We often think of homelessness as a problem of the young. But recent projections suggest that the number of unhoused older adults will triple over the next decade. Today's guest is Ms. Jean Galiana, the Coordinator for Older Adult Services with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Jean discusses creative approaches for increasing housing options for the geriatric population. Jean also describes her recent book, Aging Well. Solutions to the most Pressing Global Challenges of Aging. M...
Mar 25, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the Healthy Skeptic, MD we've covered the harms of overuse of medical services in adults. But what about children? According to Dr. Samantha House, unnecessary care is a problem in Pediatrics too. In today's episode, she describes a recent JAMA analysis she authored showing that overuse of medical services in children is both common and costly.
Mar 04, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Until recently -- and to the surprise of many -- there were no diabetes treatments definitively proven to lower cardiovascular risk. Over the last 5 years, that has changed. There are now two new classes of medications that not only prevent heart attacks and strokes for patients with diabetes, but they also help with weight loss, and may have other benefits. Still, as with any new treatment, caution is in order as we are just starting to understand the full benefits and risks. To help us break i...
Feb 11, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Plastic surgery is often associated with high end cosmetic procedures, but it is much more than this, as we discuss today with Dr. Elliot Hirsch, the Chairman of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center. Plastic surgeons are among the most versatile of all surgeons, doing everything from wound care, to tissue reconstruction, to breast augmentation. In today's episode, Dr. Hirsch provides an overview of the field and offers practical tips for pati...
Jan 28, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you've done any work in the fields of Geriatrics Medicine or Healthy Aging, you've almost certainly come across Jennie Chin Hansen, my guest on today's episode. Jennie is the former President of AARP, the former CEO of the American Geriatrics Society and currently a Board Member of the SCAN Health Plan (which funds the Healthy Skeptic, MD Podcast). Jennie also spent 25 years as a nurse leader at the San Francisco-based On Lok program developing creative care models for older ad...
Jan 14, 2022•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Since the last Covid-19 surge, many things are different. More Americans are vaccinated; there's an important new pill to prevent Covid-19 complications; and there are new public health guidelines recommending a shortened isolation period after an infection. To help us break it all down, my guest today is Dr. Pieter Cohen, an internist at the Cambridge Health Alliance and the lead author of the chapter on outpatient care of Covid-19 in a prominent medical textbook. See Dr. Cohen's late...
Jan 07, 2022•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us one thing about healthcare it was that American consumers are open to new ways of receiving care. But is this also true for older adults -- who are accustomed to the traditional medical office setting? The answer is 'yes', according to Drs. Scott Weingarten and Michael Wang, leaders of a new medical group for older adults. The new group will emphasize telemedicine, home visits and other creative approaches for tailoring care to older patients.
Dec 10, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2012, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell decided he wanted to improve public safety from a new angle. He always loved running, and suspected the discipline it taught him might help others -- particularly those struggling with addiction and homelessness. He founded the Skid Row Running Club, which has now helped hundreds of people improve their mental and physical health. In today's Thanksgiving special episode, I discuss the origins of the club with Judge Mitchell as well as...
Nov 26, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast When one thinks about healthcare quality, technical issues come to mind. Was the right treatment given? What percentage of patients developed a complication from the procedure? But that is not the entire story, according to Dr. Maren Batalden, the Chief Quality Officer at the Cambridge Health Alliance. If we really care about advancing health, it is the clinician-patient relationship that may matter the most. In today's episode, Dr. Batalden explains how patients and their clinicians co-pro...
Nov 12, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2003, Dr. Elliott Fisher published a seminal series of articles. It found that patients living in certain regions of the country receive about 60% more medical care than those in other regions, and these differences do not appear to be explained by differences in the health status or other demographic factors among the regions. To the surprise of many, those living in regions with high rates of medical care use did not necessarily have better health outcomes; in fact, in some cases their outc...
Oct 29, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast A basic understanding of statistics is essential for being a savvy medical consumer. But for many, thinking about statistics brings back painful high school memories. In today's episode, primary care physician Dr. Steven Hochman -- my brother -- helps distill it in a manageable and engaging way. And you shouldn't need to dust off your old high school textbooks to understand it!
Oct 15, 2021•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the last several years, a handful of states have passed legislation authorizing physicians to provide medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. This typically comes in the form of a prescription to relieve discomfort and promote a peaceful death. According to our guest today, medical aid in dying should not only be legal everywhere, but this compassionate option should be made more accessible. For example, Dr. Chandana Banerjee, a palliative care specialist at the City of Hope Cancer ...
Oct 01, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast American medicine is fast-paced, high tech and aggressive, but it does not consistently produce excellent outcomes. In the U.S., life expectancy, maternal mortality and patient satisfaction, among other indicators, compare poorly to those in many other nations. My guest today -- Dr. Elena Hill, a family physician at the Bronxcare Health System in New York -- recommends a shift in our approach to what she describes as "Slow Medicine." Dr. Hill believes that a greater focus on the simple...
Sep 17, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Anyone following the news has probably seen the alarming headlines about the recent COVID-19 surge and children. Pediatric hospitals – particularly in southern states – have been filling up. Could this mean that the delta strain is more aggressive than prior strains in kids? Let’s not panic quite yet, says today’s guest, Pediatrician Dr. Jessica Hochman. While rates of COVID-19 are indeed surging, overall kids continue to have excellent outcomes with COVID-19, and with effective vaccines now ava...
Sep 03, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Drew Pinksy -- better known simply as "Dr. Drew" -- is one of the best known media doctors in the nation. But unlike some other "TV doctors", he has spent decades working on the front lines with patients. In fact, he has dedicated his medical career to the care of one of the most vulnerable populations: those experiencing addiction. In today's episode, Dr. Drew offers his take on the COVID-19 pandemic: what policy makers have done well and where they have fallen shor...
Aug 27, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast John Maceri has spent his career working with those experiencing homelessness. He now leads "The People Concern", one of the largest social services agencies in the western United States. In today's episode, he makes the case that homelessness is a solvable issue -- we just need the political will to fix it. **Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Skeptic MD on your favorite podcast app and on Youtube! Link for our channel on podcast apps and Youtube: wavve.link/healthyskepticmd...
Aug 13, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Growing up in the deep south and facing the challenges of discrimination, Joe Greer’s journey to medical school – and ultimately to the inner health policy circles of the George H. Bush and Clinton administrations – might have seemed unlikely. But his journey getting there was fascinating, and in the process he established one of the most renowned healthcare programs for patients experiencing homelessness in Miami. During the second half of his career, Dr. Greer turned his attention to the futur...
Jul 30, 2021•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2020, Kaiser Permanente launched a new medical school in Southern California – the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. Dr. Mark Schuster was charged with leading this new school, in his role as the Founding Dean and CEO. In today’s episode, Dr. Schuster talks about why doctors of the future may require a different skillset than the current generation, and how Kaiser plans to prepare them for this new frontier. **Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Skeptic MD on your favorit...
Jul 16, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Loneliness correlates more strongly with health outcomes than many other traditional risk factors, such as tobacco use and high cholesterol. In today’s episode, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, a Professor Psychology at Brigham Young University and Lisbeth Briones-Roberts, the Chief Togetherness Officer for SCAN Health Plan, talk about the problem and what to do about it. Also hear the latest on the Delta variant of COVID-19. **Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Skeptic MD on your favorite podcast a...
Jul 02, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast In his new book The Problem of Alzheimer’s, Dr. Jason Karlawish from the Penn Memory Center traces the history of a condition that impacts nearly 6 million Americans at a cost of more than $225 billion annually. These numbers may triple over the next decade. In today’s episode, Dr. Karlawish discusses potential breakthroughs in the years ahead – both pharmacologic and social – that can help us weather this storm. We also review the FDA’s controversial approval last week of aducanumab, the first ...
Jun 18, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Older adults often have a more holistic perspective on the world than younger people. In today’s episode, Geriatrician Dr. Laura Mosqueda – a Professor of Family Medicine and the former Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC – talks about why she loves caring for older adults. She also discusses policy changes that could improve the aging experience in the U.S. **Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Skeptic MD on your favorite podcast app and on Youtube! Link for our channel on podcast apps a...
Jun 04, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Michael Hochman gives a rundown of the week's medical news and announces an exciting new partnership with Scan Health Plan! **Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Skeptic MD on your favorite podcast app and on Youtube! Link for our channel on podcast apps and Youtube: wavve.link/healthyskepticmd
May 28, 2021•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Policymakers across the nation have recently pledged billions to fund housing for the homeless. In Los Angeles, a federal judge even ordered city and county officials to offer all homeless individuals in the Skid Row neighborhood shelter by October. But will these “housing first” efforts work? Or will it prove necessary to concurrently address the health issues – such as mental illness and substance use – that are intertwined with homelessness. In today’s episode, Dr. Steven Hochman, a primary c...
May 14, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast This year, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to two scientists – Jeniffer Doudna at Berkley and French Scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier – who played key roles in developing a gene editing tool known as CRISPR. Just a few years later, gene editing – with the aid of the CRISPR tool – began being used for treating genetic disorders in real patients. We are just beginning to get the initial results. In today’s episode, one of the leading scientists using gene therapy talks with us about this frontie...
Apr 30, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Just when we thought the end was in sight, there are signs that COVID-19 variants – such as the B117 strain first found in the UK – are popping up across the U.S. Worryingly, this B117 strain appears to be more contagious among children. But according to today’s guest, Pediatrician Dr. Jessica Hochman, we should take it all in stride. The miraculous immune systems of children handle the SARS-Co-2 virus very well, and if we can continue rapidly distributing the vaccines to high risk adults, the o...
Apr 16, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many of us assume that the dietary supplement products that we purchase in pharmacies, grocery stores and nutrition outlets – as well as on the internet – are carefully regulated for safety. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. In today’s episode, supplement expert Dr. Pieter Cohen from Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance explains that supplement makers have a very low bar for demonstrating the safety of new products, and that there are many loopholes from circumventin...
Mar 26, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some may dismiss the idea of a national health insurance program due to concerns and skepticism about “big government.” But as Drs. Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein from Hunter College explain, a national health insurance program could greatly simplify health insurance for patients and doctors, while ensuring that everyone in the U.S. is covered. Their data – which has been verified by the Congressional Budget Office and other sources – show significant financial savings from a national...
Mar 19, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast For patients experiencing a heart attack, stents can be lifesaving, restoring blood flow to a blocked coronary artery feeding the heart. But hundreds of thousands of cardiac stents (as well as cardiac bypass surgeries) are performed in the U.S. each year for patients with stable blockages. According to Dr. David Maron, the Director of Preventive Cardiology at Stanford, many of these procedures – particularly those performed for patients without severe symptoms – are unnecessary. According to Dr....
Mar 12, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast The question of whether or not schools should reopen this spring has taken center stage. Proponents argue that the benefits of reopening outweigh the risks while opponents fear it could trigger another surge. Today, we hear from Dalia Hochman, PhD, the Head of School at Gann Academy, a Massachusetts high school, which has remained open for in-person instruction throughout the academic year. Dalia will explain the protocols and policies her team has used to ensure her community’s safety. She also...
Mar 05, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Opioid overdoses lead to nearly 70,000 deaths each year in the U.S., and for this reason the medical community has significantly curtailed their use for treating pain in adults. But what about in children? In today’s episode, Pediatric surgeon and researcher Dr. Lorraine Kelley-Quon, from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, explains that treating pain in children requires a nuanced approach. Dr. Kelley-Quon recently authored the first national guidelines about the role of opioids in children underg...
Feb 26, 2021•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
