Host: Beverly Hashimoto, MD

Guest: Dawna Kramer, MD

Have new techniques changed the long-standing paradigm of breast cancer detection by mammogram? Dr. Dawna Kramer, radiology quality assurance officer and section head of the patient access area in the radiology department at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, talks with host Dr. Beverly Hashimoto about the applications and inter-relationship of mammography and breast ultrasound in the diagnosis of breast masses. Dr. Kramer highlights the reasons mammography continues to account for the majority of breast mass detections. What are the benefits of digital mammogram and what is the usefulness of breast ultrasound and MRI?

Host: Jason Birnholz, MD

Guest: Theodore Dubinsky, MD

Dr. Theodore Dubinksy reviews the conventional use of ultrasound imaging to detect and diagnose thyroid nodules, including fine needle biopsies. He then explains how ultrasound elastography, a newly developed technique, to analyze the stiffness of non-palpable nodules by measuring the amount of distortion from the carotid artery, an highlights the results of this method, as well as the potential for this technique to replace fine needle aspirations as a means for diagnosing thyroid nodules. Dr. Jason Birnholz hosts.

Host: John Armstrong, MD

Guest: Col. David Crudo, MD

Bringing medical forces into a foreign land often provides an opportunity unlike any other to become intimately familiar with this nation. Col. Dr. David Crudo, pediatrician and deputy surgeon in the U.S. Army Pacific at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, has participated in many of these missions across the world. From providing dental or optometric care, to setting up telemedicine technology in elementary intensive care units, Dr. Crudo shares his heartwarming experiences with host Dr. John Armstrong.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Winifred Hayes, PhD

The health technology assessment, something gaining momentum in hospitals as a way to improve patient care, can be a challenge to implement. Dr. Winifred Hayes, founder and chief executive officer of Hayes Inc. tells host Bruce Japsen how this can be done and what the doctor's role should be in this process.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Winifred Hayes, PhD

Evidence-based technology assessment may be an unfamiliar term to most of us, but it is gaining momentum in the health-care industry. Dr. Winifred Hayes, chief executive of Hayes Inc., tells the Chicago Tribune's Bruce Japsen why it may be a solution to controlling health care costs, and how it has gained the support of such varied sources as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the prestigious Institute of Medicine.

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Susan Foster, MSW

Up to 85 percent of all prescriptions purchased by patients on the Internet involve controlled substances, compared with just over 10 percent thru regular pharmacies. These figures, coming from independent, non-profit research, warn of serious problems of misuse by those who obtain drugs from the Web. What can be done-and what are we doing-to stop these sales? The National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, has studied this issue extensively. Susan Foster, vice president and director of policy research and analysis at CASA, led the authoring of the Center's most recent report. She talks with host Dr. Charles Turck about what we can do to prevent unsupervised use of these medicines and better protect our patients from the associated dangers.

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Guest: Susan Foster, MSW

We're learning more about the hundreds of Internet sites that advertise or sell controlled medications by mail. Yet a new set of answers brings a series of worrisome questions: How many of these websites actually require a prescription for controlled substances? Do many of those who buy prescription drugs online do so with nefarious intentions? Dr. Charles Turck probes problematic developments in online drug sales with Susan Foster, vice president and director of policy research and analysis at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. Ms. Foster directed the preparation of the Center's most recent You've Got Drugs report on spurious drug sales on the Internet.

Host: Bruce Japsen

Guest: Jon Black, Mr.

Although most Americans may be most familiar with social networking on the internet via Facebook or Myspace and even Sermo for doctors, other health care sites are emerging to bring doctors and consumers together. Jon Black, chief executive officer of CheckMD, tells host Bruce Japsen about putting various aspects of health care together into a new kind of social networking site, featuring medical care and guidance for patients.

Host: John Armstrong, MD

Guest: Lt. Col. Lorne Blackbourne, MD

The United States Army Institute of Surgical Research (ISR) tracks every casualty from Iraq and Afghanistan, probing for injuries that may be preventable. One area of focus includes isolated extremity wounds. Col. Dr. Lorne Blackbourne, commander of the ISR in San Antonio, details key advances in field tourniquets and hemostatic agents that optimize outcomes for our soldiers. Are these products also being dispatched in civilian care settings? Find out more with host Dr. John Armstrong.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD

Guest: Laurie Edwards

Better technology and treatments mean that people with serious childhood illnesses such as cystic fibrosis and type one diabetes are reaching adulthood in unprecedented numbers. That means they are also struggling with college, relationships, fertility and employment. Laurie Edwards, a health journalist and author of Life Disrupted, joins host Dr. Leslie Lundt to discuss these issues.