Dr. Robert Wachter, Author of the "The Digital Doctor"

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Robert Wachter, Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine at U.C. San Francisco. He is considered the founder of the "hospitalist" movement and is author of The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age which examines the challenges being experienced in the rapid transition to digital medicine.

Dr. Robert Wachter, Author of the "The Digital Doctor"

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Robert Wachter, Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine at U.C. San Francisco. He is considered the founder of the "hospitalist" movement and is author of The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age which examines the challenges being experienced in the rapid transition to digital medicine.

Reaction to Philadelphia’s New Mask Orders: “A Little Premature”

“It feels a little premature…I might have waited a little longer to see what happens.”

That’s the reaction from COVID expert Dr. Robert Wachter to Philadelphia’s decision to again require people to wear masks indoors, including in schools and daycares. It’s the first major American city to take this step. Wachter is chair of the Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco and a popular voice on Twitter.

He also shares that policymakers, including those looking at renewing public transportation mask orders, must consider that the public is tired of wearing masks after over two years.

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter’s full interview with Dr. Wachter is available now.

Ukraine Doctor’s War Dispatch: Horrific Criminal Acts

Dr. Iryna Voloshyna, a primary care medical professor in Ukraine, shares a harrowing account of how she and others have tried to deliver urgently needed oncology medication to patients but “can’t give them to our people…because there is no road, there are only Russian military soldiers who try to kill everyone who tries to bring boxes.”

Dr. Voloshyna tells Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that she and her daughter had to sleep on the subway station floor for a week, and their lives are still interrupted by air sirens. She says the Russians have “criminally interrupted” the Ukrainian way of life.

The Opioid Crisis Hasn’t Gone Away: NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow on Addiction Epidemic Amid COVID-19

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Volkow discusses her pioneering work in brain imaging which has given us a window into how addiction works in the brain. She discusses her recent report on susceptibility to COVID-19 for those with Substance Use Disorder, her concerns about increase in overdoses during the pandemic, and the need to curtail the vaping industry which is leading to a dangerous spike in nicotine addiction among young adults.

Dr. Eric Viire, Medical Director, XPrize Competition

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Eric Viire, Medical and Technical Director of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE Competition and the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE which seeks to put the future of health care in the palm of your hands. Dr. Viire discusses the competition finalists utilizing technological advances that are making it possible to develop hand held diagnostic sensors capable of identifying numerous conditions in one device.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma Talks Expansion of Telehealth, Development of COVID-19 Vaccine and Answers Recent Allegations

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Seema Verma, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Trump administration, a trillion dollar-a-year agency providing health coverage for 130 million vulnerable Americans on Medicaid and Seniors on Medicare. She discusses the agency’s dramatic transformation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including hundreds of waivers lifting restrictions for providers across the country, a swift expansion of telehealth adoption, and Operation Warp Speed’s quest to provide a safe and efficacious vaccine for widespread distribution, once it is approved. She also addresses recent allegations around agency spending questions.

Young Deaths from Colorectal Cancer Skyrocket as New Research Emerges

The recent death of former college football player Craig Roh from colon cancer at age 33 has brought attention to the “alarming” increase of colorectal cancer in young people. The American Cancer Society reports colon cancer is now the most common cause of cancer deaths in men under 50 and second for women under 50.

Dr. Alan Venook at the University of California-San Francisco is one of the nation’s leading colorectal cancer researchers. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and Dr. Venook explains to “Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter how to stem the rise in cases among young people.

Dr. Venook also talks about his research that found there’s no compromise in colorectal cancer patient survival or the risk of recurrent cancer over time with less radiation—a finding that goes against conventional wisdom.

Colorectal Cancer Rising for Millennials & Gen Z: How to Reverse the Trend

About 1 in 5 colorectal patients are now under the age of 55, and colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men under age 50 and the second for women under 50.

During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, we present this encore presentation of our interview with Dr. Alan Venook. Dr. Venook is with the University of California-San Francisco and is one of the nation’s leading colorectal cancer researchers. He explained to “Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter what it will take to reverse the rise in cases among young people.

Dr. Venook also talked about his research that found there’s no correlation in colorectal cancer patient survival or the risk of recurrent cancer over time with less radiation—a finding that goes against conventional wisdom.

Originally broadcast February 15 2024.

How VA Innovation Affects the Entire Health Care System

The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system. But how much do you know about how well VA Medical Centers and clinics identify innovative therapies, practices and policies and then diffuse them across a large footprint?

Ryan Vega, MD, MSHA, leads the Innovation Ecosystem within the Veterans Health Administration. This initiative focuses on being the catalyst for enabling the discovery and spread of mission-driven health care innovation to advance care delivery and service.

Dr. Vega highlights point-of-care manufacturing and its 3D Printing Network that were essential during the early days of COVID and the VA’s history of deploying the first cardiac pacemaker.

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter talk to Dr. Vega about these breakthroughs, how they help the entire health care sector and where the VA is partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers.

How Do We Get More Latinas Interested in Nursing? Ideas & Inspiration from Authors of New Book

Our guests were looking for a book that told real-life stories about Latinas in nursing, but they couldn’t find one. So they took the job upon themselves and wrote their own book, titled “Latinas in Nursing: Stories of Determination, Inspiration, and Trust.”

The book is a compilation of the beautiful stories of the challenges, growth and discovery influential Latina nurses share about their journeys, including during the COVID pandemic. Right now, Hispanics make up 19% of the total U.S. population but only about 8% of registered nurses are Latina.

Join us as Tina Loarte-Rodríguez and Zacnité Vargas-Avalos bring their book to life in conversation with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

Mayo Clinic Long COVID Expert Dr. Greg Vanichkachorn: Cases Down as Stigma Continues

The director of Mayo Clinic's COVID Activity Rehabilitation Program says they’re seeing a decrease in Long COVID cases, likely due to variant changes and the effectiveness of vaccines. Dr. Greg Vanichkachorn describes Long COVID as a group of symptoms that linger longer than the normal COVID recovery period. He says fatigue and physical complaints decrease but patients have lingering cognitive effects like brain fog.

Unfortunately, Dr. Vanichkachorn says patients can still face stigma for the condition and he says some clinicians also do when they deliver such a diagnosis. In order to reach everyone, clinicians are increasing efforts to inform diverse populations, including hourly workers and farmers who may be coping in silence.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also learn how olfactory retraining and cognitive behavioral therapy are encouraged for Long COVID patients.

World Health Organization’s Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove Speaks About the Global Pandemic

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead at the WHO. They discuss the world’s lack of readiness and supply chain infrastructure to confront the pandemic. She says the lessons learned from this collective ‘trauma’ is sparking new efforts to build more robust surveillance and response systems for emerging pathogens, the concerning new variant out of India, and the need to accelerate global vaccinations to stop the continued spread of the pandemic.

WHO: What China Must Do Now to Help Fight COVID

A top World Health Organization public health official is adding nuance to the agency’s call for more transparency from China, which is coping with a crippling COVID-19 outbreak since it ended its zero-COVID policy last month.

Maria Van Kerkhove, Ph.D., WHO Technical Lead for COVID-19 Response, tells “Conversations on Health Care” that “We really need better understanding on the burden and the hospitalizations and we need more information on the sequences…they have detected known sub-variances…but we need those sequences to be shared publicly. We want China to work with us to really determine within those sublineages…is there anything else within those sequences that’s different. And we need a global community to look at that. And work directly with us to do a full risk assessment.

“Right now they’re going through a massive wave of Omicron. This virus, as transmissible as it is, is passing through the population. They are sharing information. It’s just not enough. It’s just not as detailed as we’d like.”

Van Kerkhove joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to share her insights.

Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, Founder of Give an Hour

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, clinical psychologist and founder of Give an Hour, an organization dedicated to matching returning veterans and their families with behavioral practitioners who volunteer their time. Dr. Van Dahlen talks about the psychological impact of war and mobilizing civilians to support active duty service members, veterans, and their families.

All of Your Health Information Is Now a Right Not a Privilege - ONC Head Tells Us More

As of October 6, 2022, all health care organizations in the United States are legally required to give patients unrestricted access to all their health records in a digital format.

Micky Tripathi, Ph.D., National Coordinator for Health IT at the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, is excited about this change and its ability to empower patients. Yet the free flow of data also poses security risks. He tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter what protections Americans can take and the incredible opportunities health IT offers us during this time of medical challenges.

Chris Trimble, Author of <i>How Physicians Can Fix Health Care: One Innovation at a Time</i>

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Chris Trimble, organizational innovation expert from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and author of How Physicians Can Fix Health Care: One Innovation at a Time. Mr. Trimble addresses the need for innovation strategies that must be deployed in this era of rapid transformation within the health care industry.

Interview with NBC’s Dr. John Torres On Location at Aspen Ideas: Health

Millions look to NBC News Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. John Torres for advice and insights about their health. But how is he coping with surveys that show Americans lost trust in mainstream media during the pandemic and are increasingly turning to social media for health news? He gives us good advice about where to go for verified information.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also ask him about his role with NATO Special Forces on a variety of initiatives including tactical combat casualty care, combat simulations, and medical leadership. Join us for this special conversation, recorded on location at Aspen Ideas: Health.

Dr. Eric Topol, Cardiologist, Geneticist and Director of the Scripps Translational Institute.

Conversations speaks this week with Dr. Eric Topol, Director of the Scripps Translational Institute and author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care. Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Topol about the pivotal role genomics and telemedicine is having on health care, and the potential for a health care revolution with these emerging technologies.

Dr. Eric Topol, Cardiologist, Geneticist and Director of the Scripps Translational Institute.

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Eric Topol, Director of the Scripps Translational Institute and author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care. Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Topol about the pivotal role genomics and telemedicine are having on health care, and the potential for a health care revolution with these emerging technologies.