AMA Doc Talk

Technology has dramatically changed the way we approach health care in our nation at a system level, at a provider level and at a patient level. This episode will explore the positives and negatives of digital health applications and how they’re redefining health care. Joining us for this discussion are Drs. Liz Joy and Carolyn Jasik. Dr. Joy is the medical director for community health, health promotion & wellness, and food & nutrition at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. Dr. Jasik is a board-certified clinical informatics physician with experience in both clinical management of diabetes and creating digital health solutions for health behavior change. For more information about the AMA Physician Innovation Network referenced in this episode, visit ama-assn.org/pin.

More than 100 million adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, and nearly half of them are not controlled. This episode features two physicians who are leading efforts to help close the BP control gap.

It’s estimated that 10 percent of the U.S. adult population has diabetes. In addition, one in three has prediabetes, which can progress to type 2 diabetes. In this episode, we’ll discuss upstream prevention strategies to reduce the incidence and impact of type 2 diabetes. Dr. Kevin Taylor is senior medical director at Trinity Health in Michigan, and Dr. Vernon Rayford is a primary care physician in Mississippi. Both are keenly focused on identifying and implementing diabetes prevention strategies in their communities. 

Chronic pain affects 40 to 50 million people nationwide, but treating pain today is a complex issue. This episode is the first in our two-part series that addresses the opioid epidemic. We’ll hear from two physicians who are helping to improve chronic pain care in the era of opioid abuse. Dr. Steven Stanos is the medical director of pain services at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. He’s joined by Dr. Erin Krebs, a general internist whose goal is to improve pain management in primary care. 

This episode is the second in our two-part series that addresses the opioid epidemic. The discussion focuses on strategies to prevent opioid overdose by co-prescribing the reversal medication, naloxone. Dr. Leana Wen served as the Commissioner of Health for the city of Baltimore from 2015 until September 2018. In that role, she issued a blanket prescription for naloxone to all Baltimore residents, saving more than 500 people from overdose. Officer Vidal Rivera of the Camden County Police Department in New Jersey is armed with naloxone on each daily patrol, and he’s saved more than 20 lives in the three years he’s been in the police force.  

Population health is gaining traction as an optimal approach to improve health outcomes. To best serve their patients, physicians may need to think beyond the walls of the exam room.

A sugar pill isn’t the only placebo that works on patients. How you speak to your patients can affect their outcomes. What you say—and how you say it—can help position your patients for success. We’ll hear from Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, Bellevue Hospital, and associate professor of medicine, NYU. Dr. Ofri’s recently published book shows how refocusing conversations between doctors and patients can lead to better health outcomes. In addition, Adrienne Boissy, MD, MA, chief experience officer, Cleveland Clinic, will share her perspective. Active in the Office of Patient Experience since its inception, she led the development of its Center for Excellence in Healthcare Communication.

Every physician encounters unknown illnesses. Knowing what you don’t know, as well as how to talk a patient through to a potential diagnosis, can be challenging. Guest Cynthia Tifft, MD, PhD, director, Pediatric Undiagnosed Diseases Program at the National Institutes of Health has worked extensively on—and authored articles about—helping patients with rare disorders gain clarity on their condition and how to move forward. Joining us will be a patient of Dr. Tifft who has a rare condition that took several years to better understand.

Some patients have diagnosed themselves before they walk through your door. Their medical experience comes from WebMD, Google and Dr. Oz—the print-out in their hand says it all. Where does the discussion go if you disagree? How do we work through conflicting information with our patients? We’ll hear suggestions from Jane Blumenthal, associate university librarian and director, the University of Michigan’s Health Sciences Library and a national expert on information science and information validity. In addition, we’ll hear from Richard Wexler, MD, chief clinical integration officer at Healthwise, a Boise, Idaho-based not-for-profit that produces decision aids and other content to help patients with decision-making.

There’s no quick fix for chronic disease, but finding the right words to help a patient through this challenging (and seemingly endless) journey can help make the road smoother and outcome better. We’ll hear from Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle, MD, co-founder and CEO of Iora Health, who will share how patients’ relationship with care teams, along with attitudes and beliefs, can affect the way patients cope with their chronic disease. We’ll also hear a patient’s unique insight and perspective.

From skipping medication and missing appointments to not practicing self-care, patients don’t always listen to medical advice. Why does this happen? And, more importantly, how can we help them hear and follow the advice and treatments we provide? We’ll gain insights from Barron H. Lerner, MD, an ethicist and professor of medicine and population health at New York University Langone Medical Center, and the author of The Good Doctor: A Father, A Son and the Evolution of Medical Ethics.

There’s never an easy way to have this conversation. But knowing what to say and how to say it helps you provide comfort and guidance to a patient and family. Offering his experience in this area is Timothy Gilligan, MD, medical oncologist, director of coaching and co-director, Center for Excellence in Healthcare Communication, Cleveland Clinic. Additionally, Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS, director of the leukemia program and vice-chair, clinical research at the Cleveland Clinic, will join the conversation.