General Medicine and Primary Care

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Kidney stones are on the rise, particularly among adolescents, females, and African-Americans in the U.S. This marks a striking change from the historic pattern in which middle-aged white men were at highest risk for the painful condition. While the overall increase in kidney stones in children and adolescents has been known, a recent study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology provided greater clarity on the specific groups of patients at greatest risk by analyzing age, race and sex characteristics among children and adults in South Carolina over a 16-year period, from 1997 to 2012.

Lead author Dr. Gregory Tasian, Assistant Professor of Urology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and an attending pediatric urologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, joins Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss this startling trend, the factors that may be driving it, and appropriate preventive and treatment strategies for kidney stones.

Host: Renée Simone Yolanda Allen, MD, MHSc., FACOG

Recent guidelines have been released on the recommended frequency of conducting pap smears, which has caused considerable debate between health care providers. How should non-gynecologists interpret these guidelines, as well as opposing views from specialists, for best performance of pap smears? And why in the age of DNA testing is this still an important exam? ReachMD host Dr. Renee Allen welcomes Dr. Jocelyn Slaughter-Moore, practicing obstetrician & gynecologist in private practice at Heras Healthcare for Women, to address these and other questions. Dr. Slaughter-Moore is an attending physician at Clearview Regional Medical Center and Eastside Medical Center in Georgia.

Host: Alicia A. Sutton

Shared decision making (SDM) is a synergistic process that allows patients and their providers to make health care decisions together and take into account the best scientific evidence available, as well as the patient’s values, goals, and preferences. It's important to invite all patients into the process even if they decline. This process increases patient satisfaction, adherence and compliance. Join host Alicia Sutton to discuss shared decision making with guest Isabelle Vacher, former nurse and Senior Vice President of Educational Strategy at AXIS Medical Education, Inc.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

When do you refer to dermatologists? And what are some of the common & uncommon dermatologic conditions that PCPs should refer to dermatologists? Host Dr. Jennifer Caudle welcomes Dr. Jeanine B. Downie to discuss some of the "hot topics" in dermatology and best practices in developing a good relationship between the primary care clinician and the dermatologist. Dr. Downie, director of Image Dermatology in New Jersey, is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Sedentary behaviors are rapidly on the rise as technological advances streamline public capabilities to work and conduct regular tasks at the click of a button. Yet while some health impacts of increased sedentary lifestyles are now generally understood and accepted, the question of whether sporadic or even regular exercise habits can compensate for sedentary time is not well known. But an advancing arm of research is addressing this knowledge gap, and the initial findings are startling.

Joining Primary Care Today to share new insights is Dr. Wendy King, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburg Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. King and colleagues authored a report published in Preventive Medicine focusing on sedentary behaviors and how they affect health outcomes in the presence and absence of exercise.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO

Why is it important to understand what our body looks like when we are completing tasks, otherwise known as the study of ergonomics? How do we best counsel our patients, as well as clinicians, to notice changes in posture when sedentary? And how can achieve the more optimal "neutral posture" even when inactive? In this episode, host Dr. Jennifer Caudle welcomes Dr. Rubina Tahir, chiropractor, author, and host of The Rx on My New Philly. Dr. Tahir will discuss the importance of posture given the challenges of technology and other factors driving sedentary lifestyles.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Respiratory complications of GERD are surprisingly common, particularly in patients experiencing silent, asymptomatic reflux for long periods of time. Yet the frequently subclinical nature of this disease progression is especially difficult to detect. How can clinicians better identify this rising issue, and are current treatment paradigms in primary care enough?

Joining Dr. Brian McDonough is Dr. Jamie Koufman, Professor of Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Voice Institute of New York. Dr. Koufman discusses the top considerations for helping prevent and treat reflux disease to help curb respiratory and other complications.

Host: John Russell, MD

In medical school, Matt McCarthy dreamed of being a different kind of doctor—the sort of mythical, unflappable physician who could reach unreachable patients. But when a new admission to the critical care unit almost died his first night on call, he found himself scrambling. Visions of mastery quickly gave way to hopes of simply surviving hospital life, where confidence was hard to come by and no amount of med school training could dispel the terror of facing actual patients.

In his memoir, The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly, Dr. McCarthy offers a window on to hospital life that dispenses with sanctimony and self-seriousness while emphasizing the black-comic paradox of becoming a doctor: How do you learn to save lives in a job where there is no practice?

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

Primary care practices are environments with deeply emotional caregiving relationships, but communicative barriers between clinicians and patients make some important conversations difficult to approach on both ends. The patient advocate is an emerging role to help bridge these communicative divides in general practice. How can these care navigators facilitate better health outcomes, and what do clinicians need to know to support this cause?

Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes Pamela Wilson, leading expert in the caregiving industry and author of The Caregiving Trap: Solutions for Life’s Unexpected Changes, to discuss the benefits of patient advocacy in primary care.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP

On the subject of smoking, health risks differ from one form of smoking product to another. Yet these differences aren't always well understood by health professionals. Is there such a thing as a "safe" tobacco alternative, or is smoking cessation the only viable choice for risk reduction?Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss the literature on tobacco harm reduction, as well as review the broadening spectrum of smoking formulations, from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco products to e-cigarette devices, is Dr. Brad Rodu, Endowed Chair in Tobacco Harm Reduction Research from the University of Louisville School of Medicine.