General Medicine and Primary Care

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Bin Cao, MD

Dr. Bin Cao, Vice President and Director of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, has worked on the frontlines of patient care in Wuhan for the past few months. By closely monitoring the disease, he and his team are beginning to unlock some of its secrets. Dr. Cao talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the situation has changed in Wuhan, what we can learn about safeguarding providers, the primary risk factors for death, and ongoing research.

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Crystal R. Watson, DrPH

What do we know this week that we didn’t know last week? What’s the status of serologic testing and can it be useful in helping to end social distancing practices? How good is the current evidence on chloroquine? Should COVID-19 patients avoid taking ibuprofen? What happens next if we are successful with social distancing? If you are older but have no chronic illness, are you still at high risk?

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Jeremy A. Green

Guest: Graham Mooney, PhD

COVID-19 is often compared to the 1918 flu pandemic that claimed millions of lives and caused massive social disruption. But to what extent is the novel coronavirus different and what lessons can we learn from the successes and failures of previous epidemics? Medical historians Jeremy Greene and Graham Mooney talk to Stephanie Desmon about this comparison, the history of quarantines, and what we will learn from what we are living through right now.

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Judi Melinek, MD

Dr. Judy Melinek is a forensic pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She explains the role of autopsies in the public health response to COVID-19 and how her work also plays a difficult but vital role in disposing of remains when health care systems become overloaded.

Published March 26, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Albert Wu, MD

In the midst of a pandemic, resilience is key for health care workers. Dr. Albert Wu, co-director of RISE—Resilience In Stressful Events—an emotional peer support structure at Johns Hopkins Hospital, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the importance of supporting hospital staff and what can be done to mitigate anxiety and stress in this unprecedented situation.

Published March 25, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Stephanie Desmon

Guest: Monica Malta MPH, PhD

The threat of COVID-19 presents a new challenge for citizens of many countries who are not used to government entities directing their behavior. It’s also an ideological shift for many: Change your individual behavior for the good of the greater community.

Monica Malta, an alumna of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School, is a social epidemiologist and a global health researcher at the University of Toronto. She examines how responses at local, national, and regional levels—along with individual and community behavioral changes—can change the pace of an outbreak. Malta talks to Stephanie Desmon of the Center for Communication Programs about effective response strategies, why the outbreak looked so different in Italy and Japan despite both countries having aging populations, and more.

Published March 25, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Susan Krenn

Guest: Stephanie Desmon

There are so many unknowns around COVID-19, so how can we find credible sources of information? What is the role of communication in the pandemic, and how can authorities get it right? Susan Krenn, Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, talks to Stephanie Desmon about how communication can combat fear if it’s credible, transparent, timely, and gives people the resources they need.

Published March 24, 2020

Host: Michael Greenberg, MD

To help both his patients and colleagues alike find support and comfort during the COVID-19 global pandemic, dermatologist Dr. Michael Greenberg shares his experiences, coping strategies, and outlets that are available.

Published April 3, 2020

Host: Michael Greenberg, MD

To help alleviate pressure from hospitals that are experiencing a high influx of patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic, dermatologist Dr. Michael Greenberg decided to keep his doors open and is now sharing what it’s like to see patients during this outbreak.

Published April 3, 2020

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

A small-town emergency room in Louisiana has now seen hundreds of COVID-19 patients. Here’s what’s been learned in an anonymous ER doctor’s own words, as narrated by Dr. Matt Birnholz.

Published April 2, 2020