Clinician's Roundtable

A patient tells you that they have a sexual issue. Do you get queasy? Do you know how to guide this patient to a specialist who can help them? Dr. Sharon Mitchell, founder of the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation and a former actress in adult films, aims to help us maintain our commitment to addressing our patients' needs, including those issues that might make for a slightly uncomfortable discussion. How should you respond if some of these concerns are presented to you during a routine office visit? To whom can you refer those patients who would benefit from an opportunity to speak with an expert on sexual issues? Dr. Michael Greenberg hosts.

"A night at the opera" means more than mere entertainment for some. For guest Dr. Anthony Jahn, otolaryngologist and volunteer medical director for the New York Metropolitan Opera, it's part of a second career. Host Dr. Michael Greenberg speaks with Dr. Jahn about his practiced art of caring for professional singers, addressing several unique occupational health issues from this select population.

Dr. Anthony Jahn, an otolaryngologist and volunteer medical director for the New York Metropolitan Opera, introduces you to the art of caring for professional singers. What are the idiosyncrasies of providing care to this select population, who must be doggedly devoted to preserving strong health and maintaining good overall occupational status, most specifically those breathtaking voices? Host Dr. Michael Greenberg talks with Dr. Jahn about the delicate balance of prescribing steroids to elite vocalists, their exposure to alternative medicines and belief systems, as well as the role of placebos in mollifying superstition among high-level performers.

It may seem like a notion better suited to a spy novel than medicine, but medical cardiac devices using wireless technology are vulnerable to security breaches. Dr. William Maisel, director of the Medical Device Safety Institute at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and Dr. Kevin Fu, co-director of the Medical Device Security Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and director of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Consortium on Security and Privacy, share their research. They were able to obtain unauthorized access to a pacemaker defibrillator, and more. Find out about this disturbing dilemma with host Dr. Matthew Sorrentino.

Japan's unusually low mortality rate from coronary heart disease may be tied to the large amount of fish in the Japanese diet. Dr. Akira Sekikawa, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, discusses with host Dr. Larry Kaskel the results of his recent study showing how fish consumption may protect against heart disease. They explore the benefits of fish oil, and the unique attributes of this study compared to other studies examining the relationship between fish intake and heart disease.

Guest Tom Charland, chief executive officer of Merchandise Medicine, a research and consulting firm specializing in retail healthcare clinics, reports on the status of the retail clinics nationwide. Mr. Charland explains to host Dr. Larry Kaskel the different structures of retail health clinics and the emerging hospital system-owned retail clinic. Tune in to hear Mr. Charland make sense of the conflicting data reported in the newspapers concerning the growth and success of the various retail health clinic models.

Recent reports tell us that the number of retail health clinics is declining, but according to Tom Charland, chief executive officer of Merchant Medicine, this data incorrectly implies that the retail clinic model is an unsuccessful fad. Mr. Charland clarifies with host Dr. Larry Kaskel what he characterizes as misconceptions, held by members of the medical community, concerning retail health clinics, and further explains that continued expansion by retailer-owned in-store clinics is likely to result in overall growth. Mr. Charland also sheds light on other myths on patient populations, patient care practices, insurance coverage, and prescription-writing habits of retail-clinic operations.

Dr. Raymond Onders, director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, describes the development of the Diaphragm Pacing System that electrically stimulates breathing. Hear how this life-saving technology has helped spinal cord patients, and is being tested for use with ALS patients and in the critical care setting to replace ventilators. Hosted by Dr. Bruce Bloom.

What is the process required to implant a Diaphragm Pacing System which eliminates the need for ventilator care in ALS patients? Dr. Raymond Onders, director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center describes the diagnostic and laparoscopic surgical techniques used to implant a Diaphragm Pacing System that electrically stimulates breathing in spinal cord injury and ALS patients. Hear how this amazing technology changes the lives of patients through a very simple surgery. Hosted by Dr. Bruce Bloom.

A diaphragm pacing system electronically stimulates breathing in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Not only can this device prolong the lives of ALS patients, it can greatly enhance the quality of their lives. Dr. Raymond Onders, associate professor of surgery and medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and director of minimally invasive surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, tells host Dr. Bruce Bloom about a novel diaphragm pacing system that is making international inroads in the treatment of ALS.