Primary Care Today

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Herbal supplements have become increasingly popular in women's health circles, but there is a lot of misinformation about the relative benefits versus risks. How do clinicians wein their patients off harmful medications they are taking, and what health issues do women taking these medications encounter? Join Dr. McDonough and Pharmacist David Foreman to discuss the state of supplementation in and outside of health practices today.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough talks with Dusty Eber, creator and president of PatientSyle, an alternative hospital gown provider attempting to change the way patients see their medical experience. PatientStyle promotes its patient gown apparel as being high quality without compromising of medical service functions.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP The notorious "Freshman 15" equates to weight gain commonly experienced by college-age students living away from home for the first time. How does this problem in weight management and healthy nutrition surface in primary care practice, and how can college students be counseled to avoid gaining extra weight during their first year? Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to speak on this subject is Alice Holland, RNP, Director of Student Health Services at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Join Dr. Brian McDonough as he discusses the past versus present environments of medical practice with award winning journalist Steven Jacob. The two discuss a myriad of important topics encircling primary care, from the rise of concierge physicians and micropractices to accountable care organizations and healthcare costs.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes Attila Hildmann, author of the international bestsellers Vegan for Fun and Vegan for Fit. Mr. Hildmann's work to promote veganism from a practical, cost-conscious perspective has revolutionized the German-language cooking and diet book market, which is the second largest in the world after the U.S. He discusses the health benefits versus day-to-day challenges of incorporating veganism into one's life, and how primary care clinicians can become involved in helping patients transition to healthier dietary patterns.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP What are the differences in managing the Ebola virius in Africa versus the United States? It has been relatively controlled to date, but what are the major concerns in spreading? Host Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes special guest Dr. Kamar Adeleke, cardiologist in New Castle, Delaware, whose practice includes frequent travels to Nigeria where he teaches at affiliated medical schools. 

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new clinical guidelines recommending against screening pelvic examination in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women. The college describes the recommendation as strong, with moderate-quality evidence. What are the new guidelines? What does this mean for the general practitioner? Joining host Dr. Brian McDonough is Molly Cooke, MD. FACP, Professor of Medicine and inaugural Director of Education for Global Health Sciences at UCSF. Dr. Cooke serves on the ACP Clinical Guidelines Committee. She reviews the guidelines from the perspective as a general practitioner and the choices she must make during the time she has with patients. The guidelines were published online July 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes Charles Cleary, President and CEO of Leadership Outcomes, Inc, a healthcare management consulting firm. Mr. Cleary's specialty is in helping healthcare organizations define outcomes to sustain the highest levels of medical & surgical quality care, patient engagement, satisfaction and retention. Their discussion centers on the ever-present mandate for higher quality care at greater efficiency and lower cost, and how individual practitioners and organizations alike can work to turn the seemingly impossible into reality.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP The most common reason for patients to visit healthcare providers at all levels is to treat pain. Yet in spite of this known trend, medical education woefully underemphasizes methods to approach the myriad of communicative, ethical, and procedural issues deeply entrenched in modern pain management. Here to shed more light on this complex subject with host Dr. Brian McDonough are Drs. Sean Yanchunas and Jeffrey Fudin. Dr. Yanchunas, Pharm.D, MBA, is Clinical Content Manager and Workflow Subject Matter Expert at Catholic Health East Hospital. Dr. Fudin is Clinical Pharmacy Specialist and Director of Pharmacy Pain Residency Programs at the Stratton Veterans Administration Medical Center in Albany, NY. He is also host of the popular blog PainDr.com.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Randa Sifri is an Associate Professor of the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the Sydney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Director of Reasearch in the Department, and Research Fellowship Director. Listen as Dr. Brian McDonough interviews Dr. Sifri on early diagnosis, prevention, and recommended screenings for cancer in primary care patients.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough interviews Dr. Kimberly Richter, a professor at University of Kansas Medical Center--Author of "Big Marijuana--Lessons from Big Tobacco" in the New England Journal of Medicine. The United States is divided over legalization of marijuana. Some of the points discussed include individual rights, tax revenue, medical effects, and social benefits and costs of marijuana legalization.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with Larry Bauer, CEO of the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC), a leading organization dedicated to the growth of family medicine and primary care nationwide. Mr. Bauer has spent over two decades helping connect those interested in improving the health of their community by strengthening family medicine/primary care services and medical education.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Primary care medicine is at the forefront for listening and responding to patients who suffer from chronic pain. Yet due to the myriad of potential causes and difficulty to treat, a regular office visit can become much more complex once a patient states he or she has pain. How do clinicians determine when the pain is physiologic vs psychologic in origin, and how can the potential for abuse of pain medicine be minimized? Host Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with Dr. Adrian Popescu to determine what clinicians can do to uncover these issues and properly address and manage pain symptoms. Dr. Popescu is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Popescu is also Pain Medicine Program Director at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP This week, Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes Dr. Janelle von Bargen, Instructor at the University of Delaware and member of the Behavioral Medicine faculty for the Saint Francis Family Medicine Residency Program in Wilmington, DE. Their discussion centers on the perspectives of the Behaviorist in numerous facets of primary care practice, from psychiatric patient screening and treatment considerations to electronic health record utilization.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Natural family planning (NFP), also called fertility awareness, is a method of birth control that does not use any drugs or devices. Despite gaining traction of late, there are varying attitudes and sentiments from the medical community toward this practice. Dr. Robert Motley, President of Medical Staff at Lehigh Valley Health Network, joins host Dr. Brian McDonough to describe this alternative approach and its respective advantages and disadvantages for patients.   Download and listen today!    

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes Dr. Nancy Fan, practicing OB/GYN at Saint Francis Hospital in Wilmington, DE and current Chair of the School Health Committee for the Medical Society of Delaware, to discuss challenges and controversies surrounding breast feeding recommendations in maternity care practice.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Torpey White, Director of the Governance, Risk and Compliance Group. Their discussion will focus on compliance, as well as how to utilize electronic technology in order to benefit your patients. Mr. White will also touch on the HIPAA privacy rule, accepting credit card payments from patients, and how to securely handle patient data. He will also share his opinion on how physicians can protect their practices, as well as their patients' confidential information.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Tune in to hear how Chip Cleary serves as an advisor to physicians and others about Healthcare and Business.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP On this special program, Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with Chrissy McCoog and her father, Lou Antosh, about their collective experience in navigating a topsy-turvy healthcare system through the diagnosis, management, and followup of Chrissy's chronic kidney disease, Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Ms. McCoog details her nearly 20-year path as patient, and the struggles and triumphs she has witnessed. Mr. Antosh also describes his parental point of view as central advocate for his daughter's health and wellbeing, and the public awareness of FSGS that they are both trying to spread through the nonprofit organization, NephCure.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough welcomes Dr. Shoshanna Sofaer, Professor and Robert P. Luciano Chair of Health Care Policy at Baruch College in New York. Dr. Sofaer has a wide range of research interests: health care quality measurement and improvement; interventions to provide health care consumers with information to support them in choosing and using health care wisely; broad-based coalitions and partnerships to pursue community health improvement objectives; and innovative medical education programs to increase the extent to which physicians integrate biomedical knowledge with interpersonal skills in working with patients.