Archive for January, 2009

2/10/09 ~ Dr. Stephen Sinclair, Retina Specialist

Published on January 28, 2009 in Recent Broadcasts. 0 Comments

NOTICE:  Dr. Stephen Sinclair was unable to travel to our Vineland Studio due to the Flu.  Dr. Sinclair has been rescheduled to appear Spring 2009.

This week Kitty and Dr. Fallon will interview Dr. Stephen Sinclair , Retina Specialist.  Listener’s are invited to call in with their questions and comments. Tuesday Evening 8:00PM ~ 9:00PM (EST) Cruisin 92.1 FM~WVLT, streaming live on the web at www.wvlt.com Call In: 856-696-0092

Dr. Stephen Sinclair

Stephen H. Sinclair, MD has served as the Chief Medical Officer and member of the Management Committee since the inception of Vimetrics, LLC in 2005. The technology of the Company represents more than 25 years of his basic and clinical research in retinal vascular disease and the vision that results. The current technology that is the basis for the patent portfolio encompasses unique vision measuring devices for children and adults and image processing algorithms for screening and following retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. He is an ophthalmologist in private practice specializing in diseases and surgery of the retina and since 1993 has remained adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology at Drexel University School of Medicine. Dr. Sinclair has received the Honor and Senior Achievement Awards for from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has published more than 70 original scientific papers as well as lecturing for numerous organizations and universities throughout the world.

Photo Above:  Dr. Stephen Sinclair


 

 


 

 

 

 

Call Me Patient, Not Consumer

Published on January 24, 2009 in Blog. 0 Comments

Diabetes Living Today is happy to have our friend Manny Hernandes, co-founder of TuDiabetes.  Manny has written an “exclusive guest post for our reader’s: 

Call Me Patient, Not Consumer

(or why trust is key for Health 2.0 to continue to make progress)Last year, I had the honor to present TuDiabetes at Health2.0 2008 in San Francisco (http://tudiabetes.com/video/tudiabetes-at-health-20-2008). The conference dealt with empowering patients through support, tools and information to help them better manage their health.You would imagine that technologies and platforms for patient empowerment would have patients at the center. And they do to a great degree, except for the fact that patients were routinely referred to as consumers, not as patients, throughout the conference. Most of the people I pointed this out to didn’t notice it. Some didn’t think it was an issue.So, is it a big deal that patients are called consumers? It is if you THINK of them as consumers first and patients second. That puts a bigger emphasis on how much profit the patient can make a company, which can lead to less-than-optimal decisions on behalf of the patient later on.There is nothing wrong with profits resulting from offering products or services to patients to help them improve their health. But this is a case where the order of the factors affects the final result. If this sounds to you like an extreme view, consider your own experience when dealing with insurance companies (http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topics/health-insurance-social).What does this patient and consumer talk have to do with diabetes? As one of the most common chronic diseases, I want to see diabetes turn into an example of the direction Health 2.0 will take, with patient health improvement as the most important goal.

Support

Healthier lives result from connections with other patients: people you not only can relate to but people that you trust. Clay Shirky, author of the book, “Here Comes Everybody” puts it in very clear terms: “… whenever people decide to trust one another, information will flow.”This is why one of the fastest growing areas in Health 2.0 has to do with patient communities. Networks like TuDiabetes and DiabetesDaily (structured spaces where patients get support from others they trust) and slightly more organic networks, like Twitter , where patients share what they do with their diabetes management in 140 characters or less are very good examples of this trend. You can join the growing number of Twitter users with diabetes at: http://tudiabetes.com/group/twitterbeticsIn 2009, networks and platforms that keep on improving the channels for patients to support each other will continue to grow and positively impact the lives and health of many more.

Tools

In the course of 2008 there was a lot of talk in Health 2.0 circles about electronic Personal Health Records. Microsoft took a stab at them with HealthVault. Google tried to tackle them through Google Health . A lot remains to be done, but with the emphasis placed by the new administration on health care and PHRs specifically, I would not be surprised if we see important progress in this front in 2009.If the element of trust is important in the case of support networks, it becomes critical in the case of tools like these. Before people feel comfortable letting their health information reside online, important progress needs to be made to make everyone comfortable with this idea. This is an area where treating the patient as a patient and not a consumer is fundamental as well.

Information

Google, WebMD, HealthLine, RightHealth, OrganizedWisdom, HealthLibrarian. There are tons of resources: from the generic search engines to the specific sites that focus on health. This makes life for patients searching for information about their symptoms or disease harder than necessary.Sure it’s easy to find information, but is it the answer to your specific question? Is it reliable? Is it raw information or has it been edited? Who gets to edit it and why? So many questions come up that patients commonly resort to support communities to post their questions when they feel overwhelmed or they simply cannot trust the information they have found.These kinds of online queries cannot substitute asking a medical professional. But between appointments, resources that can be trusted to answer important questions need to be available. In 2009, I foresee support networks stepping up to the plate to start filling this need through content vetted by medical professionals. Along with this, the concept of virtual visits (also called e-visits to the doctor) will continue to pick up steam throughout the year and into 2010.

Patients First

There is no doubt: the health space has changed and it is not going back. If anything it’s going to keep changing. I hope the changes will be for the better, but considering how much more empowered patients are becoming, I feel this will be the case.Now, through our blogs, communities and the diabetes OC at large, we need to work hard to make the promise of Health 2.0 available to everyone. Until then, to all providers: please don’t call me consumer. Call me patient.

1/27/09 ~ Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE ~ Intergrated Diabetes Services

Published on January 21, 2009 in Recent Broadcasts. 0 Comments

This week Kitty and Dr. Fallon will interview Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE and owner of Intergrated Diabetes Services.  Listener’s are invited to call in with their questions and comments. Tuesday Evening 8:00PM ~ 9:00PM (EST) Cruisin 92.1 FM~WVLT, streaming live on the web at www.wvlt.com Call In: 856-696-0092

Gary Scheiner  MS, CDE

Gary Scheiner is a Certified Diabetes Educator and Exercise Physiologist who has had Type-1 diabetes for more than 25 years.  He owns and operates Integrated Diabetes Services, a private practice located just outside of Philadelphia specializing in intensive blood glucose control for children and adults.  He and his staff of diabetes educators provide consultations throughout the world via phone and internet.

Gary earned a BA in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from Benedictine University.  He received his diabetes training with the Joslin Diabetes Center.  He serves as a Board of Directors Officer for the Diabetes Exercise & Sports Association and the faculty of Children With Diabetes.  He is an active volunteer for the ADA, JDRF and Setebaid Diabetes Camps.

Gary has written three books and dozens of articles on various topics in intensive diabetes management.  He has also received several awards for his teaching tools and techniques, and speaks regularly at regional, national and international conferences.

A husband, father of five and avid sports fan, Gary enjoys running, cycling, boxing and basketball, as well as cheering on his Philadelphia sports teams.

Photo Above:  Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE



1/20/09 ~ Dr. Sharon Kiernan, Neonatal Medicine

Published on January 17, 2009 in Recent Broadcasts. 0 Comments

This week Kitty and Dr. Fallon will interview Dr.Sharon Kiernan , Neonatal Medicine. Listener’s are invited to call in with their questions and comments. Tuesday Evening 8:00PM ~ 9:00PM (EST) Cruisin 92.1 FM~WVLT, streaming live on the web at www.wvlt.com Call In: 856-696-0092

Dr. Sharon Kiernan

Sharon C. Kiernan, MD is the Chief of Neonatal Medicine and Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Holy Cross Hospital delivers approximately 9000 babies a year.  Each year, approximately 900 of these newborns are admitted to the 46 bed NICU, the largest in the state of Maryland.

Dr. Kiernan is a graduate of Williams College and The Medical College of Virginia at VCU.  She completed her Pediatrics residency at The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in 1985.  She was a practicing pediatrician for four years before embarking on a Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellowship at Georgetown University Medical Center.  Dr. Kiernan has been a member of the medical staff at Holy Cross Hospital since October 1994.  She is board certified in Pediatrics and sub-board certified in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.  Dr. Kiernan is a regional trainer in the Neonatal Resuscitation Program in addition to being a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Kiernan resides in Vienna, Virginia with her husband, Joe, also a physician, and their two Shelties.  Their three adult daughters have learned a great deal about premature babies from visiting the NICU.

Photo Above:  Dr. Sharon Kiernan


1/13/09 ~ Live from Phoenix, Arizona with Dr. Richard Dolinar

Published on January 6, 2009 in Recent Broadcasts. 0 Comments

This week Kitty Castellini visits Phoenix, AZ where she will interview Dr. Richard Dolinar, Endocrinologist.  Joining co-host Dr. Joseph J. Fallon Jr., in the Vineland Studio is Dr. George J. Petruncio, Family Practice.  We invite you to listen in as we discuss many of the Health Care Policies concerns today in our country.  We will also discuss the new FDA Petition co-sponosred by Kitty Castellini.

Diabetes Community Appeals to the FDA:

The message is simple:

“We urge the new FDA leadership to recognize the urgent need for more safe and effective treatment options for diabetes and to reduce barriers to innovation. More treatment options will benefit patients. The disease is progressive. Delays in the availability of new treatments will only result in tremendous cost to public health and the economy. Our recommendation can benefit patients without sacrificing their safety.”

Please see the online petition and letter at www.healthefda.com. Listener’s are invited to call in with their questions and comments. Tuesday Evening 8:00PM ~ 9:00PM (EST) Cruisin 92.1 FM~WVLT, streaming live on the web at www.wvlt.com Call In: 856-696-0092

Dr. Richard O. Dolinar

A private practice Clinical Endocrinologist in Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Dolinar received his undergraduate degree from Siena College in Albany, New York; his medical degree from The State University of New York at Buffalo and did his Endocrinology Fellowship at Duke University. He is a Senior Fellow in Healthcare Policy at the Heartland Institute.

Because he is an active clinician who treats patients his insights and opinions on healthcare issues are frequently sought. Dr. Dolinar has testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and has also given Congressional briefings on Capitol Hill. He has presented to state legislators as well as various healthcare industry professionals. Dr. Dolinar has also been interviewed by both the local and national media, including CNN, CBS and PBS.

A published author, in both professional and consumer publications, his articles and opinion pieces have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Diabetes Research and the Indiana Health Law Review Journal. His articles have also appeared on various web sites including The Heritage Foundation. He is co-author of the book, Diabetes 101.

Dr. Dolinar is a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons. He is a past board member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and serves on it’s National Legislative and Regulatory Committee. He is also the Chair of its Future of Healthcare Committee. Dr. Dolinar has held leadership positions in other professional organizations as well, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Diabetes Association. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board for Endocrine Today.

Dr. Dolinar served as a Flight Surgeon in the Vietnam War and is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel.

Photo Above: Dr. Richard O. Dolinar