD children and how she, herself, learned first-hand how challenging it can be to keep calm and avoid yelling to reign in their high energy kid(s).

Given her experiences in her own home, Elaine and a business partner, Diane Dempster, decided to start ImpactADHD.com. The website serves as a resource for parents struggling to find answers for questions on how to better handle the stresses that comes with ADHD children.

The site provides recommendations for identifying suitable physicians and other professionals who can help with diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the organization provides a coaching approach to help parents learn other ways to communicate and how to deal with stress, among others.

ImpactADHD.com describes what they do this way, “ImpactADHD.com helps parents help their kids with ADHD and ADD, anywhere, anytime. ImpactADHD uses a combination of training, coaching and support resources, online and on the phone, to provide the “how to” that parents really need, whether they are new to the world of complex kids, or worn-out from years of management. By helping parents put strategies into action, and teaching them to make those strategies work best for their families, we guide parents to radically improve family life and empower their kids for independence and success.”

Special Guest:

Elaine Taylor-Klaus, CEO/Certified Coach, ImpactADHD

Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, The Coaches Training Institute
Professional Certified Coach, International Coach Federation
BA, College of Social Studies & Sociology, Wesleyan College
Parent of 3 children who have experienced ADHD, along with herself, who was diagnosed as an adult
Member, National Board of Directors, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. CHADD.org

Chronic Lyme Disease – Top Docs Radio

April 24, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Chronic Lyme Disease - Top Docs Radio

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Chronic Lyme Disease

This week, on Dr. Andrew Pugliese’s monthly special edition of Top Docs Radio we talked about chronic lyme disease. Also known as post-treatment lyme disease syndrome, this chronic, debilitating condition is frequently overlooked outside of the Northeast, where it’s known to be prevalent.

As we learned from David Baird, a patient experiencing chronic lyme disease, and Karen Huppert, the mother of a college-age student who dealt with the illness, its severe symptoms, and treatment for several years as well. They both shared their poignant stories and described how they moved from specialist to specialist trying to find a diagnosis. And they shared how they were told that, “Lyme disease doesn’t exist in Georgia,” leading to a significant delay in the diagnosis that allowed them to seek appropriate care.

David brought his wife, a local veterinarian, also talked about how comparatively easy it is to diagnose a canine, for whom there are straight-forward tests that identifies the infection, and treatment is also effective and readily available. She talked about how frequently she treats pets for Lyme disease here in her local Atlanta office.

We strongly encourage patients to seek second opinions and to seek to learn all they can about their symptoms and diseases to facilitate timely treatment, which can affect outcomes.

I was also pleased to host Dr. Leanna Kart, DC, a chiropractor whose practice is located on Howell Mill Road in west Atlanta. May is National Posture Awareness Month. We talked about how technology has affected neck/back health through creating a tendency to sit with the head in a chin-down orientation for long periods of time. This causes an increased strain on the connective tissues and muscles in the neck, which can lead to headaches, neck and back pain, and neurologic symptoms.

Special Guests:

Andrew Pugliese, MD, Infectious Disease Consultants

Doctorate in Medicine, St. George University School of Medicine
Fellowship, Infectious Disease, Winthrop University Hospital
Triple Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease
Pioneer in non-surgical treatment of acute and chronic sinusitis
President of Sinus Solutions

David Baird, Chronic Lyme Disease Patient

Karen Huppert, Parent of a young Chronic Lyme Disease patient

Dr. Leanna Kart, DC, of NW Chiropractic

Doctor of Chiropractic, Life University
Owner of NW Chiropractic for over 26 years
Board Member, Georgia Chiropractic Association

Pediatric Health Technologies

April 24, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Pediatric Health Technologies

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Pediatric Health Technologies

This week we had experts on the show talking about developments in Pediatric Health Technologies. We were joined in studio by Leanne West, Principal Research Scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute, and Paul Spearman, Chief Research Officer with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. They came by to talk about the innovative collaboration between academic research institutions, Emory and Georgia Institute of Technology, that help accelerate the rate that important technologies can be made available to the pediatric patient population in need. Carly Kiseleczynk, CEO/Founder of BrainChild Technologies also came by to talk about the intriguing technology that allows parents to have more interactive interaction with young infants through their pacifier-controlled device that interfaces and can control applications and toys through non-nutritional sucking patterns.

We discussed the goals of these important Atlanta research institutions of helping pediatric health providers to treat the unique needs of very young patients. They have what they call a “Quick Wins” program where they engage with promising technology companies to help them bring their solutions to market within a very-fast 18 months.

Carly talked about how they were able to advance their work on developing an interactive technology that allows infants to learn how to control toys and tablet-based applications with their sucking patterns. The infants are able to turn on a mobile or night light, or make remote-controlled toys move. And they’re able to advance language skills through interacting with special tablet-based applications that can provide data on certain developmental milestones.

Both of these initiatives can benefit from financial support to allow them to hasten the pace of their research and make these helpful technologies available to pediatric patients in need sooner.

Special Guests:

Leanne West, Principal Research Scientist with Georgia Tech Research Institute

Education, Vanderbilt University
Former High School Physics Teacher
17 years as Research Scientist Georgia Tech Research Institute
Recipient, 2014 Woman of the Year, Georgia Women In Technology

Paul Spearman, Chief Research Officer with Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta

Doctor of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Residency, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, The Ohio State University
Residency, Infectious Disease, Washington University in St. Louis
Professor, Emory University School of Medicine

Carly Kiselyczynk, CEO/Founder, of BrainChild Technologies

PhD, Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, Karolinska Institutet
Published research author
Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale Depression Research Group
Recipient 2012 Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award

Senate Bill 158 – Top Docs Radio

April 20, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Senate Bill 158 - Top Docs Radio

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Senate Bill 158

On this week’s show we continued our monthly series with the Medical Association of Georgia. MAG’s CEO/Executive Director, Donald J. Palmisano, Jr. stopped by for a discussion on the state of Senate Bill 158, changes in the insurance contracting arena, and other topics on the MAG agenda. Donald also shared how he and a colleague were able to raise over $40,000 to support the Think About It campaign to raise awareness and fight prescription drug abuse/addiction in Georgia, participating in a 100 mile race and completing it in under 24 hours. In the days since Donald joined us on the show, Senate Bill 158 was passed.

MAG continues to take steps to enhance the relationship between health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Inc. (BCBSGa) and physicians in the state.

At the end of 2014, Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens rescinded physician contract amendments that BCBSGa had put into place in Georgia following “numerous complaints from physicians (and their practices).”

First MAG/BCBSGa “Physician Advisory Group” meeting took place on February 12. It is forum for physicians to express their concerns, it will give Blue Cross the opportunity to disseminate information about new payer initiatives, it will be a venue for improving communications, and it will serve as a mechanism for physicians to weigh in on Blue Cross’ clinical policies, operations and contracting practices.

The advisory group consists of four MAG member physicians as well as MAG Health Policy and Third Party Payer Advocacy Department Director Susan Moore and BCBSGa Senior Clinical Officer Mark Kishel, M.D., and BCBSGa Director of Network Management/Georgia Provider Solutions Hayden Mathieson. They will meet a minimum of three times a year.

Rental Networks

MAG supports legislation that would limit rental networks in Georgia. A rental network involves a health insurer that rents or sells its network of physicians to another health insurer. These second-level insurers then include the physicians in their health insurance plans – and pay the physicians an even deeper discount – even though they don’t have a contract with the physicians.

It’s not uncommon for physicians to offer their services to a health insurer at a discounted rate because the higher patient volume offsets the costs. However, the aforementioned insurers rent or sell their networks without the physician’s knowledge – so the physicians often aren’t aware that they are in a given network or that they are contractually obligated to deliver patient care at a greater discount.

Rental networks result in mass confusion and higher administrative costs (e.g., the additional staff time that is required to verify a patient’s health insurance coverage and/or confirm the proper payment). Rental networks can also reduce the accessibility of care because physicians are forced to accept the lower (i.e., “re-priced” or “re-rented”) payment or refuse to see the patient for any follow-up or future care.

Rental networks are an inappropriate, profit-driven tactic that undermines the practice environment in Georgia that will exacerbate the physician shortage in the state. Sixteen states have now adopted laws that regulate or limit or prohibit rental networks.

Insurers are prohibited from using rental networks in federal employee health benefits plan contracts.

All-Products Clauses

Insurance companies use ‘all-products or all-or-nothing’ clauses as a cost-control tactic to force physicians to participate in every health insurance product that they offer or be blocked from caring for patients in the insurer’s plan altogether.

By forcing physicians and their practices to agree to all-products clauses, health insurers are undermining the economic viability of the medical profession in Georgia – keeping in mind that a report that was prepared by IMS Health for the American Medical Association determined that physicians in Georgia “created a total of $29.7 billion in direct and indirect economic output (i.e., sales revenues) in 2012… [and] each physician supported $1,559,494 in [economic] output.” It is also worth noting that the report found that “…physicians supported 205,869 jobs (including their own)…[and] $1,089.6 million in local and state tax revenues in 2012.”

Because physicians are constantly wrestling with these manipulative contract provisions, they have less time to spend with their patients.

All-products clauses violate several individual rights, including the right to contract and an owner’s right to operate a business in a free and autonomous way.

Physicians and medical practices in Georgia should be free to accept the health insurance products of their choice versus the ones that’s imposed on them by profit-driven insurance companies.

Eleven states have enacted prohibitions on all-products clauses, including Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, and Virginia – as well as Washington, D.C.

Special Guest

Donald Palmisano, CEO, Executive Director of Medical Association of Georgia

JD Law, Loyola School of Law
Board of Directors, Physician Advocacy Institute
Medical Payment Subcommitte Member, State Board of Workers’ Compensation
Treasurer, Board of Directors, Physicians’ Institute for Excellence in Medicine
Former Director, Government Relations/General Counsel/Director, GAMPAC

Eating Disorders

April 15, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Eating Disorders

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Eating Disorders

This week we focused on eating disorders. I sat down with experts from Eating Disorders Information Network, a non-profit organization aimed at outreach to increase awareness/prevention among students in grade school to high school, and helping people identify resources for treatment. According to the National Anorexia Nervosa Association, eating disorders are a serious problem, with as many as 24 million Americans suffering with some form of disorder from anorexia, to bulemia, to binge/purge, and more.

The problem affects both men and women, children and adults, across all demographics. And according to Dr. Dina Zeckhausen, founder of EDIN, eating disorders are more deadly than other mental illness. When you consider dysfunctional eating habits such as overly-restrictive dieting, comfort eating, and others, as many as 80-90% of us are impacted at some time by potentially-problematic attitudes about food.

EDIN is working to engage young people beginning in grade school through high school to promote self-acceptance and to share information about the dangers of risky behaviors such as “clubs” that foster unhealthy choices such as eating crackers and water only for lunch with a group of peers. Their website describes their mission in this way, “The Eating Disorders Information Network (EDIN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of eating disorders through education, outreach, and action. EDIN is committed to addressing the problem of eating disorders on a societal level. We are devoted to:

Preventing eating disorders
Increasing public awareness of the personal, familial, and cultural/media influences which contribute to eating disorders
Helping those already suffering to find the therapeutic services they need

The organization strives to serve as a comprehensive resource and educational guide for those wanting to learn more about eating disorders, those seeking help, and those gathering and distributing information about available treatment options both in the Atlanta area and nationwide.”

Special Guests:

Dina Zeckhausen, PhD, Founder of Eating Disorders Information Network

PhD, Clinical-Community Psychology, University of South Carolina
Active private practice psychologist
Well-known public speaker on the topic of eating disorders
Published author and playwrite

Hallie Udelson, Eating Disorders Information Network

BA, Psychology, Emory University
2016 Candidate, Master of Public Health, Emory University
Developing curriculum for school outreach initiatives for EDIN

Sara Pannell, Incoming Director, Eating Disorders Information Network

Licensed Family and Marriage Counselor, Trillium Springs Counseling
MS, Family & Marriage Counseling, Fuller Theological Seminary
Previous Bi-lingual Clinician I, San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

April 9, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

00:00 / 00:58:22

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

This week we sat down with internationally-known expert on the subject of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Dr. Helen Gelly. This treatment modality has been available to patients with poorly-healing wounds, thermal injuries, decompression sickness, late effects of radiation, and several other problems for decades. And while there is a quality body of evidence supporting the use of this treatment for clinically-appropriate patients, many of the patients who could benefit from access to it never get to know it’s available.

This is due in large part to the fact that of ~159 US medical colleges, only ~30 offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy and wound resolution as taught specialties. That means that approximately 85% of graduating physicians have had very little (if any) exposure to academic information about the modality. The result is that they often miss opportunities to add the treatment to the patient’s care plan, which in turn delays (or even prevents) these problem wounds from healing.

Dr. Gelly shared information about the history of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and we talked about the physiology of what’s happening during the course of therapy. We discussed a couple of major groups of patients whose clinical outcomes tend to be significantly improved with access to hyperbaric medicine, diabetic ulcer patients and patients experiencing persistent late effects of radiation. The aim is to get credible information to the public so that both physicians and patients in need can educate themselves about it. Atlanta is unique in that both inside the city and in numerous suburbs, patients can receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy in hospital-based or UHMS accredited free-standing programs. It’s also paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance companies for these evidence-based indications.

Special Guest:

Dr. Helen Gelly, MD of HyperbaRXs

Doctor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Internship/Residency: Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals
Board Certified in Emergency Medicine
Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians
Fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Specialists
Subspecialty Certified Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine

Mindfulness – Top Docs Radio

April 4, 2015 by angishields

Top Docs Radio

Mindfulness - Top Docs Radio

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True North Partnering — Peter North talks Mindfulness on Top Docs Radio

Mindfulness

This week I sat down with Peter Vajda. He’s a Certified Professional Coach and PhD in Education and Cognitive Psychology. We talked about how we can apply the practice of meditation and mindfulness to bring about a more centered “You”, becoming better able to handle conflict and reduce one’s over-all level of anxiety. Peter is an astute observer of the human condition and is a passionate pioneer in the field of mind-body-spirit integrative functioning and development. Dr. Vajda is dedicated to supporting individuals and groups to enhance their understanding of how to live consciously – from the inside out – which deeply supports an individual’s ability to change, grow and evolve.

Peter brings a diversified base of professional expertise – as an entrepreneur, an educator, a facilitator, and a manager. He is sensitive to the diverse perspectives, demands and dynamics of relationships. Since 1981, he has facilitated individuals, couples, groups and organizations.

His life and the orientation he brings to coaching, consulting, facilitating and writing are deeply influenced by his understanding of, and his experience in, the psychology of personal growth and development.

For over thirty years, Peter’s has been committed to his own personal and spiritual development. His experience in working with the “whole body” is based on his studies of psychodynamics, ego development, bioenergetics as well as energy healing.

Peter earned his Ph.D. in Education and Cognitive Psychology from Fordham University. His post-graduate work is in organizational behavior at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

For six years, Dr. Vajda has written a weekly column – “Know Thyself” – for the widely-acclaimed international Management-Issues website.

His book– Becoming a Better You, Who You Are vs. Who You Think You Are – was published in October, 2013.

Special Guest:

Peter Vajda, Phd, CPC, True North Partnering

PhD, Education-Cognitive Psychology, Fordham University
Former Director, Academic Services, Information Technology Institute, New York University
Previous Manager, Instructional Design Dept. , Gulliver Ritchie Associates
Published Author

Intellimedix and Life University

April 1, 2015 by angishields

Health Connect South

Intellimedix and Life University

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Intellimedix and Life University

This week we sat down with experts from Intellimedix and Life University. Intellimedix is an Atlanta-based company that uses high-powered computing algorithms, coupled with genetic testing to identify existing medications that could potentially be re-purposed to effectively treat illnesses other than the ones they were originally designed to treat. One of the company’s founders has a child who suffers from a severe form of epilepsy. Unfortunately, there are limited treatments known to be available that will provide relief from this debilitating condition. His daughter’s story influenced the decision to focus the company’s initial efforts on uncovering existing medications that could be successfully re-purposed to help folks dealing with this type of epilepsy and other neurologic disorders.

Chief Science Officer, Jeff Skolnick shared the example of how a blood pressure medication (Viagra) was re-purposed to treat erectile dysfunction. He went on the discuss the physiology/chemistry behind why this is possible and why it makes sense to look for existing, approved medications that have the ability to improve quality of life for patients dealing with illnesses different from those the medications are initially intended to treat. This approach saves a great deal of time and money over the years-long, massively-expensive process of developing a medication from ground zero to treat a particular condition; allowing patients in need to receive access to an effective treatment sooner.

Dr. Gilles LeMarche, VP of Professional Relations at Life University came by to talk about the undergraduate and graduate programs available at their Marietta, GA-based campus. They offer a number of health, wellness, and sports-related degrees ranging from chiropractic medicine, to vitalistic nutrition, functional kinesiology, and others. He shared their approach to wellness, applying the philosphy of “vitalism” allows their graduates to help their clients/patients by helping the body to heal itself; as it is ideally capable of doing when interfering factors are removed.

Special Guests:

Steven Hickson, CFO, Intellimedix

MBA, Global Executive MBA Program, IESE Business School, Barcelona Spain
BA Accounting, NC State University
Previous Senior Auditor, Turner Broadcasting System
Former SVP, New Media & Premium Channels, Fox International Channels- Asia

Jeff Skolnick, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Intellimedix

Director, Center for Study of Systems Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology
PhD, Chemistry, Yale University
Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair in Computational Systems Biology
Associate Director, Integrated Biosystems Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology

Gilles Lamarche, DCM, VP, Professional Relations, Life University