Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Sumant Ramachandra, MD While drug makers and consumer groups lobby Congress and the Obama administration on the best way to bring cheaper versions of biotech drugs to market, a U.S. company is already doing so overseas. How does this work and what are the prospects for biogenerics in the U.S. Dr. Sumant Ramachandra, Chief Scientific Officer at Hospira Inc. tells host Bruce Japsen about the company's work bringing cheaper biotech drugs to market.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Laurie Benton, PhD, PA-C, RN Guest: Charles Foulks, MD Sometimes two heads are better than one. That's the case when it comes to the PA/Physician team of Dr. Laurie Benton PA-C and her supervisor Dr. Charles Foulks. The two working together over the years have been able to slow the progression of kidney disease and keep their patients off dialysis. Dr. Foulks, medical officer at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Dr. Benton an orthopedic hospitalist joins host, Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to talk about the keys to a successful PA/Doctor team.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Stephen Hanson, PA-C The debate over healthcare reform is on the minds of all medical professsionals these days. What could be different for PAs if new legislation is enacted? How is the American Academy of Physician Assistants assuring that PAs are an essential part of the debate? How can you get involved to make sure your representatives in Congress hear your voice? Steven Hanson, president of the AAPA, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to sort out what the AAPA is doing to keep PAs in the healthcare reform process.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Gail Curtis, PA-C The research is yet to be written on the number of physician assistants that face substance abuse issues. Gail Curtis, an assistant professor of PA studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to discuss the reasons PAs may abuse controlled substances, how to get proper treatment and the programs that are available for medical professionals.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Rear Admiral Michael Milner, PA-C You may understand what PAs do in the five armed services of the military, but do you know about their role in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the largest public health program in the world? Rear Admiral Michael Milner joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to talk about the role of the Corps and the role that PAs play within the organization. He also discusses his path to becoming the only physician assistant to hold the rank of flag officer in any uniformed service.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Bruce Crowther The hospital report card is a much talked-about effort to provide transparency about quality information. It's becoming a more important tool for consumers, just as President Obama and Congress prepare to initiate healthcare reforms that demand such information. Bruce Crowther is president and chief executive officer of Northwest Community Hospital in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. Mr. Crowther tells host Bruce Japsen about how Northwest Community Hospital moved beyond worrying about the information they might be disclosing to competitors, to focusing the information patients and lawmakers want. It's a trend that will soon begin sweeping the country.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Nancy Nowak As President Barack Obama travels the country talking about the need for health care reform, hardly a week goes by when you don't hear the Commander in Chief talk about Intermountain Healthcare and its low costs when compared to the rest of the country. What makes this this large healthcare system an example? Nancy Nowak, vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing officer for Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Utah, tells host Bruce Japsen about this much talked-about healthcare system and how its work may be replicated across the country.

Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD Guest: David Pearce, PhD Mucopolysaccharidosis I, or MPS I, often presents initially as a child's failure to thrive, and is a diagnosis with devastating effects. How is new research able to help children with this lysosomal storage disorder? Host Dr. Bruce Bloom talks with Dr. David A. Pearce, director of the Sanford Children's Health Research Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, about advances in research into treatment options, including enzyme replacement therapy, for MPS I. Don't miss these other programs on MPS I, with host Dr. Bruce Bloom: Musculoskeletal Aspects of MPS I: Diagnosis and Management Considerations Immune System Irregularities in Lysosomal Storage Disorders Long Term Efficacy and Safety of Laronidase for MPS I

Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD Guest: David Pearce, PhD How is the immune system involved in lysosomal storage disorders, including juvenile Batten disease, Niemann-Pick type C disease and Krabbe disease? Host Dr. Bruce Bloom welcomes Dr. David A. Pearce, director of the Sanford Children's Health Research Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to discuss research into the immune response in these patients. Don't miss these other programs on MPS I, with host Dr. Bruce Bloom: Challenges in Management of MPS I Musculoskeletal Aspects of MPS I: Diagnosis and Management Considerations Long Term Efficacy and Safety of Laronidase for MPS I

Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD Guest: Gregory Pastores, MD What are the musculoskeletal signs and symptoms in children with MPS I? How can we test for MPS I? And how does the disease present in patients as they grow up? Dr. Gregory M. Pastores, associate professor of neurology and pediatrics at the New York University School of Medicine in New York, and director of the neurogenetics laboratory in the department of neurology at NYU, explores with host Dr. Bruce Bloom the diagnostic challenges and management considerations to be reviewed when treating MPS I patients. Don't miss these other programs on MPS I, with host Dr. Bruce Bloom: Challenges in Management of MPS I Immune System Irregularities in Lysosomal Storage Disorders Long Term Efficacy and Safety of Laronidase for MPS I

Host: Bruce Bloom, DDS, JD Guest: Emil Kakkis, MD, PhD Host Dr. Bruce Bloom welcomes Dr. Emil Kakkis, an advisor at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. and author of numerous published articles on mucopolysaccharidosis I, or MPS I, to discuss current treatment options. They discuss the benefits and risks of enzyme replacement therapy with laronidase. Don't miss these other programs on MPS I, with host Dr. Bruce Bloom: Challenges in Management of MPS I Immune System Irregularities in Lysosomal Storage Disorders Musculoskeletal Aspects of MPS I: Diagnosis and Management Considerations

Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Guest: J. James Rohack, MD If you've been following the health care reform debate as closely as we have, you may be suffering from a case of whiplash, with so many proposals and so little time to wade through all the back-and forth on each of them. As Congress heads into its customary August recess, we'll take a step back to examine the issues that could make or break the various proposals for overhauling our health care system. For one perspective on the progress toward reform, host Dr. Michael Greenberg welcomes American Medical Association (AMA) President Dr. James Rohack. Dr. Rohack addresses a range of issues, including the nuances of AMA's recent support for House bill HR 3200, the effectiveness of AMA in representing the interests of all physicians in this reform debate, and the prospects for true medical liability protections in the final reform bill.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Alfred Casale, MD As President Barack Obama touts what is right and wrong with the nation's healthcare system, hardly a week goes by when you don't hear him or one of this surrogates mentioning Geisinger Health System. So what does Mr. Obama see in this large Pennsylvania based medical care provider? Dr. Alfred Casale, director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Geisinger Health System tells host Bruce Japsen about the Pennsylvania system's years of experience measuring quality and improving patient care to keep costs low.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Joseph Golbus, MD, MBA The economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama provides doctors money to get their offices set up for electronic medical records over the next few years. But there are actually a few health care systems ahead of the curve on electronic medical records with systems installed and benefits being realized. Host Bruce Japsen talks with Dr. Joseph Golbus, president and CEO of the NorthShore University Health System medical group about achievements made after implementing electronic medical records several years ago.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Sharon Treat, Ms. More and more states, and even the federal government, are moving to ban drug industry gift-giving practices. So how is this legislation working, and what does it mean for physicians and their patients? Sharon Anglin Treat, executive director of the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, tells host Bruce Japsen about states moving to ban or curtail gifts from drug makers to physicians and how the effort is working in states like Vermont, Minnesota and Massachusetts.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Stan Roberts Federal law mandates that commercial truck drivers pass a medical exam in order to stay behind the wheel. Physician assistants have been authorized by the Department of Transportation to conduct these exams since 1992. But stricter certification recommendations proposed by an advisory board to the government may change the role of the PA in this process. Stan Roberts, a commercial driver medical examiner for the past 17 years, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to sort out the issues related to medical certification and US truck drivers every year.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Chip Phillips Retail health clinics, looking to expand their services, are going beyond care of routine maladies to physicals, injections of specialized drugs and management of chronic conditions. Chip Phillips, president of Minute Clinic, a subsidiary of CVS Caremark Corp., tells host Bruce Japsen about what physicians and their patients should expect from this new push by retailers.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: Robin Hunter Buskey, PA-C Physician assistants are often a vital part of the team delivering medical care to prison inmates. Robin Hunter Buskey, the 2009 PA of the Year and a senior clinical PA at the Butner Federal Corrections Complex in Butner, North Carolina, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to discuss how working in a federal prison differs from a community health system.

Host: Lisa Dandrea Lenell, PA-C, MPAS, MBA Guest: George Collins, PA-C The opportunities for physician assistants in their practices are evolving. In practices all around the country PAs are not only seeing patients they are helping to run the offices and manage employees. PA George Collins chief physician assistant and PA director for Orthocarolina in Charlotte, North Carolina, joins host, Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to discuss his leadership role and the unique business model at the large orthopedic group where he works.

Host: Bruce Japsen Guest: Ken Aldrich Expanded guidelines for stem cell research have favored federal financing for embryonic stem cell development. But some researchers in the field are looking beyond embryonic stem cells. Ken Aldrich, chief executive officer and co-founder of International Stem Cell Corporation, tells host Bruce Japsen about pluripotent stem cell research, not yet eligible for federal funding.