Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: David Troxel, Dr.

The use of online communication and consultation between doctors and patients is becoming so common in everyday physician practice that there is now buzz about "eRisk Guidelines." Dr. David Troxel, medical director of The Doctors Company, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about the dangers of using e-mail and other electronic communications with patients.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: David Troxel, Dr.

Telemedicine continues to increase in popularity, but doctors need to understand the risks when communicating by e-mail or phone. Dr. David Troxel, medical director of the Doctors Company, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about potential risks and liability physicians can open themselves up to if they are not careful about how they use telemedicine and related consultations with their patients over the phone.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD

Guest: Nicholas Galantino, JD

Many of our practices could be more efficient at checking in patients, or perhaps more precise in our record keeping. Insurance claims denials and the process of fighting them can be one source of time-consuming, money-draining aggravation for any practice. But we may be seeing a trend toward technologies that could ease these clerical and financial burdens. To learn a little more about the digital developments that are helping us validate patients' insurance eligibility in advance of their medical visit, host Dr. Larry Kaskel welcomes Nick Galantino, chief executive officer of the LoCicero Medical Group, a nine-provider internal medicine practice in Tampa, Florida, which uses one of the devices currently on the market.

Host: Larry Kaskel, MD

Guest: Brian Morton, MBA

Should you be asking your patients for more than just their co-pay at the time of their visit? With an assist from computer software, a patient's share of their health care costs can be estimated at or prior to the visit. Some experts believe this appraisal, known as real-time claims adjudication, will become much more common in the years ahead. Brian Morton, region executive and content expert for Halley Consulting, joins host Dr. Larry Kaskel to take a look at how your practice can introduce this concept without creating a stir among your patients.

Host: Michael Greenberg, MD

Guest: James Speta, JD

For years, people have turned to online review websites before deciding which restaurants or hotels most deserved their hard-earned dollars. Now, a new category of online reviews is growing, as more patients are posting their own editorials about their physicians. This trend towards patients reviewing their physicians online can be helpful at best, and inaccurate or harmful, at worst. Mr. Jim Speta, law professor at Northwestern University School of Law specializing in telecommunications and internet policy, discusses how physicians can protect themselves from defamatory or unfavorable internet reviews. Is it prudent to have patients sign waivers, barring them from writing online reviews, or are these waivers insignificant, thanks to the anonymity of the internet? What else can physicians do to protect themselves from any potential dangers of review websites?

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Marc Hedrick, MD

Stem cells are often seen as potential agents in the field of regenerative medicine. What are the realities and what should doctors expect? Dr. Marc Hedrick, president of San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about commercialized treatments already being used, and even more on the horizon.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Robert Harman

Although President Obama has favored funding for embryonic stem cell research, the moral debate continues. But that discussion may overshadow the fact that biotech companies have actually made the most early progress, not in embryonic stem cells, but in adult stem cells. Dr. Robert Harman, chief executive officer and founder of Vet-Stem, joins the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen. Vet-Stem is using stem-cell therapy in veterinary regenerative medicine that may one day benefit humans. In this interview, they discuss adult stem cells, and the major momentum in research and commercialized treatments.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Robert Harman

Human stem cell treatments are only just emerging in clinical trials. but man's 'best friend' is already benefitting from pain relief and important treatments that are commercialized. And this work in dogs and cats could one day benefit human patients. Dr. Robert Harman, CEO and founder of Vet-Stem, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about the latest efforts by a stem cell therapy developer to use fat cells for treatments, a therapy gaining momentum in pets and soon to be moving through clinical trials for humans.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Helen Darling

The stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama has employers excited about the potential for saving healthcare dollars from comparative effectiveness, technology assessment and cost control. Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit coalition representing some of the nation's largest employers, tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen about various goodies in the economic stimulus package that will benefit medical research, and innovative efforts that doctors, insurers and employers are looking at to provide cost-effective medical care.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Helen Darling

Employers are finding it tougher and tougher to provide increasingly expensive health benefits. So when President Barack Obama makes healthcare reform a priority this year, what would employers like to see in this proposal? Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, discusses with the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen what employers are looking for in healthcare reform.