The Dr. Leigh Vinocur Show

A poor medical liability environment drives up healthcare costs and creates longer ER wait times. Find out how your state graded in the recent ACEP EM report card.The American College of Emergency Physicians recently issued a report card on the State of Emergency Medicine in the U.S. The overall grade was a D+. One major area that was graded was Medical Liability; this category's overall grade was a C-. Why is this important to know? A poor medical liability environment drives up healthcare costs and creates longer ER wait times, among other things. What makes up a poor vs. strong environment? Find out as Dr. Douglas Brosnan joins Dr. Leigh to discuss the recent report card. Additionally, you can learn how your state graded at www.emreportcard.org.

Quality and Patient Safety is essential in order to improve care and prevent injuries. Find out how your state graded in the recent ACEP EM report card.The American College of Emergency Physicians recently issued a report card on the State of Emergency Medicine in the U.S. One of the important categories graded was measuring Quality and Patient Safety, which is essential in order to improve care and prevent injuries. The overall grade was a C.  New indicators may have affected the overall grade, including, several measures of health equity to look at systems and policies that allow institutions to address racial and ethnic disparities and the quality of care they provide. Dr. Lynne D. Richardson joins Dr. Leigh to discuss the results and share what steps can be taken to help improve the quality of care. See which states are falling behind and if your state made the grade at www.emreportcard.org. You don't have to wait for it to get worse... you can act now. Learn if your state is properly funding EMS, and what you can do to improve the overall quality of patient safety both statewide and across the country.

Is your state doing everything it can to keep you safe and healthy? From smoking rates to seat belt and child safety seat laws, find out how you can do more.As part of the recent ACEP EM report card, Public Health and Injury Prevention didn't quite make the grade, coming in with an overall score of C. Everything from drunk driving and immunizations to smoking and injury prevention were taken into account when grading this category. Public Health and Injury Prevention included the following sub-categories: Traffic safety and drunk driving Immunizations Fatal injuries State health and injury prevention efforts Health risk factors Is your state doing everything it can to keep you safe and healthy? Dr. Joshua Moskovitz weighs in on the matter and shares some tips for improving the health and safety of your state. Additionally, you can see how your specific state graded at www.emreportcard.org, as well as learn how you can do more by talking to local and state legislation and letting Congress know that you demand better.

Where does your state rank in disaster preparedness? How about our nation as a whole? It's not as good as you'd think.In recent years, there have been many tragic events and national disasters in the U.S. From 9/11 to multiple shootings in our nation's schools, airports and even movie theaters, to the Boston Marathon bombing and countless other events, it seems these days that you never know when a disaster or mass casualty event will take place. Is our nation ready? The newest ACEP Emergency Medical Environment report card was recently released, and the U.S. overall grade in disaster preparedness was a C-. This grade would strongly indicate that our medical system as a whole is not as prepared as it should be. Certainly, there are isolated incidents where the system shines, but overall, it needs some work. In this segment, Dr. Paul Kivela joins Dr. Leigh to discuss the findings of the report card, as well as what you can do to help improve the overall grade. Check the grades and see where your state ranks at www.emreportcard.org. Additionally, see what you can do to help improve the Nation's grade here.

The annual report card on the Nation's Emergency Care System was just released. How did your State do?Have you ever been to an ER? Chances are that you will at some point in your lifetime... at least once. The new comprehensive report card by The American College of Emergency Physicians looks at the current state of America’s emergency care environment and the support it is getting from state and national policies. ACEP puts this regular report card out every few years. Categories graded include: Access to care Quality and patient safety Medical liability environment Public health and injury prevention Disaster preparedness Budget cuts, a rise in hospital closings (meaning longer wait times, subsequently causing a strain on other hospitals), fewer and fewer psychiatric facilities to help our Nation's mentally ill all led to the Nation's overall grade this year... a D+. Special guest, Dr. Angela Gardner, joins Dr. Leigh to discuss the results, as well as what this means for the future of emergency room care. To view the results and see where your state rates, as well as what you can do, go to www.emreportcard.org.

Recent panic arose when a passenger loaded a plane while sick with TB. Is there an epidemic on the horizon? Or is this worry for no reason?Recent panic arose when a passenger loaded a plane while sick with Tuberculosis. But was there really a reason to panic? Can you get TB from flying? It's not as much of a problem as you might think. You actually have a much higher risk of getting the flu than you would TB. Tuberculosis is a contagious airborne bacterial infection that involves your lungs primarily, but may spread to other organs. Dr. Greg Moran joins Dr. Leigh and helps clear the air about the infection known as TB and what your actual risk factors truly are.

Are free standing emergency departments as good as the real thing?If you are like most people these days, you are running all day, every day and lead a very busy lifestyle. Perhaps your primary care doctor does not even have office hours that are conducive to your availability. Out of consumer necessity, more and more free standing emergency departments are popping up all over the country. Free standing ERs are every bit as regulated as traditional emergency rooms. They are fully staffed, fully accredited, licensed and give the same high quality care as hospital-based ERs. Special guest, Dr. Henry Higgins, talks about the need for these free standing Emergency departments, as well as the real benefits they provide.

Do you know when you should be going to the ER? Perhaps your medical emergency is best suited for a free-standing or urgent care center?Do you know the difference between an Emergency Room and an Urgent Care Center? Unfortunately, many individuals do not. Many people may be flocking to Urgent Care Centers to get treated for emergencies because the news about ER overcrowding and related problems. But this can be very dangerous; even life threatening. Urgent Care Centers are categorized as a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of ambulatory care. They primarily treat injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care, but that are not considered serious or life-threatening. Dr. Henry Higgins joins Dr. Leigh to help clear the confusion between these important medical facilities. He discusses when you should go to an emergency room rather than a free-standing clinic.

Molly or MDMA, also known as ecstasy, is a very dangerous drug that your teen may be more familiar with than you know.Do you know Molly? Chances are your child might. Maybe you've even heard your teen talk about this trendy but very harmful drug. Molly or MDMA, also known as ecstasy, is a drug whose effects resemble that of a stimulant and psychedelics. This drug has been around for a long time now; but Molly is the current street name for this drug and, unfortunately, the perception is that it is safer. This is not true at all. Expert Dr. Jose Torradas joins ER 101 to help you sift through the confusion and dangers about this popular club drug. His enlightening interview may just save your child's life.

Is your teen using drugs or trying your prescription medications? One study shows they  just might be.Do you suspect that your teen may be using drugs? It is many parents' worst fear. Recently, a new study has come out stating that one in 10 older teens have misused a prescription drug. Are your children getting the true message of the dangers that come with drug and alcohol use? Your child may very well be gaining access to prescription medications from your very own medicine cabinets or drawers and could be mixing them with alcohol. Dr. Jose Torradas joins Dr. Leigh to discuss the dangers drugs and prescription medications have on your adolescent. Make sure you dispose of any unused medications and reduce the access your child may currently have to these substances.

Cardiologist, Dr. Tim Fischell, weighs in on the new guidelines for preventing heart attack and stroke.Recently, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology came together to write new guidelines about statins (drugs used to lower cholesterol levels) in order to further prevent heart attack and stroke. But now, new reports suggest the risk calculator for cholesterol appears flawed. So what should you really know? Cardiologist, Dr. Tim Fischell, weighs in on this very important health matter.

Cardiologist and author of Burn Calories While You Sleep, Dr. Tim Fischell, provides diet and exercise tips to help you lose weight fast.Did you know that you can exercise while you drive? Doing so builds core strength and even changes your metabolic rate. This equates to burning more calories and losing weight. Cardiologist and author, Dr. Tim Fischell, joins Dr. Leigh to discuss his new book, Burn Calories While You Sleep. He shares proper nutrition strategies, as well as some exercise and diet tricks to help you lose that unwanted weight quickly and easily.

Could this possibly be true? Cardiologist and author, Dr. Tim Fischell says yes... you CAN lose weight while you sleep.As you reach your 30s, 40s and beyond, your fitness level decreases and your weight starts to slowly increase. You can combat this by eating healthier and keeping your exercise in check. But, what if there was just one more thing you could do to ensure you don't have to buy a pant size up? Could you actually lose weight while you sleep? Cardiologist and author, Dr. Tim Fischell, says yes! He joins Dr. Leigh to discuss his new book, Burn Calories While You Sleep, and talks about how you can be thin, fit and healthy and how you may actually live longer.

Emergency departments are backed up, oftentimes for days, in order to help people dealing with mental illness. Is that fair to you?There are major problems with the treatment of mental health patients in this country. Emergency departments are backed up, oftentimes for days, in order to help people dealing with mental illness. But is that fair to you? Is the emergency room the best place for these patients? What can be done to correct this nationwide crisis? There seems to be a misguided perception of mental disease, and there needs to be better education and understanding, as it is truly a disease just like any other... and many times just as deadly. Dr. Nathan Schlicher joins Dr. Leigh to discuss mental healthcare in the U.S., and the impact it has on emergency services. In part two of this interview, they will both share some of the challenges emergency department staff deal with on a daily basis. Listen to Part 1 of this interview.

Mental health care is a major problem in America. Why is the problem so bad? And why aren’t patients most in need getting the care they deserve?More and more we are seeing tragic events popping up all over the U.S. that are due to mentally ill individuals not receiving the care they need. Over the last few decades there has been a de-institutionalization of mental health. Perhaps the controversy and bad press surrounding the mental health facilities in earlier decades have led to this issue. Or, perhaps it is a flawed healthcare system. Regardless of the cause, much of the resulting burden has filtered into the nation's Emergency Departments, where wait times for psychiatric beds are sometimes weeks before a patient can be tended to. Dr. Nathan Schlicher joins Dr. Leigh to discuss this major problem, including just why it is so bad and what can be done.