Top Docs Radio

Interventional Radiology We talked interventional radiology with Dr. John Lipman of Atlanta Interventional Institute on this week’s show.  Interventional radiologists are radiologists who are trained to perform a wide array of procedures using various radiologic images to guide their work. In fact, as Dr. Lipman explained, it was interventional radiologists who invented the technology to […]

Dr. John Lipman joins CW Hall talking interventional radiology

Interventional Radiology

We talked interventional radiology with Dr. John Lipman of Atlanta Interventional Institute on this week’s show.  Interventional radiologists are radiologists who are trained to perform a wide array of procedures using various radiologic images to guide their work.

In fact, as Dr. Lipman explained, it was interventional radiologists who invented the technology to perform procedures such as balloon angioplasty that was later used to open blocked arteries in the heart.

We talked about uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally-invasive procedure where a catheter is passed into the femoral artery and maneuvered to the arteries feeding uterine fibroids, where a chemical is instilled, caused the vessel to occlude.  This blocks bloodflow to the fibroid, causing it to shrink and die, allowing for easy removal.

The alternative for these women is hysterectomy, which is the surgical removal of the uterus, after which, the woman will need to take hormones to compensate for its loss.  Additionally, it takes days longer to recover from the surgery and bears the risk of anesthesia and post-surgical infection.

Dr. Lipman talked about other procedures interventional radiologists are able to perform such as treatment of migraine headaches, and reversing infertility related to blocked fallopian tubes.

It is important for patients and their loved ones to be sure to ask lots of questions and to inquire about other available treatment options when surgery is recommended, particularly when it involves removal of an organ or amputation.

In this way, patients can limit risk associated with surgery in many cases, and save cost and time away from work.  Dr. Lipman offered a number of questions patients and loved ones can ask to determine if an interventional radiologist is the one they should choose.

Special Guest:

Dr. John Lipman, MD, FSIR, Atlanta Interventional Institute     

* Doctorate of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine

* Radiology Residency, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

* Fellowship, Vascular & Interventional Radiology, Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine

* Board Certified, Radiology, Vascular & Interventional Radiology

* Fellow, Society of Interventional Radiology

 

Telemedicine We sat down with legal expert on healthcare matters, attorney, Sidney Welch, of the Polsinelli law firm on our monthly episode with Medical Association of Georgia.  What is it?  How is it utilized?  And, what are the licensing, regulatory, and legal concerns around it? Georgia Composite Medical Board (GCMB) has stressed that it is essential for […]

Healthcare attorney, Sidney Welch

Telemedicine

We sat down with legal expert on healthcare matters, attorney, Sidney Welch, of the Polsinelli law firm on our monthly episode with Medical Association of Georgia.  What is it?  How is it utilized?  And, what are the licensing, regulatory, and legal concerns around it?

Georgia Composite Medical Board (GCMB) has stressed that it is essential for telemedicine patients in the state to receive the same high standard of care they would in a traditional office setting.  GCMB adopted a number of telemedicine rules in 2014 that “allow the Composite Board to take disciplinary action against licensed physicians and allied health professionals who practice telemedicine if they do not provide the minimum standard of care.”

Georgia’s rules require physicians and other allied health care professionals who deliver care by way of telemedicine to…

* Be the ones who provide all of the treatment and/or consultations via telehealth.

* Have access to the patient’s medical history if they are providing the services.

* Have personally seen and examined the patient if they are referring the patient to a telehealth provider.

* Maintain records on the patient’s evaluation and treatment if they are providing a service via telehealth and to provide a copy of those records to the referring physician.

* Provide telehealth services only within their specialty.

* Give their name, credentials and emergency contact information to the patient when they provide a telehealth treatment or consultation.

* Provide the patient with “clear, appropriate, accurate instructions” on follow-up care.

Controlled substances for pain or chronic pain treatment cannot be prescribed through telehealth – but a physician or a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant can order appropriate labs or other diagnostic tests.

The physician who provides the care via telemedicine must make a “diligent” effort to ensure that the patient is seen and examined in person at least once a year by a Georgia-licensed physician or other appropriate health care professional.

Special Guest:

Sidney Welch, JD, of Polsinelli        

Apex Animal Hospital On this episode I sat down with Dr. Kimberly Cary and her office manager, Jamie Cary.  We talked about their rapidly-growing Austell animal hospital that has seen rapid expansion of their patient base due to referrals from happy clients. Kimberly explained there are numerous health issues that can be transmitted between humans […]

Apex Animal Hospital

On this episode I sat down with Dr. Kimberly Cary and her office manager, Jamie Cary.  We talked about their rapidly-growing Austell animal hospital that has seen rapid expansion of their patient base due to referrals from happy clients.

Kimberly explained there are numerous health issues that can be transmitted between humans and their pets or that both humans and our pets can suffer from that we can benefit from being aware about.  Examples are ringworm, Lyme disease, giardiasis, rabies, and others.

The Carys talked about measures we can take to reduce the risk of our pets contracting these illnesses as well as how we can limit the risk of being affected ourselves.  In many cases, simple preventive measures are very effective at protecting both pet and owner.  These include annual exams and keeping vaccinations up to date.

Problems related to tick- and flea-borne diseases can easily be prevented by a regular dose of topical or edible medications.  And in areas of high likelihood of ticks, there is a vaccination available for dogs to prevent Lyme disease.

The practice offers a full array of pet services and has been specially designed to accommodate both dogs and cats to minimize the stress they experience when they have to be seen or stay in the animal hospital.  The office is located on East-West Connector in Austell, GA near Floyd Road.

Special Guests:

Dr. Kimberly Carey, DVM of Apex Animal Hospital        

* Doctorate Veterinary Medicine (with honors), Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine

* Values educating pet owners who are her clients to help them best care for their pets

* President, Cobb County Veterinary Medical Association

* Owner of 2 cats and a dog of her own

Clostridium Difficile On this week’s episode we talked about one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections: Clostridium Difficile, or “C. Diff.”  I sat down with Dr. David Dickensheets, infectious disease specialist with Infectious Disease Services of Georgia in his Cumming, GA office. According to the CDC nearly half a million persons experienced a Clostridium difficile […]

Dr. David Dickensheets, CW Hall talk Clostridium Difficile

Clostridium Difficile

On this week’s episode we talked about one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections: Clostridium Difficile, or “C. Diff.”  I sat down with Dr. David Dickensheets, infectious disease specialist with Infectious Disease Services of Georgia in his Cumming, GA office.

According to the CDC nearly half a million persons experienced a Clostridium difficile infection last year.  Their website explains:

“Approximately 29,000 patients died within 30 days of the initial diagnosis of C. difficile.  Of those, about 15,000 deaths were estimated to be directly attributable to C. difficileinfections, making C. difficile a very important cause of infectious disease death in the United States.  More than 80 percent of the deaths associated with C. difficile occurred among Americans aged 65 years or older. C. difficile causes an inflammation of the colon and deadly diarrhea.

Previous studies indicate that C. difficile has become the most common microbial cause of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and costs up to $4.8 billion each year in excess health care costs for acute care facilities alone.  The new study found that 1 out of every 5 patients with a healthcare-associated C. difficile infection experienced a recurrence of the infection and 1 out of every 9 patients aged 65 or older with a healthcare-associated C. difficile infection died within 30 days of diagnosis.”

Clearly it’s a big problem.  Dr. Dickensheets shared some great information on how the infection is diagnosed and why it’s so hard to eradicate from a hospital environment.  He also talked about an interesting treatment approach–the fecal transplant.

That’s right, in some instances, patients have been able to resolve the infection by having fecal material from a healthy human instilled into their bowel, allowing a repopulation of normal flora bacteria that compete with the C. Diff., helping to eliminate the infection.

Special Guest:

Dr. David Dickensheets, MD, of Infectious Disease Services of Georgia

* Doctor of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University

* Residency, Roger Williams Medical Center

* Fellowshp, Brown University

* Board Certified in Infectious Disease

Pre-diabetes This week I featured a long-time friend of the show, Dr. Ellie Campbell, of Campbell Family Medicine, located in Cumming, GA.  We talked about a topic I am hopeful many of our followers will both listen to and share:  Pre-diabetes. How many times have you gone for your annual check-up and been told, “Your […]

Dr. Ellie Campbell talks pre-diabetes

Pre-diabetes

This week I featured a long-time friend of the show, Dr. Ellie Campbell, of Campbell Family Medicine, located in Cumming, GA.  We talked about a topic I am hopeful many of our followers will both listen to and share:  Pre-diabetes.

How many times have you gone for your annual check-up and been told, “Your labs are normal,” when your fasting blood glucose is >80mg/dl?  Those “normal” results could actually be a red flag that you have Pre-diabetes.

During this phase it’s actually possible to reverse the condition through diet and exercise.  But, as Ellie described, many physicians haven’t yet been educated that they need to be concerned with glucose levels that don’t exceed “normal” limits.  This means that we, as patients, need to be advocates for ourselves and our loved ones.

It is well-known that diabetes leads to a range of chronic and often, deadly, diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, stroke, and more.  While we also know it is often challenging to make life-style changes, when you are aware of the risks, it can become more easy to do so.

I am pleased Ellie sat down with us to talk about pre-diabetes, a problem many people can actually do something about if they’re willing to make some of the simple changes she recommends.

Special guest:

Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO, Family Practice & Integrative Medicine at Campbell Family Medicine

    

* Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine

* Family Medicine Residency, Medical College of Georgia

* Board Certified Family Medicine