Pediatrician Dr. Peter Hotez Creates New Vaccine; Gives Advice for Families With Young Children Staying Safe During Surge

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, and co-creator of a new, low-cost vaccine for COVID-19. Dr. Hotez discusses plans for Corbevax, a recombinant protein vaccine shown to be highly protective against COVID-19, which has just been given Emergency Use Authorization by the Indian government. Dr. Hotez’s plan is to make the formula available to poor and developing countries around the world, without any expectation of payment, to accelerate the pace of global vaccinations and bring the pandemic to an end. He also offers important advice to families with children navigating the omicron surge while heading back to school.

COVID Expert Dr. Hotez On His Own Positive Case: What He’s Learned

Dr. Peter Hotez, who helped develop a patent-free COVID-19 vaccine, has tested positive himself for a breakthrough strain of the virus. He explained to “Conversations on Health Care” that he’s doing “pretty well” and is confident that’s because he’s fully vaccinated and double-boosted.

Dr. Hotez shared with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that he’d been taking the oral antiviral medication Paxlovid when the interview was recorded. He said it’s a good drug with solid evidence but also suggested that the amount of virus and its replication may ultimately require a longer course of treatment with Paxlovid; right now it’s only approved for five days.

Dr. Hotez also addresses questions about rising cases, booster shots, the anti-science movement and other important issues.

Cleveland Clinic Innovations Executive Director Peter O'Neill on their Innovation Strategy

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Peter O'Neill, Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the commercialization branch of Cleveland Clinic dedicated to bringing clinicians' inventions to the marketplace. Mr. O'Neill discusses the system that supports the clinicians/inventors, Cleveland Clinic's global expansion, and their annual list of technologies that will disrupt health care.

Peter Speyer, Chief Data and Technology Officer at IHME

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Peter Speyer, Chief Data and Technology Officer at the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation at the University of Washington. Mr. Speyer discusses their ground-breaking ongoing global health report, Global Burden of Disease, which utilizes big data analytics to provide an accurate measure of diseases leading to morbidity and mortality in 200 countries around the world.

Telemedicine Champion Dr. Peter Yellowlees Discusses Impact of Telehealth on Access to Care

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Peter Yellowlees, President-elect of the American Telemedicine Association which seeks to improve health care delivery through better use of remote medicine technologies. Dr. Yellowlees discusses his decades of work at the University of California Davis advancing the use of telemedicine in clinical and behavioral care.

Professor Timothy Jost, Washington and Lee University School of Law

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Professor Timothy Jost, Law Professor and Legal Scholar on Public Health Policy and the Affordable Care Act. Professor Jost, a frequent legal contributor to Health Affairs and NPR, discusses the Supreme Court Hearing on the Affordable Care Act; the constitutional implications and the potential outcomes of the Court's decision on the legality of the individual mandate.

Professor Timothy Jost, Washington and Lee University School of Law

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Timothy Jost, Attorney and Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law. Mr. Jost is an expert on health law and the Affordable Care Act and examines challenges with the roll-out of the exchanges, and potential legal threats moving forward.

From the Front Line in Romania to Washington DC: Project HOPE Supporting the Refugee Crisis

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Project HOPE’s CEO Rabih Torbay and Director of Emergency Response and Preparedness Tom Cotter, who joined the show from the field in Bucharest, Romania. They share the daunting task of providing extensive support and local training to the existing medical infrastructure in handling both the destruction of medical facilities within Ukraine and the millions of refugees in need of medical and behavioral health services as they arrive in neighboring countries. “These people have all experienced trauma,” Cotter said. They are training local laypersons in Psychological First Aid techniques to help the refugees transition to safety. Project HOPE is also keeping supply lines going into Ukraine with desperately needed medical supplies. “Even if this conflict ended tomorrow, the destruction will take years to rebuild,” Torbay said. They expect to be assisting in the region for a long time. And they continue to provide medical support in 30 countries around the world dealing with COVID-19, famine, and military conflict, with a particular focus on women and children’s health.

First Transgender Presidential Appointee: HHS Assistant Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine on Biden Administration’s Commitment to Health Equity

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Dr. Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services, the first transgender presidential appointee approved by the Senate. A pediatrician with a focus on child and adolescent behavioral health, and former Pennsylvania Health Secretary, Dr. Levine focuses on the dramatic toll exacted on the nation’s children by the pandemic, the need to advance health equity for the LGBTQ and all vulnerable populations, and the promise of telehealth to eliminate barriers to care.

Are Long Covid Patients Exaggerating? Biden Top Doctor Says No: “Long COVID is real”

U.S. health officials now estimate 7–23 million Americans have developed Long COVID, which can last weeks or months.

Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, joins “Conversations on Health Care” to push back against Long COVID doubters.

She says, “We don’t know exactly what is causing Long COVID, it might not be one thing, but Long COVID is real and those patients need support and they need treatment. We want to emphasize that patients are not malingering but we don’t know exactly what causes it. It might be a chronic infection with COVID-19 or a chronic inflammatory response.”

Admiral Levine is hopeful research will provide more answers for Long COVID and other conditions that are similar.

She also discusses the latest on monkeypox, access to reproductive health and LGBTQ+ issues with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

Raj Chetty, PhD, Professor of Public Economics at Stanford University

This week, Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Raj Chetty, PhD, MacArthur Fellow and Professor of Public Economics at Stanford University, who's much-lauded research focuses on the impact of zip code on health and economic outcomes. Dr Chetty is lead author on a recent study confirming the widening gap in life expectancy between the poor and the wealthy.

Health Disparities by Zip Code, Race and Poverty: Stanford's Raj Chetty Continues to Find Links

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with renowned Stanford economist Dr. Raj Chetty on his seminal work linking zip code, poverty and health and economic disparity. Dr. Chetty has mined large data sets from the US Census Bureau and public tax information to confirm the undeniable link between poverty, race and the lack of upward mobility, as well as a widening gap in life expectancy between the rich and poor in America.

Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, Founder and President of The Civic Engine

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, Founder of The Civic Engine which assists civic leaders in strengthening the economic drivers of health in communities. The long-time Director of Occupational and Environmental Health for San Francisco, Dr. Bhatia developed innovative Health Impact Assessment tools to improve health throughout all sectors of the city focusing on open data sharing and transparency.

Protecting the Health of Our Nation's Active Duty Military and Families: Defense Health Agency Director Vice Admiral Raquel Bono

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Vice Admiral Dr. Raquel Bono, Director of the Defense Health Agency, tasked with providing health services for some 9.4 million members and their families. She talks about the complex, integrated health system providing care from the home base to the battlefield, the implementation of an integrated electronic health records system, and the partnerships required to support the DHA's mission to deliver quality care to all members stationed around the globe.

Reimagining the Future of Health Care: Chief Innovation Officer of UPMC, Dr. Rasu Shrestha on Design Thinking and Innovation

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rasu Shrestha, Chief Innovation Officer of UPMC and VP of UPMC Enterprises, the entrepreneurial division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Shrestha is also Co-Chair of Health Datapalooza, and discusses the need for design thinking and building a culture of innovation to truly transform the health care system.

Raymond Hurd, Regional Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Raymond Hurd, Regional Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the Medicare Open Enrollment period. He discusses the expanded number of plans available to seniors and also warns of the threat of fraud and scams that impact the Medicare population.

Guns are Killing American Children: University of Michigan Researcher Rebecca Cunningham is Seeking To Find Out Why

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, Director of the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center. Dr. Cunningham is leading a national team of scientists in ground-breaking collaborative research to examine the myriad causes of the gun violence epidemic in this country, now the leading cause of death for America’s teens, and second leading cause of death for American children overall. Congress has recently allocated money for gun violence research after a two-decade drought. Her team is examining social causes, policy requirements and prevention interventions to address the crisis.

Rebecca Patton, president of the American Nurses Association, on the critical role of nursing in meeting the challenge of healthcare access and transformation.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week—National Nurses Week—on the role nursing played in health reform, and the challenges ahead. ANA President Rebecca Patton speaks with Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter about the opportunities for nursing and the country to achieve the goals of the health reform legislation.

Is your State ready for the Hurricane? Dr Rebekah Gee, Louisiana Commissioner of Health

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rebekah Gee, Louisiana Health Secretary on the state's improved storm preparedness based on lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Gee talks about the newly created statewide data base of vulnerable patients, hospital evacuation plans and networked electronic health records as hedges against storm casualties, and how they are assisting Texas and Florida in the wake of two hurricanes. She also discusses the state's improved primary care network after Governor Edwards expanded Medicaid.

Louisiana Health Secretary Rebekah Gee on Tech-Driven Solutions to Storm Preparedness Developed After Katrina and How Expanded Medicaid Coverage Has Improved Population Health

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rebekah Gee, Louisiana Health Secretary on the state's improved storm preparedness plans based on lessons learned from the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. She talks about the robust state-wide electronic health record system created after the storm including a statewide data base of vulnerable populations for better evacuation strategies, what they've shared with other states facing weather disasters, and how expanded Medicaid has dramatically improved access to primary and preventive care in Louisiana, yielding better health outcomes.