2 Docs Talk: The podcast about healthcare, the science of medicine and everything in between.

If you've had many conversations about healthcare reform, it is likely you've heard some variation on this theme: 

"Hospitals have to provide care for people who show up. So everyone can get healthcare when they need it. So when people say that can't get healthcare, that isn't true."

Is there any merit to that argument? Spoiler: NO. But if you want to hear more about where that idea comes from, take a listen. 

Resources:

https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EMTALA/

http://www.kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/medicaid-income-eligibility-limits-for-parents/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D

Be sure and subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t already.  And you know we’d appreciate it so much if you would tell your friends about 2 Docs Talk!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Now Available on Google Play Music!

The pap smear has been one of the greatest public health wins of the past century. Deaths from cervical cancer in the U.S. have dropped from 37.5 per 100,000 women to 7.5 per 100,000 women as a result of the simple screening test.

But with our increasing understanding of the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of cervical cancer, the pap test may end up being pushed aside by HPV screening.

Today, 2 Docs Talk about Pap smears, HPV screening, the current recommendations for cervical cancer screening, and the research that may push us to shifting away from the pap smear to the HPV test.

Resources:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60644-9/fulltext?rss=yes

https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/UpdateSummaryFinal/cervical-cancer-screening

https://www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/Cervical-Cancer-Screening

https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/RecommendationStatementFinal/cervical-cancer-screening#consider

The process of drug approval is long and expensive. To complicate matters, pharmaceutical companies, patients, an the FDA are all invested in the process, for different reasons – and they aren’t always the same.

Today we discuss the story of how a new drug came to market and the unusual circumstances around its approval. 

Resources:

FDA grants accelerated approval to first drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

CDC on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Right to Try

Compassionate Use

Be sure and subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t already.  And you know we’d appreciate it so much if you would tell your friends about 2 Docs Talk!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Now Available on Google Play Music!

As we enter primary season for this election year, gun violence and control is a hot topic. However, much of the discussion lives in one of two extremes, and little of it is based on actual evidence. 

With over 30,000 gun deaths each year, and over 20,000 of those death from suicide, the reality is that gun violence is a public health issue. This means we need to treat this issue from the point of view of the medical evidence. 

Today we look at the scope of the problem, what has and hasn't worked, and some thougths about what lies ahead. 

Resources:

CDC All Injuries Statistics

CDC Accidental Death Statistics

CDC Homicide and Assault Statistics

CDC Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury Statistics

CDC Depression Statistics

Discussion of Australia's Gun Laws in the New York Times

Discussion of Missouri's Gun Laws in the New York Times

Survey of Defensive Gun Use Cited Frequently by NRA 

Methodological issues with Defensive Gun Use Survey

Concussions are not uncommon in contact sports such as football, soccer and basketball.  But we aren't trying to scare or shock anyone. On today's podcast we'd like to educate and inform so that parents and players can make decisions that aren't based on fear and misinformation.

We'll cover

• concussions
• return-to-play policies
• second impact syndrome
• post-concussive syndrome
• chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Article referenced in podcast:

McKinney ISD Concussion Protocol

As the the political winds shift in favor of legalizing medical marijuana, it's important to consider the evidence that supports it. 

But the 23 states that have legalized it and the FDA don't agree on when marijuana helps and when it doesn't. In this episode, we take a look at the evidence supporting the move toward legalizing the use of marijuana and cannabinoids for medical purposes.

References from the show:

Cannabinoids for Medical Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

We’ve got a lot of questions marks ahead of us this year when it comes to healthcare. What will happen with the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, etc. etc.

The future of healthcare under the new administration is a big unknown. But one thing we do know - healthcare costs far too much.

One of the key contributors to these costs is the over $200 billion per year in unnecessary medical care. 

In today's episode, we dig in to the reasons for these costs, and more importantly, we talk about the things we can do as healthcare consumers to reduce unnecessary medical care in our own lives. 

Resources:

Unnecessary Medical Costs

Low Value Care in Medicine

Unnecessary Tests and Treatments

Freakonomics Radio: Bad Medicine

Choosing Wisely

Be sure and subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t already.  And you know we’d appreciate it so much if you would tell your friends about 2 Docs Talk!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Now Available on Google Play Music!

Parkinson Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the U.S. and it appears to be increasing in prevalence. So what is Parkinson Disease, what causes it and what can we do about it? 2 Docs Talk about it today.

Resources:

JAMA Neurology Increasing Incidence of Parkinson Disease

Metformin and Parkinson Disease

Braak Hypothesis

Be sure and subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t already.  And you know we’d appreciate it so much if you would tell your friends about 2 Docs Talk!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Now Available on Google Play Music!

Sometimes there are news items that just need to be discussed, but they don't really generate enough material for a podcast of their own. Today we are talking about those headlines.

Resources:

Stroke Study: Diet Soda, Stroke, and Dementia

Association of Hormonal Contraception with Depression

Tom Price on Preventive Services Mandate

New York Times on the Contraception Mandate

CNN Report on Minnesota Measles Outbreak

Stat Review of Vaxxed

California Immunization Rates After SB277

Handgun Acquisition After Mass Shootings

Bystander CPR and Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest

Learn CPR

Be sure and subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t already.  And you know we’d appreciate it so much if you would tell your friends about 2 Docs Talk!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Now Available on Google Play Music!

Lyme Disease has been a known tickborne infectious disease since the early 80s. Treatment for Lyme Disease is surprisingly straightforward, but you would never guess that from the controversy surrouding the infection.

Part of the problem stems from "Chronic Lyme Disease," which is now more appropriately knwon as Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome, to indicate that the infection is no longer present in these patients. There is some explanation for their symtoms other than persisttent bacteremia.

Todayw e talk about all this, and dig into a little of the history and the controversy surroudning Lyme Disease.

Resources:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1505425

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891552015000203

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra072023#t=article

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200107123450202#t=abstract

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18452806

Be sure and subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher if you haven’t already.  And you know we’d appreciate it so much if you would tell your friends about 2 Docs Talk!

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Stitcher

Now Available on Google Play Music!