MMS Physician Focus

Research has shown that oral health and physical health are connected, and that problems with our oral health are associated with serious medical problems such as respiratory disease, heart disease, and diabetes. This edition of Physician Focus will examine how oral health affects overall physical health and how physicians and dentists are working together to improve oral health.

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine, the independent health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, issued a report called Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. This landmark report pointed out that racial and ethnic minorities receive poorer quality care than white patients, even when insurance, income, age, and medical conditions are comparable.

The April edition of Physician Focus with the Massachusetts Medical Society will examine the causes and consequences of health care disparities, the barriers to equal treatment, and what physicians and patients can do to reduce these differences and improve care.

This program is an introduction to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, two inflammatory bowel diseases that affect the body's digestive tract. The program looks at symptoms, how the diseases are diagnosed and treated, and the impact they have on a person's health and daily living.

Chronic or non-healing wounds are those that do not significantly improve from conventional medical treatments. They affect millions of people, lead to a poor quality of life and result, in some cases, in amputation. In many cases, they are associated with such conditions as diabetes, poor circulation, and immobility. This program examines the causes of chronic wounds, what prevents them from healing, who is most likely to suffer from these conditions, how these cases are treated, and what patients should do if they think they have such wounds.

Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder affect as many as 10 million females and one million males in the United States, many of them young. The physical health consequences of eating disorders can be severe -- heart disease, diabetes, reduced bone density, among other conditions – and the conditions are usually accompanied by mental health issues, such as low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Among the topics of conversation in this program are how patients with these conditions view themselves; the cultural, environmental, and genetic factors that contribute to the conditions; the physical and mental health effects of the disorders; how to recognize and discover if someone has one of these conditions; and the steps health professionals take to treat the illnesses.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 19 million new infections from sexually transmitted diseases occur every year, making STDs the most commonly reported infectious diseases in the country. In Massachusetts, some 20,000 cases are reported each year. Among the topics discussed in this program are specific diseases and their symptoms and treatments, how public health officials track diseases, reporting obligations of health providers, issues of confidentiality, steps public health officials take to stop the spread of such diseases and how they assist affected individuals in getting care and treatment.

The effects of alcohol and illegal drugs, age, and distracted driving activities on a person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle are well known. Yet many other conditions besides substance abuse, youth or old age, or “texting” can affect how one drives. This edition of Physician features an in-depth discussion on impaired driving and medical conditions that can affect a person’s ability to drive.

Home health care services are dramatically increasing and will continue to do so as the population ages and concern rises in government agencies and private companies to control soaring health care costs. In Massachusetts, home health services reach 150,000 people through 160 agencies. Nationally, about eight million Americans require some type of medical care in the home, and those numbers will jump: by 2030 the nation will have more than 72 million elderly. This edition of Physician Focus discusses the kinds of services available in the home, who may be eligible for these services, who provides such services, and how effective they are in providing care and controlling health care costs.