Clinician's Roundtable

In recent years, we've seen automated external defibrillators (AED) distributed in high-traffic areas throughout many of our communities. Though more cases of sudden cardiac events are occurring outside the home-owing to greater mobility for our older, at-risk patients-a great many cases do still occur in the home. With this in mind, researchers postulated that an AED placed in the home of an at-risk patient may limit their vulnerability to a sudden cardiac event. What did they find? Dr. Gust Bardy, president of the Seattle Institute for Cardiac Research and lead investigator of the Home Automated External Defibrillator Trial (HAT), published in the New England Journal of Medicine, discusses the findings of this trial with host Dr. Matthew Sorrentino.

How valid are consumer based physician ranking systems? In this segment Dr. Larry Kaskel learns the American Medical Association's position on physician ranking from AMA President Nancy Nielsen, MD, PhD who says while the information in these systems obviously cannot be relied upon we should try to understand why these systems are being created. Consumers want to know more about the quality of their doctor. What to do if you have been rated poorly? How do you find your true ranking? Join us to find out.

The trend of comparing and ranking physicians by economic efficiency has reached a breaking point. Insurers use ratings to create tiered programs, offering incentives to steer patients to their list of preferred doctors. How are physicians placed on this preferred list? As AMA President Dr. Nancy Nielsen explains, patients are often forced to base their choice of doctor on cost. How are tiered networks impacting healthcare in other ways? Find out more with host Dr. Larry Kaskel.

Prescribing errors continue to be a major problem. But Leah Binder, chief executive officer of The Leapfrog Group, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about a computerized physician order entry evaluation tool developed by the business community that enables medical providers to determine how well their system alerts users to common but serious prescribing errors.

Rating hospitals has become the hallmark for the Leapfrog Group. Leah Binder, the Chief Executive Officer of The Leapfrog Group, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about new quality ratings in this year's Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

How can you help your patients with overused tendons and tendinopathies, like Achilles tendon problems and tennis elbow? Dr. Nicolas Maffulli, professor and chair of trauma and orthopaedic surgery at Keele University School of Medicine in Staffordshire, England, clinically specializes is tendinopathy. He says that we often misconceive tendinopathy as a degenerated tendon, when the problem is an actually injured tendon that cannot heal. Studies show that genetics as well as overuse may play a role in tendinopathy. Join us to learn about the latest research, treatment options and when the best solution may be surgery. Dr. Sherwin Ho hosts.

In many regions of our country, summer weather means more outdoor activities, competitive cycling among them. Though cycling is great exercise, our patients must take proper caution to limit their injury risk. Host Dr. Sherwin Ho talks with Dr. Bill Bryan, former medical doctor for the United States cycling team and an avid cyclist, about a range of cycling injuries, from carpel tunnel syndrome to the typical joint pains. What advice can you give your patients t help them avoid injury?

Host Dr. Bruce Bloom welsomes Dr. Roni Zeiger, product manager of Google Health and primary care physician, to discuss the controversial realm of physician ratings and how Google will enter this arena.

Google Health seeks to do for medical patients what it does for general search. What does Google Health offer our patients now, and what does it seek to provide in the future? Discussing Google Health - focusing around both privacy and possibility - with your host, Dr. Bruce Bloom, is Dr. Roni Zeiger, product manager of Google Health and primary care physician.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has indicated that 19 million Americans — including one in four teenage girls — are infected with at least one sexually transmitted disease (STD). As physicians, we know that these diseases are far more common than most people think. But are we doing our best to educate our patients and provide appropriate screening measures? How can physicians work to debunk common public misconceptions about STDs? Dr. Jill Grimes, a practicing family physician in Austin, Texas, and author of Seductive Delusions: How Everyday People Catch STDs, addresses a series of erroneous beliefs about STDs and offers counsel on the most effective ways for physicians to help tackle this critical public health problem. Dr. Jennifer Shu hosts.