Second Opinion Live!

Guest: Connie Mariano, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD In this rebroadcast of the July 21st show, our hosts talk to former presidential physician Dr. Connie Mariano, who made house calls to the White House for 9 years (and on Air Force One and across the globe). Her new book is called The White House Doctor: My Patients Were Presidents — A Memoir (Thomas Dunne Books, 2010). Also, technologist Dr. Joseph Kim checks in to talk about the 'meaningful use' rules that were announced July 13th.

Guest: Anthony Alessi, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD In this show, our hosts get an update from ReachMD host Dr. Anthony Alessi, from Haiti, six months after the earthquake. And, they question Dr. Andrew Wakefield, widely-known for his controversial and discredited research linking the MMR vaccine with autism. He has a new book about his experiences, Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines: The Truth Behind a Tragedy.

Guest: Ram Gordon, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD In this rebroadcast of the Wednesday, June 9th show, your hosts talk with Dr. Ram Gordon, who published an article recently on the remarkable relationship from early in his career that started with a letter from a patient. Plus: tattoos that detect glucose levels and other high tech developments, donuts, your health and the government.

Guest: Hugh Montgomery, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD In this rebroadcast of the 5/24 show, guest Dr. Hugh Montgomery, ultra-marathoner, sky-diver, mountaineer, writer, world-record holder, and professor of intensive care medicine who discovered a gene for fitness, slows down long enough to talk to our hosts. Plus: did Dr. J. Craig Venter create synthetic life? And can you make a safer hot dog?

Guest: Neil Baum, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz welcome this week's guests to talk about your practice and career: Dr. Neil Baum, author of Marketing Your Clinical Practice: Ethically, Effectively, Economically and Tim Rush, whose job-finder platform for healthcare professionals powers ReachMD's new Career Center. Plus, Believe it Not! an Indian yogi who hasn't had anything to eat or drink in 70 years.

Guest: Mark Pendergrast Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Hosts Drs. Michael Greenberg and Matt Birnholz interview Mark Pendergrast, author of the new book Inside the Outbreaks: the Elite Medical Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service. The Second Opinion Live hosts also discuss new research on salt, chocolate, and a patient who's opened his case to the Internet and the wisdom of crowds. Plus, can martial arts teach senior citizens how to fall?

Guest: Gerald Metz, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Second Opinion Live speaks with the new medical director of the Final Exit Network, Dr. Gerald Metz. Dr. Metz has assumed this role as the former medical director has temporarily stepped aside pending the outcome of legal issues related to investigations and court issues in several states. Final Exit Network is an organization that provides "exit guides" to assist terminally ill people who want to "end their time on Earth." Other topics include discussion of recent court cases related to patenting human genes, an electronic nose, bomb disposal teams in the operating room and the ReachMD Poll.

Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Guest: Sherry Seethaler, PhD Hosts Drs. Michael Greenberg and Matt Birnholz are joined by guest Dr. Sherry Seethaler, author of the recently published book Curious Folks Ask: 162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions, Fascinating Products and Medical Mysteries — and our hosts try to understand some of the origins of several medical myths and mysteries. They also discuss pill popping in the military, the explosion of Health Information Acronyms - and more! This is the one-year anniversary of Second Opinion Live — don't miss it!

Guest: Kaiser Fung Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD In this rebroadcast of the March 17th show, your hosts talk to Kaiser Fung, author of the book Numbers Rule Your World: The Hidden Influence of Probability and Statistics on Everything You Do, about controversies in PSA screening, mammogram guidelines, personalized medicine and placebos. Plus: Smartphones, primary care salaries, and more.

Guest: Rebecca Patchin, MD Guest: Joseph Kim, MD, MPH Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Dr. Rebecca Patchin, American Medical Association board chair, gives the view from Capitol Hill after several days of testifying and speaking with legislators about the various needs of healthcare reform. Topics include reimbursement rates, health insurance and others. Also on this week's program, Dr. Matt Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg speak with Dr. Joe Kim from the HIMSS Conference in Atlanta about some of the latest in medical IT offerings.

Guest: James Watson Guest: Joseph Kim, MD, MPH Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Host Dr. Matt Birnholz talks with Dr. James Watson, winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA. They discuss Dr. Watson's current and most pressing interest in cancer research, and its biochemical causes. Also, blogger and physician technologist Dr. Joseph Kim joins Drs Michael Greenberg and Matt Birnholz to talk about Apple's new iPad and its potential uses in healthcare. Dr. Kim is the author of several blogs, including Medicine and Technology. And in the Forum, Greenberg and Birnholz discuss the Lancet retraction of the MMR vaccine and autism link research.

Guest: Anthony Alessi, MD Guest: Lewis Zirkle, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Guest: Daniel Fitzgerald, MD Several weeks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we revisit the medical response with three physicians, all with different specialties and all with a deep connection to Haiti. Hosts Dr. Matt Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg speak with Dr. Anthony Alessi, host of ReachMD's NeuroFrontiers and a practicing neurologist, who traveled to Haiti on a medical mission. We also also speak with Dr. Lewis G. Zirkle, Jr., an orthopedic surgeon who introduced the SIGN (Surgical Implant Generation Network) program. Additionally, our hosts speak with Dr. Daniel Fitzgerald, from the Weill Cornell Medical College, about his work with Gheskio Relief in Haiti.

Guest: Josephine Briggs, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Joining our hosts this week is Dr. Josephine P. Brigggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dr. Briggs brings her focus on translational research to the position. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the agency, Dr. Briggs discusses what has been learned and what can be expected in the future. Also on the program: a look back at the top medical stories of the year, a discussion of the latest ReachMD Poll, and the curious case of one New York clinic with two entrances, two names, and two pricing structures.

Guest: Thomas Krueger, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD It is a long way from the tranquil hills of Tennessee to the war-torn streets of Nigeria, Darfur or Sri Lanka, but that path is the one chosen by surgeon Dr. Thomas Krueger. Dr. Krueger served overseas on four missions with Doctors Without Borders, the international medical organization, and has plans to go abroad again. He is also featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary on the organization, Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders. In this discussion with the Second Opinion Live hosts, Dr. Krueger speaks about what he learned, how he helped, and why this service was important for him to perform.

Guest: Michael Barratt, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Listen as Second Opinion Live speaks with guest Dr. Michael Barratt — physician, astronaut, and the man who literally wrote the book on space medicine. Dr. Barratt returned to Earth in October, 2009, after 200 days on board the International Space Station. Plus, hosts Dr. Matt Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg debate the latest mammogram guidelines, whether heart disease is the real "Curse of the Mummy," and more.

Guest: Lisa Sanders, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Dr. Lisa Sanders writes the monthly "Diagnosis" column for the New York Times Magazine, which became the inspiration for the television show "House, M.D." But her first love is still teaching about clinical reasoning and diagnostic errors. Her new book, Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis, is about embracing the role of detective as a physician. They discuss patient stories — how to encourage them, how to listen, and what we can learn from them. Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Birnholz also look at a new study suggesting that taking family history as part of the standard patient work-up may not improve clinical decision-making. And, can we kill cancer cells with curry?

Guest: Karen Zupko Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Medical practices across the country are dealing with financial pressures, the likes of which we haven't seen before. It has put a premium on our ability to maximize efficiency while still maintaining the standard of patient care. In many cases, revenues are down, as some patients are forced to adjust to the current economic environment. Those patients who do come in may not be able to pay as quickly as they have in the past, and as a result, you may be planning to put off capital improvements or a new auxillary service until another time. Karen Zupko, president of the national firm Karen Zupko & Associates, answers your practice management questions and speaks with hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz about a range of current business issues in medicine. Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Birnholz also riff on an intriguing new British study of innovative ways to improve hand washing rates; they challenge you to reconsider yo

Guest: Stan Brock Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD The need for quality medical care outstrips the capacity of local providers in many cities and towns across the United States. Remote Area Medical (RAM) is one organization working to meet this demand, recruiting volunteers in medicine, dentistry, optometry and beyond to donate their time and energy by participating in coordinated free health care events. At a major health camp in Los Angeles in August, over 15,000 people turned out to receive care, but RAM was only able to provide services to less than half of the people who showed up. The problem? In California, as in nearly every other state, state laws prohibit physicians and other care providers from coming across state lines to secure a temporary medical license to participate in these health camps. With the leadership of founder Stan Brock, RAM is working hard to loosen these restrictions and provide an opportunity for altruistic practitioners to lend a hand. Mr. Brock detai

Guest: Norman Edelman, MD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD We are moving closer to the height of what many feel will be an extraordinarily busy flu season, with H1N1 and the seasonal flu both central parts of the discussion. We don't know exactly how serious H1N1 will be, but we do know that it's here, that many more people could get sick, and that we have to be prepared to deal with it. Hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz speak with Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association and a professor of preventive medicine and internal medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Birnholz and Dr. Greenberg will also give you their take on an amusing recitation of the health reform bill in the House known as HR 3200. They will also play back the winning entry in an entertaining yet informative contest to create a public service announcement on H1N1, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You won't w

Guest: Steven Babitsky, JD Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Physicians of all ages and stages in their careers often look for a second occupation to augment their clinical and research backgrounds; others delve into that second career full-time after they are finished practicing medicine. A generally talented, driven and curious bunch, it is not uncommon to find these current and former physicians applying their medical knowledge and skills to another line of work, whether in politics, broadcasting or book writing. If you have thought about making a change, rest assured that it is natural to have a range of questions and potential concerns about the process; perhaps, too, you're not even sure what might be out there for you. Host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Steven Babitsky, president of the non-clinical training service for physicians, SEAK, Inc., to answer these questions and provide important counsel on a range of other hurdles that could arise during your pursuit of a non-clinica