The Connect Dialogues®

Looking to the future of healthcare, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rasu Shrestha on the two things that are needed to truly transform the system: design thinking and a culture of innovation.

Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Dr. Linda Bradley, Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Women's Health Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, for a discussion on abnormal uterine bleeding. Topics of note include evaluation and treatment strategies, alternatives to hysterectomy, and office-based procedures to aid in the pre-operative workup for patients with this condition.

Millions of insured women will have additional choices when it comes to their preferred method of birth control due to the Affordable Care Act for Women. But, what does that mean for health care providers and their patients? How does it change how patients are given treatment? Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Dr. Mary Jane Minkin. Dr. Minkin will address these questions and more. Dr. Minkin is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and has a private practice in New Haven, Conn.

Join host Dr. Brian McDonough as he welcomes Dr. Steven Harris, Clinical Professor of Medicine from the University of California-San Francisco, to discuss the practice guidelines in preventing osteoporotic fracture and the appropriate treatments to prevent additional fractures. He will also address how to best ensure patient compliance.

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Anyone in medicine will freely admit that osteoporosis is a major health threat in the United States, and yet the majority of patients with osteoporosis remain undiagnosed and untreated. In fact, fewer than one-third of cases have even been diagnosed, and only 14% of women with osteoporosis receive treatment. This comes in stark contrast to the fact that more than 50% of women over age 50 will encounter an osteoporosis-related fracture. So what can the healthcare community do in the face of those odds? Addressing this issue is Dr. Michael Lewiecki, Osteoporosis Director at the New Mexico Clinical Research and Osteoporosis Center. He's also Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Dr. Matt Birnholz hosts.

Thyroid disorders during pregnancy can lead to problems for the mother — miscarriage, preeclampsia and preterm delivery, among others — as well as problems for the infant, including growth delays and mental retardation. Yet women frequently go undiagnosed, because thyroid dysfunction is often subclinical or is masked by the effects of pregnancy. With more than six million pregnancies in the United States each year, would the health benefits of routine prenatal thyroid screening and treatment justify the expense? Dr. Kenneth D. Burman, director of the endocrine section at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and a professor of medicine at Georgetown University's School of Medicine, joins host Dr. Jennifer Shu to evaluate key questions in this ongoing debate.

Currently there are no tests available to confirm the diagnosis of preeclampsia in pregnant women. Preeclampsia affects two to 10 percent of pregnancies in the United States and it's the most common and potentially life threatening complication for a pregnant woman and her child. Dr. Margaret Miller, an assistant professor of medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, discusses with host Dr. Lisa Mazzullo her research examining possible biomarkers to predict preeclampsia and its possible link to cardiovascular disease later in life.

Even though herpes is not a life threatening disease, it is widespread. One in five Americans have been diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 herpes. It's important for physicians to debunk the myth that patients can't pass along herpes to their partner if they don't have symptoms. Dr. David Soper, director of the division of gynecology and general obstetrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, discusses with host Dr. Lisa Mazzullo the best way to diagnose the disease, treatment plans, how to counsel patients and the possibility of a vaccine in the future.

Twenty years ago, women who suffered from lupus were discouraged from having children; today women with lupus are successfully having healthy babies. Doctors have found that counseling lupus patients prior to conception significantly increases the chances of a healthy pregnancy. Dr. Jane Salmon, professor of medicine at Weill Medical College in New York, joins host Dr. Lisa Mazzullo to talk about her groundbreaking research for pregnant women dealing with this autoimmune disease.