General Medicine and Primary Care

More than one third of US adults are considered obese, and obesity-related conditions including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers are now among the leading causes of preventable death in the United States. How are health care providers tackling this national and global problem?

Dr. Prathima Setty talks with Dr. Neeraj Bhushan, an internal medicine physician with extensive experience in obesity and associated chronic illnesses, about how physicians can approach and counsel their patients in regard to managing obesity and obesity-related conditions.

Some of the most severe complications associated with ulcerative colitis are toxic megacolon, bleeding, fulminant colitis, and perforation of the bowel, while abscesses, intestinal bleeding, fistulas are more commonly associated with Crohn’s disease. While the development of emergency complications in IBD is uncommon, it can be life-threatening and result in permanent organ damage.

On this episode focusing on IBD emergencies, host Laura Wingate, Vice President of Education, Support, and Advocacy at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, welcomes gastroenterologist Dr. Kim Isaacs, Professor of Medicine and Co-director of the UNC Multidisciplinary Center for IBD Research and Treatment at University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.

In this session of Beyond the Data carrying forward ideas discussed at CDC's Public Health Grand Rounds, Dr. Phoebe Thorpe and Dr. Larry Garber expand on the reasons for medication non-adherence by patients, and priority considerations for helping reduce this risk.

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are at a greater risk of developing anemia, a common complication that affects their quality of life and is associated with high rates of other IBD-related complications.

Host Laura Wingate, Vice President of Education, Support and Advocacy for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, chats with Dr. Jason Hou, Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology at Baylor College of Medicine about gaps in the importance of anemia management, diagnostics, and awareness for patients with IBD that continue to exist among healthcare providers.

Back and neck pain is extremely common, with 80-90% of people experiencing some pain within their lifetime. About 90% of cases resolve within six weeks, but for those patients whose pain persists, questions arise as to who should be referred next for further consultation. While patients often see a spine specialist at first, the care journey sometimes leads to a neurosurgeon or orthopaedic spine surgeon. Can this pathway from primary care to neurosurgery or orthopaedic surgery ever be expedited?

Dr. Patrick Connolly, neurosurgeon at Penn Medicine joins host Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss when primary care physicians should consider referring patients to neurosurgeons for neck and back pain. Dr. Connolly will also discuss the different types of surgical options for patients seeking prolonged back and neck pain relief.

Hosts Dr. John Russell and Dr. Amy Mackey sit down to reflect on their individual and shared experiences participating in medical missions from their respective vantage points of family medicine and obstetrics & gynecology.

Host Dr. Matt Birnholz is joined by Dr. Ari Brooks, Director of Endocrine and Oncology Surgery and Director of the Integrated Breast Center at Pennsylvania Hospital, and Dr. Brian Englander, Clinical Assistant Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiology at Pennsylvania Hospital. Drs. Brooks and Englander discuss the hot topics within breast cancer innovations. They touch upon the increase in involvement of genetics and genomic research that is impacting breast cancer treatment options, new breast imaging modalities, and continuity of care.

Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss counseling methods for patients who are trying to conceive is Dr. Robert Debbs, Director of the Pennsylvania Hospital Maternal Fetal Medicine Network in New Jersey and Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine. Dr. Debbs will discuss pre-conceptual counseling on a range of topics such as obesity, congenital heart disease, depression, and conceiving after a miscarriage.

Three out of four people addicted to heroin probably started on a prescription opioid, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States alone, 16,000 people die each year as a result of prescription opioid overdose. But perhaps the most frightening aspect of the prescription drug epidemic is that it’s built on well-meaning doctors treating patients with real problems.

Host Dr. John Russell chats with Dr. Anna Lembke, Chief of Addiction Medicine and an Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Lembke is the author of Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop, exploring how the prescription drug epidemic is a symptom of a faltering health care system, the solution for which lies in rethinking how health care is delivered.

Sleep apnea in children can lead to many behavioral, school and social problems. Recent research has even suggested that children who snore loudly were found to be twice as likely to have learning problems as children who don’t snore. What can be done to minimize sleep apnea in children?

On this episode of Everyday Family Medicine, Dr. Jennifer Caudle speaks with Dr. Diana Batoon, dentist and founder of Bonita Dental in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dr. Batoon has devoted much of her dental practice and public education efforts around identifying and treating sleep apnea in children.