Top Docs Radio Archives - Page 5 of 8

Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition – Top Docs Radio

February 11, 2015 by CW

Top Docs Radio

Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition - Top Docs Radio

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Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition

Statistics show that 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. The risk for developing the disease rises with age, being most prevalent among men over the age of 60. However, the risk begins to rise after 40 and prevailing medical thought is men should get at a minimum a PSA test (a blood test that can detect prostate cancer) or if possible a digital rectal exam as well around the age of 40. This will provide an early warning if there are worrisome findings on either study that will afford the patient more options for treatment that are much less traumatic and much more likely to be successful than if the cancer is found at a more advanced stage.

Ken shared his own story about how he was found to have a lump on his prostate on an insurance exam but was not actually recommended to have a biopsy until roughly a year later. At that point it was found he did, in fact, have prostate cancer and that it was a more advanced stage. He ended up having a radical prostatectomy, followed by a recurrence of the cancer. To fight the recurrence of the cancer he underwent radiation therapy and more surgeries. After all of that it was found his PSA levels were rising yet again, prompting his physicians to recommend hormone therapy to slow the progress of the cancer.

After his challenging experiences he began to work to increase awareness of the value of early detection of the disease to help his male counterparts avoid having to undergo similar difficulties. He interfaced with the American Cancer Society to lobby for increased information for men about the risks of prostate cancer and the benefits of early detection. He spent some time as a spokesman for the American Cancer Society. He ultimately co-founded the Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition, a non-profit organization aimed at creating community awareness as well as raising funds to help provide screening (including some free PSA testing) for men in the community. The organization also collaborates with community businesses to help them provide prostate cancer screening for their male employees.

In speaking with Ken it’s clear that we men can do ourselves a big favor and go to our primary care physician or one of the screening events held by the Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition to get a PSA test done and ideally, couple that with a digital rectal exam. If our lot in life is to be a prostate cancer patient, we can have a large impact on what our journey is like in dealing with it if we endeavor to catch it early.

Special Guest:

Ken Stevens, Co-founder of Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition

Mitochondrial Diseases and Hyperbaric Medicine – Top Docs Radio

January 30, 2015 by CW

Top Docs Radio

Mitochondrial Diseases and Hyperbaric Medicine - Top Docs Radio

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Mitochondrial Diseases and Hyperbaric Medicine

This week I sat down with experts in the fields of mitochondrial diseases and hyperbaric medicine. Each cell in our body has an “engine” where the nutrition we consume through eating is converted to the energy we need to function and survive. These engines are known as “Mitochondria”. These cellular components use genetic code to function and on occasion there will be problems with the genetic code or with how it is decoded. In these cases, a variety of health problems can reveal themselves, depending on what sort of tissue is made up by these cells in question. These can range from challenges with learning, developmental problems, or disease states such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Muscular Dystrophy, and others. Dr. John Shoffner, neurologist and geneticist of Medical Neurogenetics came by with Laura Stanley of the Foundation for Mitochondrial Medicine.

We talked about the research Dr. Shoffner is doing in an effort to find medical therapies that could help patients who are dealing with the variety of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. We talked about how challenging it can be to identify a health problem(s) that are caused by mitochondrial disease unless a patient’s family is fortunate enough to be seen by a physician familiar with the genetic tests that can be utilized to diagnose them.

As described by the Foundation for Mitochondrial Medicine, “Every aspect of our beings – seeing, breathing, thinking, moving – requires energy. Mitochondria, often called the cells’ “powerhouses,” supply that energy by turning raw materials found in the food we eat and in the air we breathe into a substance called ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which our cells can use as fuel. ATP is, quite simply, vital to life. Without enough ATP, children cannot appropriately develop, grow, learn, move, or even sleep. Adults without enough ATP are unable to sustain brain, muscle, and other vital organ function. A deficit of ATP can also cause invisible damage in some disease states, leading to early failure or dysfunction of organs, or just a chronic state of inefficiency leading to pain, fatigue, changes or limitations in thinking and learning, and increased susceptibility to acquired diseases.”

Laura and Dr. Shoffner shared how they are working to improve awareness of mitochondrial diseases and through research, uncover treatments to halt or at least slow the effects of these diseases. The ultimate goal is to find a way to prevent or reverse these problems.

Dr. Helen Gelly joined us to talk about a recent article she co-authored with Dr. Caroline Fife in Today’s Wound Clinic, called, “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Wound Care: A Service Under True Pressure“. In the article, Dr. Gelly and Dr. Fife talked about how numerous Medicare Administrative Contractors and Commercial insurers are making changes to indications they are willing to reimburse hyperbaric oxygen therapy for. That means that patients with wounds that place them at risk for amputation or for degraded quality of life due to previous radiation therapy may not be able to receive this evidence-based, effective treatment. We talked about how in some cases where the providers in a given MAC were asked for clinical documentation of their HBO treatments provided, as many as 30% failed to respond. Dr. Gelly shared how this lack of response leads to suspicions of fraud.

It was clear from the Today’s Wound Clinic article and from our conversation that hyperbaric medicine specialists must begin to activate and collaborate to protect this evidence-proven treatment modality. HBO providers need to not only be responsive to requests for data but ACTIVE as it relates to advocating on behalf of educated decisions being made as it relates to the availability of the modality for tomorrow’s patients in need.

Special Guests:

Dr. John Shoffer, MD, CEO of Medical Neurogenics

Former Associate professor of neurology and molecular medicine at Emory University
Former Director of the molecular diagnostics program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Discovered some of the first gene mutations causing mitochondrial diseases and one of the first genes causing epilepsy
Finalist, 2012 Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Health-Care Heroes Awards

Laura Stanley, of Foundation for Mitochondrial Medicine

IMBA, University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business
Former Senior Associate, Korn Ferry
Former Vice President, EzGov
Parent of a child with mitochondrial disease

Dr. Helen Gelly, MD of HyperbaRXs

Doctor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Internship/Residency: Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals
Board Certified in Emergency Medicine
Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians
Fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Specialists
Subspecialty Certified Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine

Sleep Disorders – Top Docs Radio

January 23, 2015 by CW

Top Docs Radio

Sleep Disorders - Top Docs Radio

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Sleep Disorders

It is estimated that as many as 35-40% of Americans experience poor quality of sleep secondary to a variety of sleep disorders. We continued our series with Northside Hospital this week as I sat down with Sleep Medicine specialist, Dr. Robert Albin. We talked about the statistics around sleep disorders and Dr. Albin discussed the serious accidents that have occurred that are thought to be related to sleep deprivation. Some of those include: Three Mile Island, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Chernobyl, a recent ferry accident in NYC, and more.

Dr. Albin shared how poor quality and low quantities of sleep can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, poor mental function, depression, and others. We talked about the process sleep specialists go through to determine the source of a person’s sleep disorder. In many cases, the issue is borne out of mental or emotional stress rather than a physical/neurological issue. In those cases the sleep specialist will collaborate with a psychology/psychiatry specialist to help work through those causative issues.

For patients who have a sleep disorder related to brain chemistry/function or an obstructive process such as obstructive sleep apnea, the specialists have specialized tests they can conduct to determine the quality of sleep and determine the cause of the problem. The sleep specialty team at Northside offers a variety of diagnostic studies/treatments and it was the first sleep center of its kind in the city. For our listeners who are themselves or their loved ones are experiencing difficulty sleeping please take a listen to this week’s show and share it! You might help someone you care about.

Special Guest:

Dr. Robert Albin, MD, of North Atlanta Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists

Board Certified, Pulmonology, Internal Medicine, and Sleep Medicine
Doctorate of Medicine, Cum Laude, Emory School of Medicine
Associate Medical Director of NAPS Center for Sleep disorders
Medical Director for Peachtree Road Race and Atlanta Marathon
Past President and current Board member of the Medical Association of Atlanta

Diabetes Prevention Planning Team

January 21, 2015 by CW

Health Connect South

Diabetes Prevention Planning Team

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Diabetes Prevention Planning Team

According to the CDC, as many as 28 million Americans have diabetes. And as many as 1:4 of them do not realize they have it. That means today, potentially almost 10% of the US population are dealing with this chronic disease that puts them at risk for a myriad of health problems (many of them deadly), including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, limb loss due to amputation, poor healing after surgery, greater risk for infections, and more. It’s clearly a serious problem. And, with an ever-growing number of obese persons in the country, including a concerning number of young people, these statistics are likely to grow. In light of these sobering facts, a number of key players within the community from government agencies to health care providers, and innovative companies are beginning to put significant effort into preventing diabetes. In Atlanta, the Diabetes Prevention Planning Team is a group of forward-thinking executives, health experts, and political officers who are joining together to do just that.

This week we were joined in studio by Dr. Luci Ide, CEO of Rimidi Diabetes, and Karl Smith, PhD, Project Manager of Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential (GCAPP). Rimidi Diabetes is a health technology company that has developed and launched an application that enables diabetes patients to track and share key health-related data points with the clinicians guiding their care. With this information, the patients and providers are able to better monitor glucose levels and other indicators and determine how behavioral and medical treatment changes are impacting the patient’s condition. Luci is one of the team members for the Diabetes Prevention Planning Team and she talked about how increasing awareness of the disease and how it can be prevented are important facets of combating diabetes. She used the analogy of a bath tub, where how quickly it fills is determined by how much water flows out of the drain (patients dying as a result of the disease) versus how much is flowing in from the faucet (new diabetes patients). She went on to discuss the fact that today, more patients are living longer and managing their diabetes better than in the past. Our next challenge is to begin to decrease the number of new patients developing diabetes in populations where it can be prevented.

Karl Smith, also a member of the Diabetes Prevention Planning Team, shared how GCAPP is working to engage faith-based organizations in Atlanta communities that have populations that are at a high genetic risk for developing diabetes in an effort to educate young people who live there on how and why they can reduce their risk. He talked about how these communities tend to be “gymnasium deserts”, having few if any facilities that would allow kids to be physically active in a safe place. He went on to share how these communities also tend to have limited availability of quality whole foods that are healthy choices that decrease risk of obesity and are more heart-/diabetes-friendly.

Our discussion focused on how the Diabetes Prevention Planning Team is working to pull more resources together to help reduce the rate of new diabetes patients in our communities. We talked about how public service announcements are being put together by the county government, and how their team needs access to funding to support web development, additional PSA information, and more manpower to help handle some of the work necessary to grow the network of support/collaboration. We hope our listeners share this information so that we can have a significant impact on this disease that is costly in its effect on our community’s health as well as financially.

Special Guests:

Dr. Luci Ide, MD, PhD, CEO of Rimidi Diabetes

MD/PhD Emory University
Residency, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Magee-Womens Hospital
2014 Recipient, Ross Baird Award for Excellent, Village Capital
Former Associate, Monarch Capital Partners

Mark Smith, PhD, Program Manager of Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential

Doctor of Health Education, A.T.Still University of Health Sciences
MS, Exercise Science and Health Promotion, California University of Pennsylvania
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Exercise Is Medicine Specialist, American College of Sports Medicine

Diana Keough, CEO/Founder of ShareWIK.com

Journalism Instructor/Guest Lecturer, Emory University
Member, Koles College of Business Advisory Board, Kennsaw State University
Former Front Page Series Writer, The Plain Dealer
Former Reporter/Commentator, WKSU
Co-author, “Building a Business, Building a Life: The Incredible Life of a Woman Business Owner”

Medical Association of Georgia’s 2015 Legislative Priorities – Top Docs Radio

January 14, 2015 by CW

Top Docs Radio

Medical Association of Georgia's 2015 Legislative Priorities - Top Docs Radio

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Medical Association of Georgia’s 2015 Legislative Priorities

This week I sat down with Dr. Michael Green and Marcus downs of MAG to discuss Medical Association of Georgia’s 2015 legislative priorities. We talked about several issues that have a serious impact on both patient outcomes as well as Georgia physicians’ ability to provide care. Some key areas of focus this year include Physician Autonomy/Scope of Practice relating to physician-extending providers such as optometrists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, Third Party Payers, Tort Reform, and Patient Access to Care/Physician Shortage.

Dr. Greene and Marcus shared important information about how the year’s priorities are decided upon from how they’re raised as issues, to how they are elevated through committee to final discussion/determination. They also talked about how valuable it is to have active participation in the process by the members of MAG. We discussed the ways that MAG members are able to contribute input on the process and identification of issues for the association to consider.

Marcus and Dr. Greene also talked about some important legislative issues MAG has been able to provide input on that helped shape or revise laws affecting how physicians provide care within the state of Georgia.

Special Guests:

Dr. Michael Greene, Chairman, Council on Legislation, MAG

Doctorate of Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine
Former President of MAG, 2003-’04
Board Member, Secure Health Plan of Georgia
Practicing Family Practice Physician, Macon, GA

Marcus Downs, Director of Government Relations, MAG

Recipient, 2012, Outstanding Advocate Award, National Association of School Psychologists
National Institutes of Health Research Fellow, 2000
Former Director, Government Relations/External Coalitions/Research, Georgia Association of Educators

Complex Patients – Top Docs Radio

January 11, 2015 by CW

Top Docs Radio

Complex Patients - Top Docs Radio

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Complex Patients

This week I sat down with our colleague, Dr. Andrew Pugliese, Infectious Disease specialist of Infectious Disease Consultants in Johns Creek. He stopped by to talk about complex patients. He shared how medical studies focus on single illnesses, disqualifying certain age groups and patients with multiple disease states. Dr. Pugliese talked about the fact that in the real world medical office, rare is it that a patient walks in to be treated for a problem who is only dealing with that single disease. More commonly, patients present with obesity, and/or diabetes, heart disease, or any number of other health problems that can affect the way the body responds to a given disease state and treatments for them. Dr. Pugliese shared how these “multi-morbid” (having more than one health issue) patients are very complex and often do not respond to therapies as studies suggest they will. He offered advice for providers to help them be better able to manage patients when they need care for a given problem when other health issues are present. Check out Dr. Pugliese’s blog at http://sinusitisblog.com/.

Special Guest:

Andrew Pugliese, MD, Infectious Disease Consultants

Doctorate in Medicine, St. George University School of Medicine
Fellowship, Infectious Disease, Winthrop University Hospital
Triple Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease
Pioneer in non-surgical treatment of acute and chronic sinusitis
President of Sinus Solutions

Complex Patients

January 2, 2015 by CW

Midtown Business Radio

Complex Patients

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Complex Patients

Special Guest:

Andrew Pugliese, MD, Infectious Disease Consultants

Doctorate in Medicine, St. George University School of Medicine
Fellowship, Infectious Disease, Winthrop University Hospital
Triple Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease
Pioneer in non-surgical treatment of acute and chronic sinusitis
President of Sinus Solutions

Swift School – Top Docs Radio

December 31, 2014 by CW

Top Docs Radio

Swift School - Top Docs Radio

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Swift School

This week I sat down with two learning specialists and three students from The Swift School in Roswell, GA. This private school is one that focuses on the learning needs of high-potential students that are challenged with dyslexia, dyscalculia (problems with math), working memory issues, and others. Their learning environment is designed to help these children achieve their academic potential through smaller class sizes, teaching styles (such as Orton-Gillingham method) that take these various brain types and learning process needs into consideration.

As many as 1 in 5 children deal with some sort of learning challenge such as dyslexia, according to the learning specialists, Lisa Armorer and Carol Madden. We now know that these aren’t so much learning “disabilities” as “Brain Types”. As Carol explained, most kids dealing with dyslexia and some of these other challenges are “Right Brain” dominant. This affects the style of learning that is most effective for them and can have an impact on their behavior patterns to some extent as well. Many children are misdiagnosed as having behavioral “problems” when in fact they are actually exhibiting responses to frustration and/or anxiety because they are having trouble learning and they don’t understand why.

Lisa explained how Swift School’s learning approach differs from many “traditional” learning settings and how the strategies they employ take the child’s brain type and associated learning techniques into consideration. This empowers them to achieve academically at a high level and advocate for themselves as students as they return to middle schools and high schools in traditional class environments/teaching approaches.

I got to talk to two 5th graders, Mackenzie Day and Olivia Hall, and 8th grader, Grant Meyer. They shared their poignant stories about how it felt to be “different” from their peers as young students, watching them excel when certain (or all) concepts seemed so difficult for them. They talked about their experiences going to visit Swift School and what it was like to become “veteran” students once they’d been there for a while. Olivia, Mackenzie, and Grant also shared advice for peers in the community who might be considering Swift School as an option when a traditional setting is not helping them reach their academic potential.

Lisa Armorer shared this information with me:

Is your child bright but still struggling in school? It might not be laziness. It might be dyslexia.

Dyslexia affects 1 in 5 students today. Dyslexia is not just seeing words backwards. Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference and causes difficulty with reading, writing and spelling.

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA:

Delayed spoken language
Left/Right Confusion
Difficulty rhyming words and sounds
Poor sequencing of numbers and letters
Difficulty sounding out, identifying, and spelling words
Slow to memorize alphabet and math facts
Avoids reading aloud.
Difficulty with reading and comprehension.

For more information:

The International Dyslexia Association – www.interdys.org

Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators – www.ortonacademy.org

Special Guests:

Lisa Armorer, Learning Specialist, Swift School

Carol Madden, Middle Division Director, Swift School

Grant Meyer, 8th Grade Swift Student, President, Student Counsil

Mackenzie Day, 5th Grade Swift Student

Olivia Hall, 5th Grade Swift Student

AirWatch – Top Docs Radio

December 27, 2014 by CW

Top Docs Radio

AirWatch - Top Docs Radio

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AirWatch by vmware

This week on TopDocsRADIO we sat down with Paul McRae of AirWatch by vmware. Healthcare is evolving. As information technology advances and our health laws change, greater importance is being placed on electronic health records. Today, digital data is flowing between departments in a hospital, to physician offices, to practitioners in the patients’ homes. The result is greater efficiency in coordination of care, easier collaboration across multi-specialty teams, and an increased risk of compromise of sensitive HIPAA-protected information.

AirWatch by vmware provides technology that allows healthcare organizations to protect sensitive data across their enterprise, including mobile devices and laptops that may be in use outside the confines of the building or campus of the health company. With their solution, the enterprise can determine whether certain data elements can be accessed by a given device (including BYOD), attachments can be included in outbound emails, and more.

If your organization is working to take advantage of the benefits of digital platforms and mobile devices then get to know AirWatch by vmware. You’ll give your company the strengths that come with digitized information coupled with the confidence your information will meet compliance requirements and stay safe in the hands of those its meant to be seen by.

Special Guests:

Paul McRae, Director of Business Development – Healthcare Solutions, AirWatch by vmware