Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Jan Berger, MD

An unprecedented number of elderly leave their doctors' offices with prescriptions thanks to Medicare's drug benefits and the soaring number of aging baby boomers in need of medications. But did you know a large number of these patients don't get their prescriptions filled and don't adhere to what the doctor wrote for them? Dr. Jan Berger, Chief Clinical Officer for CVS/Caremark Corp. tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about the latest efforts of the pharmacy industry to get their patients to adhere to their medications.

Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD

Guest: Philip Greipp, MD

From the 5th Mayo Clinic State of the Art Symposium on Hematologic Malignancies, your host Dr. Bruce Bloom interviews its organizers and speakers; Dr. Phil Greipp, Dr. David Steensma, Dr. Rafael Fonseca, and Dr. Ruben Mesa in discussing the origin, growth, and goals of the conference.

Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD

Guest: Ruben Mesa, MD, FACP, MPN Expert

On location from the Mayo Clinic's 5th State of the Art Symposium on Hematological Malignancies in Phoenix, AZ, host Dr. Bruce Bloom discusses the goals and highlights of the conference with its co-director, Dr. Ruben Mesa, a hematologist, medical oncologist, and associate professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ.

Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD

Guest: Tait Shanafelt, MD

Eastern countries have been touting the benefits of green tea for centuries. Could EGCG, an extract from green tea, be beneficial in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)? Dr. Tait Shanafelt, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, joins Dr. Bruce Bloom at the 5th Mayo Clinic State of the Art Symposium on Hematologic Malignancies to discuss his research with EGCG and other herbal remedies in treatment of CLL.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Leon Speroff, MD

Dr. Leon Speroff discusses the symptoms corresponding to a diagnosis of PCOS, its high rate of occurrence among overweight women, and its correlation with insulin resistance.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Leon Speroff, MD

Does hormone therapy bring with it an increased risk of breast cancer, or does it conversely lead to earlier detection of pre-existing tumors and thereby improve outcomes for these patients? Dr. Leon Speroff discusses the alleged findings of the Women's Health Initiative in this regard, and delves deep into the correlation between HRT and breast cancer, highlighting factors that may or may not substantiate a relationship. The alleged increased risk of ovarian cancer is also explored.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Leon Speroff, MD

What are the motivating reasons behind development of a 24 dose/cycle oral contraceptive? Dr. Leon Speroff discusses the distinction of the 24-day contraceptive in regards to breakthrough bleeding, follicular growth and development, and endometrial thickness. Dr. Speroff also covers the 24-day contraceptive as a possible choice for overweight women.

Host: Michael Benson, MD

Guest: Leon Speroff, MD

Where does post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy stand? Dr. Leon Speroff navigates the findings of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), discussing the alleged elevated risk of coronary heart disease coupled with post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy.

Host: Sayantani DasGupta, MD, MPH

Guest: Courtney Davis, NP

Dr. Sayantani DasGupta is joined by guest Courtney Davis, renowned author and women's health nurse practitioner, to speak about literary writing in the medical community. Mrs. Davis shares exerpts from her previous works including I Knew a Woman: The Experience of the Female Body, and describes the unique integration of narrative writing and a medical career.

Host: Sayantani DasGupta, MD, MPH

Guest: Courtney Davis, NP

Courtney Davis, Nurse practitioner and award winning poet, is the author of four books and has co-edited two collections of poetry written by nurses. She joins host Dr. Sayantani DasGupta to share some of her work, discuss narrative medicine's rise in healthcare and society, and comment on the clinician writer's creative process.