Fight Back

In this episode of Fight Back, we talk extensively about chiropractic care. Chiropractic is a health care discipline that emphasizes the body's inherent recuperative power to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. The chiropractic practice focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health.

We welcome our special guest, Dr. Steven Barham. After suffering a severe back injury playing college football, Steven was faced with major surgery but chose to try chiropractic care. The treatment he received provided quick and lasting results, and he decided to enter the chiropractic profession. For the last 30 years, he has been helping patients of all ages seek relief and healing from their health problems. 

Dr. Barham will discuss with us the origins and evolution of chiropractic care, what patients should do to find the right chiropractor for their needs, what patients can expect at their first visit, and much more. 

In part one of our special two-part series on physician-assisted suicide, guest Dr. Lonny Shavelson, a physician and proponent of medical-aid-in-dying laws, joined us. In this part two episode, we talk with Dr. Brian Callister, a physician with an opposing viewpoint on this controversial but important issue. 

A nationally recognized expert in hospital care transitions and end-of-life care, Dr. Callister is a board-certified internal medicine and hospitalist specialist. He is a Professor of Medicine and the Director of Rural Medical Education for the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. He is also the Governor of Nevada for the American College of Physicians. Dr. Callister previously served as the National Medical Director, Chief Medical Officer, and Senior Physician Executive for LifeCare Hospitals, one of the country's largest long-term acute care hospital systems, from 2004 until April of 2016. 

Dr. Callister will discuss why he and others oppose physician-assisted suicide laws and how these laws have a wide-ranging impact on our healthcare system and patients. 

With this episode, we begin a special two-part series on physician-assisted suicide/medical aid in dying. In part one, special guest, Dr. Lonny Shavelson, a physician and proponent of physician-assisted suicide/medical aid in dying, joins us. Part two will feature Dr. Brian Callister, a physician with an opposing viewpoint on this controversial but important issue.

Dr. Shavelson, a former ER doctor, founded Bay Area End of Life Options in 2016, a clinic dedicated to providing terminally ill patients physician-assisted suicide/medical aid in dying prescriptions. Dr. Shavelson is currently Chair of the American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying, where he focuses on advancing the clinical knowledge and practice about physician-assisted suicide/medical aid in dying, teaching, consulting with other clinicians about their patients, and advocating for best practices.

Dr. Shavelson will discuss dying laws in states around the country, along with his experience and perspective on the origins and evolution of physician-assisted suicide/medical aid in dying laws, how the process works, what he believes people ought to know about it, and more.

On this episode of Fight Back, we talk with special guest Dr. Alan Sanders, a specialist in infectious diseases. Dr. Sanders previously served as Chief of Medicine at St Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY, and currently is the Chief Medical Officer of St Peter’s Health Partners. He will soon be assuming the role of Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Among many other responsibilities, he will spearhead establishing a telemedicine program to deliver clinical care—including the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases—to underserved areas.

Dr. Sanders gives us a behind-the-scenes look at telemedicine, from the implementation and use of the technology to what consumers should do to educate themselves on how telemedicine can work for them, and more. We will also discuss the current state of the pandemic and the significant role the vaccines are playing in defeating the virus.

In this episode of Fight Back, we learn about physical therapy. Physical therapists are highly educated, licensed health care professionals who examine, evaluate, and treat patients whose conditions limit their ability to move and function in daily life. From augmenting recovery after surgery or illness or pro-actively using physical therapy to improve general wellness to providing an alternative to pain-killing drugs, physical therapists play a critical role in a patient’s overall health and recovery from injuries and illnesses.

Our special guest is Dr. Rick Katz. Dr. Katz worked as a physical therapist in both hospital and outpatient settings. He developed programs for cardiac, pulmonary, and stroke patients and a Sports Injury Clinic and a Coaches Clinic. In addition, he has held numerous elected and appointed positions at the national, state, and local levels of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Dr. Katz will give our listeners a deep dive into how important physical therapy is to patient outcomes, how physical therapy can play a pro-active role in a healthy lifestyle as we age, the ways that physical therapy is covered by insurance companies, the current state of this fast-growing profession, and much more.

April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, a nationwide effort to promote improved understanding and acceptance of people diagnosed with autism. Fight Back has joined this effort with a special two-part series on autism. If you haven’t listened to part one, we encourage you to visit www.healthcareconsumerrights.org and listen in.  

In episode two, we talk with special guest Kristin Jacobson. Kristin is the Founder and Executive Director of Autism Deserves Equal Coverage Foundation, which advocates for health policy and legal enforcement for autism and other mental health conditions. Previously, Kristin led a multi-year effort to pass autism insurance reform in California and was a principal drafter of the autism insurance law enacted in 2011. Kristin subsequently served on the Department of Managed Health Care’s Autism Advisory Task Force implementing the law.

Kristin will help our listeners understand the laws and regulations that provide ASD patients with the rights to treatments, requirements for health insurance companies to cover such treatments, what you can do to fight back when facing coverage denials, and much more.

April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, a nationwide effort to promote improved understanding and acceptance of people diagnosed with autism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates autism’s prevalence as 1 in 59 children in the United States—1 in 37 boys and 1 in 151 girls. A lifelong condition, autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, impacts the autistic individual and their families in many ways. 

On this Fight Back episode, we join the autism awareness effort with our special guest Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares.  Suzette is a Latina businesswoman and educator who specializes in early childhood education and advocacy, and served special needs children as the former Executive Director of Southern California Autism Speaks. Suzette currently represents the 38th Assembly District in the California Legislature. 

Suzette will help us understand ASD, the importance of early diagnosis, how the parent-doctor and parent-teacher relationships play a huge role in diagnosis, the rights that autistic children have in the classroom, and much more. 

It is projected that about 70 percent of individuals over 65 will require at least some type of long-term care services during their lifetime, from help with everyday activities of daily living or requiring supervision due to severe impairments to needing placement in a nursing home. 

In this episode of Fight Back, we cover the state of long-term care in the country and the key issues surrounding insurance coverage: what is causing the skyrocketing rise in the cost of long-term care insurance plans, what are the new hybrid coverages that are packaged with life insurance policies, where can consumers find help with new or existing policies, and much more.

Our special guest is Bonnie Burns, who has more than 40 years of experience in long-term care insurance and works to improve consumer protections in state and federal legislation and regulations. She has served as a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners since 1992. She is a consultant to California Health Advocates providing training, educational materials, and technical assistance on long-term care insurance.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures, there has been a significant uptick in children's mental health issues, including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and suicide. 

This is a critical time for parents, children, and teachers. The pandemic has affected students' mental and physical well-being, and schools are reporting children experiencing academic and developmental difficulties across all grade levels. School officials are still weighing safety concerns about returning to in-person instruction for all grades. 

On this Fight Back episode, our special guests are Jessica Cruz, the Executive Director of the California branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Dr. Kim Newell Green, a pediatrician, Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF, and Past President of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society. We discuss the health crisis that parents, children, and teachers are still dealing with after a year of school closures, the shift to virtual learning, what parents can do to prepare themselves and their children for a return to in-person learning, and much more.

Many of us have heard that heart disease is often called a “silent killer.”  But what does that really mean to each of us? Heart disease can be a difficult and confusing diagnosis to understand and navigate.  

Our special guest is world renowned Dr. Kathy Magliato, who is one of the few female cardiothoracic surgeons in the world. She is currently developing a Women’s Heart Center to address the cardiac needs of female patients. We will discuss heart disease, its signs and symptoms, and some of the lifestyle changes you can make to improve your heart's health.