Clinician's Roundtable

Despite numerous advances in maternal-fetal medicine over the past decades, maternal morbidity and mortality continues to plague labor and delivery wards across the U.S. What are the various clinical, social, and economic determinants of health for expectant mothers, and what partnerships exist to improve maternal care? Dr. Sarah Kilpatrick, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Associate Dean of Faculty Development at Ceders-Sinai Health Center, joins host Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss ways in which healthcare professionals can take the lead on this pressing issue.

"We are what our parents and grandparents ate, and how they lived," says Dr. Mark Hanson, Director of the Academic Unit of Human Development and Health at the University of Southhampton in the United Kingdom. This chilling but increasingly recognized prospect concerning intergenerational passsages of disease risk helped found the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) study, a worldwide collaboration aimed at better understanding environmental to genetic determinants of health across multiple generations. In this discussion with host Dr. Matt Birnholz, Dr. Hanson highlights the science behind broadening our scope of individualized care to include both past and future generations of each patient.

What can in-depth exploration of medical history topics teach and inform us about current trends in clinical practice? Dr. Peter Marcus, Associate Clinical Professor of OB/GYN at Yale University School of Medicine, joins Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss various ways in which scholarship in medical history fosters greater aptitude for patient care.

Patients who receive care from close family members are on the rise; however, the needs of family caregivers are often neglected. Host Dr. Maurice Pickard welcomes Joanne Lynn, MD, Director of the Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness at the Altarum Institute to discuss strategies clinicians can use to ease the various physical, emotional, and financial burdens for family members who take on caregiving roles.

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What do we need to do as a medical community to better address homophobia and its innumerable impacts on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients? Joining host Dr. Maurice Pickard is Hudson Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally. Athlete Ally is a nonprofit organization focused on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports by educating allies in the athletic community and empowering them to take a stand.

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According to the American Gastroenterological Association, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common gastrointestinal diagnosis recorded on outpatient physician visits in the United States, which is remarkable considering the vagaries of the diagnosis. What are the symptoms and updated treatments for this common ailment, and how do physicians monitor for signs of progression to more serious disease states like Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer? Host Dr. Prathima Setty welcomes Dr. Anish Sheth, Director of Princeton University Medical Center's Esophageal Program, to help answer these and other questions.

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First described in the 1880s, tuberous sclerosis complex, or TSC, is a genetic disease that affects multiple organs. It can cause tumors in the skin, kidneys, brain, heart, eyes, as well as other organ systems. Most patients who are mildly affected by TSC lead active and productive lives, but it is important to note that TSC is a life-long companion and patients are in need of receiving continuous follow-up care. Host Dr. Michael Greenberg welcomes Steven L. Roberds, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance in Silver Spring, Maryland to discuss tuberous sclerosis complex.

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Despite a 20-year presence of the Americans With Disabilities Act, are many American doctors unconsciously discriminating against a significant part of their medical practices on a regular basis? Joining Dr. Maurice Pickard to reflect on this question is Dr. Pauline Chen, transplant surgeon, regular contributor to the New York Times, and author of the book Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality.

According to the American Heart Association, childhood obesity is the number one health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking. How is it diagnosed? How is it treated? To discuss this epidemic, host Dr. Prathima Setty welcomes Dr. Janine Rethy, pediatrician and director of community medicine at Healthworks of Northern Virginia. Dr. Rethy has won numerous awards and grants in response to the obesity epidemic. She is founder and directs the Healthworks PALS program, a multi-disciplinary community-centered approach to pediatric obesity.

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Host Dr. Prathima Setty welcomes Dr. Julia Schlam Edelman, author of two books, Menopause Matters and Successful Sleep Strategies for Women. Dr. Edelman will discuss how she conducted her research for these books and the importance for female patients to understand how menopause and sleep disorder affect their overall health. Dr. Edelman is a board-certified gynecologist, certified menopause clinician, a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and an Adjunct Clinical Instructor at Brown Medical School.

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