Top Docs Radio

Ketan Patel DPM For 33 years Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia has served the Atlanta community. Their nationally-renowned group of doctors specialize in the full spectrum of care for the lower extremity at 22 area locations across Metro Atlanta. As members of The Piedmont Clinic the group is noted for excellence in patient care […]

Loving Arms Cancer Outreach Over the past year we’ve talked about cancer on several occasions.  We have hosted physician panels, sharing how to prevent cancers and how they’re diagnosed, and treatment options patients have to choose from. We’ve also spoken with cancer survivors who have come on the share their stories about being diagnosed, and […]

Ketan Patel DPM

For 33 years Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia has served the Atlanta community. Their nationally-renowned group of doctors specialize in the full spectrum of care for the lower extremity at 22 area locations across Metro Atlanta. As members of The Piedmont Clinic the group is noted for excellence in patient care while constantly providing the cutting edge treatment for all conditions of the Foot, Ankle, and Lower Leg.

I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with several of the specialists from Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia. And we have collaborated with the practice on numerous occasions as members of the multi-specialty team working to preserve lower extremities in diabetic ulcer patients.

I know first-hand they provide a high measure of expertise and put their patients’ outcomes first.  This week I hosted Ketan Patel, DPM, who practices in the Buckhead office of Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia.

He shared why he chose podiatry as his career, having known most of his young life he wanted to be a healthcare provider.  He shared some great information about new technologies he is able to provide access to for his patients, in many cases allowing the patients to resolve their problems without surgery.

We spoke of ways individuals can prevent many of the overuse injuries he frequently sees in his office when we decide to start training, running, or engaging in athletic activities with too much intensity/volume too soon.

It is clear in speaking with Ketan he has a passion for his work and enjoys the positive, collegial culture found across the Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia practice.  I look forward to meeting additional members of the group on the show.

Special Guest:

Ketan Patel, DPM, of Ankle & Foot Centers of Georgia       

* BS, Microbiology, University of Georgia

* Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine

* Previous Chief Resident, Podiatric Medicine, Bon Secours Health System

* Speaks Hindi, Gujarati, English

 

Loving Arms Cancer Outreach

Over the past year we’ve talked about cancer on several occasions.  We have hosted physician panels, sharing how to prevent cancers and how they’re diagnosed, and treatment options patients have to choose from.

We’ve also spoken with cancer survivors who have come on the share their stories about being diagnosed, and their experiences during treatment and beyond, as survivors.

This week I hosted cancer survivor, Angel DeJesus, office manager for Loving Arms Cancer Outreach.  This non-profit cancer support organization was started by two practicing oncology nurses.  They had seen how many patients deplete their financial resources paying for their cancer care.

This leaves them with with limited ability to pay for obligations of daily life such as rent/mortgage, utilities, gas to get them to treatment, and more.  They started Loving Arms Cancer Outreach to provide some measure of assistance with these needs along with support group services, education, opportunities to volunteer, and others.

Angel shared his poignant story about experiencing a cancer that ultimately cost him is right eye and how he, too, lost his home, job, and savings paying for his cancer care.  He explained how Loving Arms Cancer Outreach provided him with their support services and even were able to provide rides to his treatment when he was a patient.

The financial expense and logistics of providing rides to cancer patients was too great for the organization to continue that service.  But they continue to offer financial assistance and support group services and others.  We are hopeful listeners will help with donations, time, or share this message with folks who may be able to do so.

Special Guest

Angel DeJesus, Office Manager, Loving Arms Cancer Outreach

 

Health IT and Accelerating Innovation This week I sat down with experts from the healthcare IT sector.  John Mamon is the CEO of mPoweredIT, an outsourced IT company that devotes expertise to the small to mid-sized medical practice, helping them manage their computer hardware, infrastructure, and software needs for far less than it typically costs […]

Harvey Shuster, Osama Hashmi

John Mamon talks mPowered IT

Health IT and Accelerating Innovation

This week I sat down with experts from the healthcare IT sector.  John Mamon is the CEO of mPoweredIT, an outsourced IT company that devotes expertise to the small to mid-sized medical practice, helping them manage their computer hardware, infrastructure, and software needs for far less than it typically costs to employ someone dedicated to these functions within the practice.

John talked about how often, in an effort to save money, small practices place responsibility for managing these facets on a practice manager, a clinician within the office, or even the doctors themselves.  Clearly this can take away from the core function of the office—taking care of more patients.

He shared a number of important concerns that can expose these offices to risk such as HIPAA requirements, downtime of equipment, ACA compliance, and others.  Each of these can create significant cost or loss of productivity when small offices attempt to handle things on their own.

mPoweredIT is able to scale their services to the needs of the practice, providing the full suite of IT management or taking over particular elements on behalf of the practice.  The company also partners with several other health experts who can provide additional support in areas such as billing/revenue cycle management, EMR selection, and others, to allow their clients to maximize productivity and profitability at the same time.

John introduced us to Harvey Shuster, of Emergence, a Georgia Medical Accelerator.  Harvey, a multiple-time entrepreneur, was one of the founders of Peachtree Software among others.  He and his team work with emerging healthcare technology companies, helping them to commercialize and bring to market their devices/technologies more quickly.

Harvey brought along Osama Hashmi, CEO/Founder of VitaminC.  This company adds an additional layer of automation and engagement to EMR systems.  Their software allows providers to contact patients and encourage follow-up visits where appropriate to facilitate care/outcomes while at the same time helping the practice to maximize its potential for seeing patients in need.

VitaminC integrates well with numerous EMR systems and has proven valuable to primary care doctors and specialists such as dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and others.

Special Guests:

John Mamon, CEO/Founder, mPoweredIT    

* Associates Degree, Information Technology, Bryant and Stratton College

* Previous VP, Professional Services, BMC Solutions

* Former Executive VP, CDI Managed Services

Harvey Shuster, COO, of Emergence Georgia Medical Accelerator    

* MBA, Finance, Drexell University LeBow College of Business

GA SB 158 This week we continue our monthly series with Medical Association of Georgia.  I hosted MAG CEO/Executive Director, Donald J. Palmisano, Jr., and Cindy Zeldin, Executive Director for Georgians for a Healthy Future.  We talked about the challenges Georgians face regarding the lack of information available to them about how inclusive health plans […]

Cindy Zeldin and Donald Palmisano, Jr talk GA SB 158

GA SB 158

This week we continue our monthly series with Medical Association of Georgia.  I hosted MAG CEO/Executive Director, Donald J. Palmisano, Jr., and Cindy Zeldin, Executive Director for Georgians for a Healthy Future.  We talked about the challenges Georgians face regarding the lack of information available to them about how inclusive health plans are regarding what physicians, hospitals, etc., are included in the plans.

Donald talked about how on the healthcare exchanges, patients must review every plan one at a time, checking the physician directories for each one to see if the physician(s) they need are there.  In many cases, this means going through as many as 30-80 unique plans.

This is complicated by the fact that in many cases, the listed physician directories are incorrect, or change frequently, leading patients to make their choices based on outdated/inaccurate information.

In the Georgia legislature, the senate is considering SB 158, aimed at addressing the issue of transparency in the health insurance space so patients and physicians can make sense out of this important part of how we access healthcare today.

Cindy joined Donald to talk about how Georgians for a Healthy Future has been advocating on behalf of the state’s citizens to help them get signed up for the newly-available health plans on the exchange.  She shared how last year, over 500,000 people gained access to new health plans.

We discussed the need for these patients to get educated about how to

Special Guestsplan for the financial obligations they will face regarding co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles, etc.  Folks need to learn what each of these are and have a plan for how to handle them.  One such strategy is having a health savings account, which allows them to pay for their healthcare costs with pre-tax dollars out of an account that will grow over time.

We also talked about how important it is for physicians and citizens to engage with their state legislators to talk about how these issues affect them in their daily lives.  SB 158 is still in the early stages, with decisions being made on it coming next spring.

Special Guests:

Donald Palmisano, CEO, Executive Director of Medical Association of Georgia     

* JD Law, Loyola School of Law

* Board of Directors, Physician Advocacy Institute

* Medical Payment Subcommitte Member, State Board of Workers’ Compensation

* Treasurer, Board of Directors, Physicians’ Institute for Excellence in Medicine

* Former Director, Government Relations/General Counsel/Director, GAMPAC

Cindy Zeldin, Executive Director, Georgians for a Healthy Future   

* Master of Arts,

Pain Management This week I sat down with 3 of the physicians from The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia, Dr. Randy Rizor, Dr. John Porter, and Dr. Charlie MacNeill.  Since 1995, The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia has provided innovative, effective, and comprehensive treatment of pain with special emphasis on spinal pain […]

Dr. Randy Rizor, Dr. John Porter, and Dr. Charles MacNeill of Physicians Spine and Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia

Pain Management

This week I sat down with 3 of the physicians from The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia, Dr. Randy Rizor, Dr. John Porter, and Dr. Charlie MacNeill.  Since 1995, The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia has provided innovative, effective, and comprehensive treatment of pain with special emphasis on spinal pain and care of the injured worker.

The practice has offices and surgery centers at convenient locations around the Atlanta metro area in Sandy Springs, Marietta, and Rome, as well as an office in Calhoun.  Their eight physicians have all earned additional qualifications in pain management, the only pain management certification recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

We talked about a number of the advances in technology and technique such as Tenex TX and Platelet Rich Plasma that allow these pain specialists to more effectively reduce or in some cases, eliminate pain for their patients.  This gives their patients the ability to rehabilitate and return to levels of activity and function at or near pre-injury levels.  The physicians shared how they had previously been practicing anesthesiologists who were frequently called upon to help relieve intractable pain for their patients, ultimately inspiring them to launch a stand alone practice aimed at helping pain patients.

The doctors explained the difference between simply medicating patients with opioid medications versus recognized pain interventions coupled with rehabilitation measures to achieve pain relief and return of quality of life.  This approach helps avoid the pitfalls of using opioid meds, particularly when they would be taken over an extended period of time.   The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia operate under the philosophy of: Diagnose, Treat, Rehabilitate.

Special Guests:

Dr. Charlie MacNeill, MD  Co-founder of The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia      

* Doctor of Medicine degree from Emory University School of Medicine

* Residency in Anesthesiology at Emory and Grady Hospitals

* Board certified in Anesthesiology and Sub-specialty board certified in Pain Medicine

* Awarded two Bronze Stars during his tour as a Vietnamese linguist and cryptographer

Dr. Randy Rizor, MD  Co-founder of The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia  

* Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Toledo School of Medicine

* Residency in Anesthesiology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

* Certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology

* Sub-specialty certification in Pain Management from the American Board of Anesthesiology

Dr. John Porter, MD  Co-founder of The Physicians Spine & Rehabilitation Specialists of Georgia