Second Opinion LIVE!

Physicians of all ages and stages in their careers often look for a second occupation to augment their clinical and research backgrounds; others delve into that second career full-time after they are finished practicing medicine. A generally talented, driven and curious bunch, it is not uncommon to find these current and former physicians applying their medical knowledge and skills to another line of work, whether in politics, broadcasting or book writing. If you have thought about making a change, rest assured that it is natural to have a range of questions and potential concerns about the process; perhaps, too, you're not even sure what might be out there for you. Host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Steven Babitsky, president of the non-clinical training service for physicians, SEAK, Inc., to answer these questions and provide important counsel on a range of other hurdles that could arise during your pursuit of a non-clinical career.

Dr. Birnholz and co-host Dr. Michael Greenberg will weigh in on other ongoing issues, including the discussion over flu shots for healthcare workers: should all hospital employees be required to receive a seasonal flu shot, as some hospitals are mandating? Also, a new study indicates that physicians lack familiarity …

It has been several years since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc up and down the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the storm continues to leave a nasty legacy in its wake. As the levees broke and the city of New Orleans descended into chaos, the medical staff at Memorial Medical Center wondered whether help would come to evacuate their patients to safety. With conditions turning more extreme by the day, and supplies running short, the medical team faced truly extraordinary circumstances. What follows is a narrative of ethical twists and turns, the lessons from which are still being extracted to this day. ProPublica reporter Dr. Sheri Fink has worked tirelessly to investigate the saga at Memorial over the past two and a half years. She joins hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz to share this story.

Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Greenberg will cover a range of other topics during the show, including the ongoing debate over patient responsibility: what kind of incentives might encourage patients to meet personal health goals, and who should provide these incentives? They will also pay tribute to a health care stalwart in the United States Senate, the late Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

It has been several years since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc up and down the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the storm continues to leave a nasty legacy in its wake. As the levees broke and the city of New Orleans descended into chaos, the medical staff at Memorial Medical Center wondered whether help would come to evacuate their patients to safety. With conditions turning more extreme by the day, and supplies running short, the medical team faced truly extraordinary circumstances. What follows is a narrative of ethical twists and turns, the lessons from which are still being extracted to this day. ProPublica reporter Dr. Sheri Fink has worked tirelessly to investigate the saga at Memorial over the past two and a half years. She joins hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz to share this story.

Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Greenberg will cover a range of other topics during the show, including the ongoing debate over patient responsibility: what kind of incentives might encourage patients to meet personal health goals, and who should provide these incentives? They will also pay tribute to a health care stalwart in the United States Senate, the late Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

We may not understand why a patient has stopped taking their medication, or why a colleague ordered a test that we might have thought was not needed. In these and other similar situations, frequently our first instinct is to draw conclusions to explain these enigmatic actions. It's not always easy to truly understand the thinking behind their decision, but Dr. Steven Feldman believes we would all save a lot of time, hassle and money by making the effort to do so. Hosts Dr. Matt Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg welcome Dr. Feldman to the show to discuss his new book, Compartments: How the Brightest, Best Trained, and Most Caring People Can Make Judgments That Are Completely & Utterly Wrong. It's a pretty familiar message that extends far beyond health care, but Dr. Feldman uses his research and experience to uniquely tailor his thoughts to our interactions as clinicians, researchers and beyond.

Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Greenberg also touch on several other interesting issues during the show: should a physician providing in-flight medical care be compensated for their efforts? It's an issue that has drawn significant attention following the decision reached in a Canadian court case. And how much money does …

We know that the basic ingredients in our food have played a major role in the progression of our country's obesity epidemic -- it's not all about our genetics and our sedentary lifestyle. Yet, armed with this knowledge, and amid a bevy of weight loss pills, exercise routines and diet fads galore, we continue to have trouble controlling what we eat and how much of it we eat.

One competing strategy to beat these struggles centers on brain circuitry and how we respond to food: the activation of reward neurocircuitry, increasing attention to and arousal by food stimuli and other food-related cues like advertising. Can we impart several simple ideas on our patients to improve their control mechanisms for food desires and food intake? Dr. David Kessler says we can.

Dr. Kessler, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 1990 to 1997, former dean of the medical schools at the University of California, San Francisco and Yale University and author of the new book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, joins hosts Dr. Matthew Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg for a fascinating discussion about why many of us overeat and what we can …

It seems every day there is a new batch of developments in the political tussle over health care reform. Many members of the medical community are frustrated at the tenor of the debate in Washington, and concerned that the issues sacred to physicians and other medical professionals appear to have taken a backseat to others involved here. Even for those of us who see the need to change our health care system, it has been a fast moving and oft-confusing period filled with questions: are we moving too quickly on an issue that warrants the full attention of Congress and all of the major players involved? how can physicians do more to ensure that their voices are heard during this frenzied debate? Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matthew Birnholz welcome someone with a front-row seat to the health care reform process, Congressman Peter Roskam, of the 6th district in Illinois and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has designed one of the health care reform bills that is currently circulating the Capitol.

Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Birnholz also discuss two interesting doctor-patient issues percolating in the media: one is a experimental program at Beth Israel …

It seems every day there is a new batch of developments in the political tussle over health care reform. Many members of the medical community are frustrated at the tenor of the debate in Washington, and concerned that the issues sacred to physicians and other medical professionals appear to have taken a backseat to others involved here. Even for those of us who see the need to change our health care system, it has been a fast moving and oft-confusing period filled with questions: are we moving too quickly on an issue that warrants the full attention of Congress and all of the major players involved? how can physicians do more to ensure that their voices are heard during this frenzied debate? Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matthew Birnholz welcome someone with a front-row seat to the health care reform process, Congressman Peter Roskam, of the 6th district in Illinois and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has designed one of the health care reform bills that is currently circulating the Capitol.

Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Birnholz also discuss two interesting doctor-patient issues percolating in the media: one is a experimental program at Beth Israel …

President Obama recently gave a speech at the annual meeting for the American Medical Association (AMA) in Chicago. The speech thrust the AMA squarely into the national spotlight as an organization that represents physicians around the country. While the president's discourse with the AMA drew a lot of attention to the issue of health care reform, it has also renewed the conversation in some circles of the medical community, where doctors are wondering whether the AMA speaks to their best interests as practicing physicians, as well as to the best interests of their patients. Dr. Rahul Parikh, a pediatrician based in California, recently wrote an article on the subject for the Health Care Blog. He joins hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz to examine this question of professional organizations' representation of physicians. As we move toward a series of defining moments in the health reform debate, is the voice of the physician being heard during this ongoing conversation? If not, what can we do to make our professional concerns known?

Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Greenberg will also delve into an interesting ethical discussion of the medical care received by high-profile individuals. In recent weeks, Apple CEO Steve Jobs …

We've heard a lot about health system reform in recent months. One possible mode of health care reform is the single-payer approach, but advocates of single-payer believe their principles have not received fair consideration from lawmakers, in large part because of the lobbying influence of the health care industry. Critics of single-payer argue that quality of care will go down and that the model will breed excess demand for medical services; advocates counter that it is the only way to provide comprehensive, cost-effective medical coverage for all. Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Larry Kaskel welcome single-payer supporter Dr. Carol Paris, a psychiatrist practicing in southern Maryland, to articulate how she and her colleagues in the single-payer camp believe health care should be organized in the United States.

Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Kaskel will also discuss physicians who are blogging about their malpractice trials, and a new study that indicates pagers may be more error prone than we expect. Is it time for physicians to abandon their beepers in favor of a litany of other mobile communication options?

We've heard a lot about health system reform in recent months. One possible mode of health care reform is the single-payer approach, but advocates of single-payer believe their principles have not received fair consideration from lawmakers, in large part because of the lobbying influence of the health care industry. Critics of single-payer argue that quality of care will go down and that the model will breed excess demand for medical services; advocates counter that it is the only way to provide comprehensive, cost-effective medical coverage for all. Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Larry Kaskel welcome single-payer supporter Dr. Carol Paris, a psychiatrist practicing in southern Maryland, to articulate how she and her colleagues in the single-payer camp believe health care should be organized in the United States.

Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Kaskel will also discuss physicians who are blogging about their malpractice trials, and a new study that indicates pagers may be more error prone than we expect. Is it time for physicians to abandon their beepers in favor of a litany of other mobile communication options?