General Medicine and Primary Care

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia among people aged 65 and older. With the population of older Americans growing, research for new therapies becomes ever more critical. Yet one of the most important factors in advancing research, fundraising, has been hampered by numerous challenges.

Host Dr. Brian McDonough talks with Charles Fushcillo Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America about the challenges in securing additional funding for Alzheimer’s Research.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

Parents today are bombarded with confusing and sometimes harmful information in regard to which foods are best to give their kids. Nutritional guidelines are constantly changing and parents don’t know who to trust for medically sound and proven advice that works.

Host Dr. Jennifer Caudle sits down with Dr. Tanya Altmann, pediatrician, founder of Calabasas Pediatrics, and author of the book, What to Feed Your Baby: A Pediatrician’s Guide to the 11 Essential Foods to Guarantee Veggie-Loving, No Fuss, Healthy Eating Kids. The two talk about the importance of introducing children to healthy eating habits from an early age to ensure a good eating adult lifestyle.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with Chris Kelly, leading advocate for "smell training," a program offering help and training to people whose sense of smell has been impaired.

Host: Tim Rush

There is an expectation among many doctors finishing residency to seek and sign long term work contracts with hospitals and private practices. But for some, this particular career trajectory can feel limited and even restrictive to achieving work/life balance.

Dr. Johnny Shen, a family practice physician trained in Houston, TX, investigated whether there could be another way. His discovery of locum tenens, normally considered "side work" within parts of the medical community, set him on a unique and fulfilling career path that has both defied expectations and changed the way others think of the practice.

Dr. Shen joins host Tim Rush to discuss perspectives on locum tenens as a distinct career path for young physicians

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

News about the Zika virus have dominated health headlines, but understandings about the full range of viral transmission routes, symptomatology, complications, and rising endemic zones remain unclear for many clinicians.

Joining Dr. Jennifer Caudle for updates in recognitions and treatment for Zika virus infection is Dr. Kecia Gaither, practicing OB/GYN and maternal fetal medicine specialist, and perinatal consultant at St. Lukes Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Most recently, Dr. Gaither served as Director of Perinatal Outreach at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Prior to this post, she served as the Vice Chairman and Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Gaither earned her MPH in health policy and management at Columbia University.

Host: Tim Rush

Guest: Asif Ali, MD

Most doctors have heard about telemedicine, also called telehealth and e-medicine, but few have actually seen or utilized it in practice. As technologies enabling virtual patient visits and consultations continue to improve and gain more traction by clinicians, how will American healthcare systems change?

Joining host Tim Rush to discuss the current and future impacts of telemedicine in health care is Dr. Asif Ali, Clinical Assistant Professor of Cardiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Ali lectures nationwide on the evolving applications of telemedicine in modern practice.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Can the simple act of smiling more often help us live happier, healthier, and more abundant lives?

To answer this question in entertaining detail, Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes onto the show Dr. Rich Castellano, facial plastic surgeon, founder and CEO of ImageLift in Tampa, FL, and author of The Smile Prescription.

Host: Ana Maria Rosario

Guest: Anita L. Nelson, MD

Joining host Ana Maria Rosario at the Women's Health Annual Visit in Deerborn, MI, is Dr. Anita Nelson, professor emeritus at UCLA and professor and chair of OB/GYN at Western University in California. The two discuss patient barriers to accessing IUDs and implants in a rapidly growing contraceptive market.

[Read the Article]

The increasing cost of prescription drugs in the United States has become a source of growing concern for patients, prescribers, payers, and policy makers. A new study examined the reasons for these high prices and also suggests policy changes that could help contain costs.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital reviewed the medical and health policy literature on prescription drug prices in the U.S. and found high drug costs stem from various factors such as market exclusivity, limitations on payers and their ability to negotiate prices, and limitations on competition.

The researchers state that the most realistic short-term strategies include enforcing stricter requirements for exclusivity rights, ensuring timely generic drug availability, providing greater opportunities for price negotiation by patients, and effectively educating patients, prescribers, payers, and policy makers about these choices.

[Watch more videos of The JAMA Report]

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

An old adage states "There's many a slip between the cup and the lip." Applied to drug delivery, dosing, and compliance by patients, this phrase couldn't be more accurate. Drug information and clinical decision support systems are evolving to address problems in getting the right medications to the right patients, but more work needs to be done.

Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss barriers and solutions to medication-related decision support is Dr. Shobha Phansalkar, Director of Informatics and Clinical Quality Control at the Clinical Drug Information Division of Wolters Kluwer. Additionally, she is an Assistant Professor in Medicine at the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.