The Health Crossroad with Dr. Doug Elwood and Dr. Tom Elwood

Katherine Milkman is an Assistant Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research relies heavily on "big data" to document various ways in which individuals systematically deviate from making optimal choices. Her work has paid particular attention to the question of what factors produce self-control failures (e.g., exercising too little or eating too much junk food) and how to reduce the incidence of such failures. Katherine has published in leading periodicals such as Management Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Psychological Science. She also is an Associate Editor for the Behavioral Economics Department at Management Science and a member of the Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Editorial Board. Her work has been featured by media outlets such as The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, BusinessWeek, The Economist, NPR, and Harvard Business Review. In 2011, Katherine was recognized as one of the top 40 business school professors under 40 by Poets and Quants, and in 2013 she was voted Wharton's "Iron Prof" by the school's MBA students. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in Operations Research and Financial Engineering and has a Ph.D. from Harvard University's joint program in Computer Science and Business. In this interview, Katherine discusses her research in temptation bundling, planning props, and commitment devices among other topics and their implications to improving health behavior.

Attorney David O'Bryon is founder and president of O'Bryon & Company. With more than thirty years of association and government experience, he has served organizations as an executive, consultant, and volunteer. He registered as a lobbyist before the U.S. Congress in 1980 and has been involved in all major federal legislative initiatives for the chiropractic profession since then. He has served as Executive Director of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges since 1996. Prior to forming O'Bryon & Company, Dave served as chief executive officer for many nonprofit organizations and in key government staff positions. He was a senior Congressional staff member for both U.S. Representatives Gilbert Gude and Newton Steers, Jr. He serves on the Secretariat of the National Association of Colleges and Universities and was President of the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions. He was awarded degrees from Gettysburg College and the Potomac School of Law, along with an honorary doctorate from Logan College.

This podcast is about stress in the United States. Depending on an individual's age, gender, race and ethnic/racial background, stress is a common feature in the lives of many Americans. It can begin early in life for students who worry about such matters as being bullied or worrying about being accepted at the college of one's choice. Upon completion of one's formal education, there is anxiety over finding a job and having sufficient income to pay off student debts. Marriage and having children bring on strains of their own, such as paying medical bills and meeting educational costs. Advances into older age brackets often are accompanied by the onset of chronic disease plus additional concerns about how to cope with health care expenses such as medications.

For the first three months of The Health Crossroad, a new item was added on a daily basis. Negotiations are underway however,with two potential acquirers/partners for the program and site. Until a decision is finalized, new material will be posted either on an irregular basis or not at all. Thank you for your support at The Health Crossroad!

Dr. Jerry Kennedy is a chiropractor, an author, and I'm happy to say, a podcaster, with one of the top-ranked new shows on iTunes in health! Dr. Kennedy's journey began when he realized the importance of himself in feeling great and reducing pain. Since then, he dedicated his career to helping others understand their bodies. Dr. Kennedy is the author of two books, The Posture Paradox and The Neck Pain Cure. In this interview, through personal anecdotes and great analogies, Dr. Kennedy discusses the importance of viewing health in a new light and redirecting the focus to one that is more positive and healthy.

Matt Hendricks is a Principal Consultant at Pharmica Consulting. Matt has worked in life sciences for nearly 20 years, splitting his time between Informatics and R&D Portfolio planning.  Matt specializes in collaboration and decision support with experience as varied as leading an internal usability service to implementing sophisticated mathematical modeling for clinical trial patient recruitment, to building iOS games.  Matt is six sigma certified and has his Masters of Science in Information Science from Penn State.

Dr. Roy Meyer is a seasoned professional of the healthcare system, having spent over 35 years practicing cardiology and internal medicine for Kaiser.  He initially earned his BA at Yale University in Art History before pursuing his medical degree at the University of Alabama Medical School. From there, he continued his training in Chicago before settling in the San Francisco area. Dr. Meyer has long been an athlete and an avid artist, spending much of his free time now playing golf and singing and songwriting performing live throughout various counties around San Francisco, where he raised his three sons and currently lives with his wife.

Matt Hall is CEO of Human Care Systems, which he started in 2008 to provide service and support to help clinicians and patients better manage complex diseases. Prior to starting Human Care Systems, Matt co-founded the Kerdan Group, a biopharma and life science consulting firm. Matt has also worked in venture capital and as a consultant at Bain & Company. He has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, South Africa, and the US. Matt holds a bachelor's degree with honors in Political Economy from Williams College.

Dr. Amy Nicole Nayar is an Advocacy & Outcomes Research Leader with a 15-year track record of successfully driving Market Access within the pharmaceutical industry. A passionate patient advocate, Amy Nicole has a natural ability to create patient access right treatment through a combination of persuasive data and win-win partnerships.  Pfizer's Patient Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships Network grew from 5 to 168 employees across 58 countries under her leadership. A published author in behavioral health, Dr Nayar is an advocate for empowering patients with digital platforms that improve adherence, and therefore, patient outcomes. Knowing that extrinsic motivators are short-lived, she is most enthusiastic about adherence programs that target intrinsic motivators for long-term behavior change. She is currently helping companies capitalize on the changes coming out of health reform and Health IT to empower better patient outcomes at lower cost. Dr Nayar is a licensed Pharmacist, with Undergraduate Studies and a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan, and a Masters in Health Outcomes & Pharmacoeconomics from the University of Arizona. In this interview, Dr. Nayar provides personal reflections on how she got started in health outcomes and tremendous insights into patient-reported outcomes, the difference between indirect and direct costs to the system, leadership, and many other relevant topics.

This podcast is about music and its relationship to health. Music in one form or another is something that has been in existence for as long as when humans first inhabited the earth. Whether instrumental or vocal, music has served as a primary source of comfort, enjoyment, and inspiration for our species. The stirring power of national anthems provides just one example of the importance that music plays in affecting human emotions.

Dr. Seymour Gers has garnered a tremendous wealth of experience and expertise in healthcare through the last 50+ years as an administrator, physician, and educator in the system. He has held a number of leadership positions in multiple hospitals including Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, Harlem Hospital Center, the Montrose VA, and Rockland Psychiatric Center, among others. His impressive list of credentials includes positions such as Director of Psychiatry, Co-director of the PTSD Treatment Unit, and Director of Medical Education both for within the US and internationally. Most recently, Dr. Gers served as the Chief of the Partial Hospital Program at Queens Hospital Center and then as an Attending Psychiatrist at Maimonides. Dr. Gers was also the Representative of the Brooklyn Psychiatric Society to the American Psychiatric Association Assembly for 27 years. Dr. Gers is now semi-retired but remains very active in continuing education and policy around health and prolific on matters concerning psychiatry specifically. He also maintains a private practice in New York City, as he has done throughout his professional career. In this interview, Dr. Gers takes us back to when he was presented with pursuing a career in health and how the field of psychiatry has changed over the past few decades.

Dr. Moshe Ben-Roohi is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Board Eligible in Pain Management and Electrodiagnostics. His practice focuses on non-surgical, personalized treatments for painful conditions of the spine, joint, tendon and ligament disorders. Dr. Ben-Roohi has helped thousands of people resolve pain and restore normal function without surgery. He commonly treats low back pain, neck pain, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, sciatica, arthritis of the knees, shoulders, hips, ankles, elbows, feet and hands. He also treats patients with muscle and tendon problems such as Achilles and rotator cuff tendonitis, tennis and golfers elbow. Dr. Ben-Roohi's practice is also one of only two in the country who use Regenokine, a new treatment for osteoarthritis and low back pain. In this interview, Dr. Ben-Roohi provides tremendous insights into pain and how personal it is, the critical role of holistic care and non-operative approaches to pain management, and interesting personal reflections on the difference between practicing with and without insurance boundaries.

Russell Benaroya is the co-founder and CEO of EveryMove, a rewards plan for health that connects health tracking apps, wearables and device data with rewards from health plans, employers and brands.  As he drives a personal mission to improve the lives of 10 million people in 10 years, EveryMove is putting power into the hands of consumers that will fundamentally change the way we approach our “health”care. Previously Russell was the co-founder and CEO of REM Medical, a national healthcare services company operating clinics and research facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders.  The Company was sold in 2009 to become one of the nation's largest sleep services providers. Prior to co-founding REM Medical, Russell was the Director of Corporate Development for Overture Services (acquired by Yahoo in 2003), the company that revolutionized paid search marketing and created a multi-billion dollar industry. Russell has been recognized as a "40 under 40" leader in Seattle and frequently speaks and writes on the transformation toward consumer driven healthcare.  He is a Techstars mentor in Seattle and for the Nike and Sprint accelerators powered by Techstars. Russell holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA. In this interview, Russell provides tremendous insight into the health system today and the importance of looking beyond the clinic, creating feedback loops, tapping into the quantified self, and others to fully realize the potential within health today.

Dr. Robyn I. Stone, a noted researcher and leading international authority on aging and long-term care policy, is Executive Director of the LeadingAge Center for Applied Research and Senior Vice President of Research. Prior to accepting this position, she was at the International Longevity Center-USA in New York City where she was executive director and chief operating officer. Previously, she worked for the Federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (now known as the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality). Robyn also served at the White House as deputy assistant secretary for disability, aging and long-term care policy and as acting assistant secretary for aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration. She was a senior researcher at the National Center for Health Services Research as well as at Project Hope's Center for Health Affairs. Robyn was on the staff of the 1989 Bipartisan Commission on Comprehensive Health Care and the 1993 Clinton administration's Task Force on Health Care Reform. Her doctorate is in public health from the University of California at Berkeley. In this interview, Robyn discusses the difference between geriatrics and gerontology, intergenerational conflict, and many other critical topics central to the conversation around health today.

Dr. Ashwin R. Patel is a physician economist with a strong research interest in disease management, behavioral economics, and health care quality. In particular, he is focused on translating evidence-based academic insights into the actual delivery of health care. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer of InquisitHealth. Dr. Patel received his MD degree from Weill-Cornell Medical College and his PhD in Health Economics from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also received a BA in Economics and Biology from Cornell University. In this interview, Dr. Patel talks about his personal motivation to become a physician and how he has used that passion to expand his interests and try to positively affect health in many other ways.

Dr. George Cernada is Emeritus Professor of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Editor of the International Quarterly of Communication Health Education, a journal that he founded. He has extensive public health research, program planning/evaluation, professional training, managerial, and fund raising experience in public, private and academic settings. He spent many years working overseas on public health and population projects that involved implementation and collaboration with major bilateral and international donor agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. Among his various postings, he served as Chief Advisor to the Taiwan government on health matters.  Dr. Cernada is the recipient of numerous citations and awards by the governments of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Taiwan. His doctorate is from the University of California at Berkeley where he was awarded both a university prize for literary composition and a Poet Laureate Award.

Dr. Chris Marker is a leading physician in the area of concussions. After completing his training at NYU in PM&R, Dr. Marker joined the Sport Concussion Clinic in Riverside Ca as Director and has been working at the Community Medical Group of Riverside for 5 years. He is also intimately involved in sports medicine and pain management. Dr. Marker was recently highlighted on the news for his commentary on the death of a student due to concussion. In this interview, Dr. Marker provides great insights into the discussion around concussion and mild traumatic brain injury from an insider's perspective with personal stories and perspectives from patients and his practice, including Second Impact Syndrome.

Dr. Paula Friedman is a Professor in the Department of General Dentistry in the Harry M. Goldman School of Dentistry at Boston University. A specialist in geriatric dentistry, her research interests focus on health services and specifically on increasing access to oral health care for underserved populations. Activities include conducting oral health screenings for community-based, independently living elders; facilitating oral health in-home consultations for frail, home-bound elders; and assessing levels of satisfaction with services received by student dental plan members. Her research interests also include studying barriers to oral health services as perceived by underserved populations. Dr. Friedman's publications have addressed issues pertaining to the management of elderly diabetic patients and also have focused on Xerostomia, the "invisible" oral health condition. Her doctor of dental science degree is from Columbia University and she also obtained two masters degrees at Boston University, including one in public health. In this interview, Dr. Friedman discusses common ailments in oral health in the elder population as well as ageism, interprofessional care, and other critical elements of this subject.

Dr. Gerry Petratos co-founded and leads Hiteks Solutions as CEO and guides its efforts on unstructured data analytics and the re-use of clinical information to support decision support, clinical documentation improvement, clinical research, and reimbursement. Dr. Petratos was previously director of clinical decision support and Global Head of Healthcare Data Analytics at Roche, where he oversaw data-driven applications of clinical information management in protocol design, graphical medical review, analysis, reporting and publications. Dr. Petratos also conducted Adverse Drug Event detection research at Intermountain Healthcare and the University of Utah Health Sciences Center as part of a National Institutes of Health fellowship with the National Library of Medicine in Biomedical Informatics. Dr. Petratos earned his Bachelor's degree in Biology from Cornell, an MD from Howard and a Master's in Healthcare Administration and Medical Informatics from the University of Utah. Dr. Petratos heads the alumni network for the Biomedical Informatics Department of the University of Utah, the oldest such Department in the country, and is on the Board of the Hellenic Medical Society of New York.

Dr. Navin Singh is a Board-Certified plastic surgeon in private practice and an Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also is a clinical assistant professor of Neurosurgery as well as Gynecology. He is licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC and practices at several hospitals, including Johns Hopkins Hospital which has been consistently ranked No.1 in the nation. His research interests include minimally invasive surgery, laser techniques, and computer/robotic-assisted plastic surgery. Dr. Singh has authored influential papers on cosmetic surgery in the most prestigious medical journals. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Mathematics from Brown University and graduated at the top of his class at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also holds a Masters of Science in Clinical Biostatistics from Harvard. After completing his plastic surgery training at Johns Hopkins, including a fellowship in craniofacial reconstruction and microsurgery, he earned an MBA. Dr. Singh is a firm believer in philanthropy, managing to spend about 4-6 weeks of his personal time each year on surgical missions to Ecuador, India, Peru, Philippines, and China. In this interview, Dr. Singh provides great insights into the ACA's effects on physicians, patients, and the system including his own personal experiences.

Deborah Discenza is a leading patient advocate for babies born prematurely. Combining careers in technology and publishing, Ms. Discenza has initiated several different outlets to raise awareness and education around preemies, including Preemie Magazine, PreemieWorld, and her book The Preemie Parent's Survival Guide to the NICU which she co-authored with little man Director/Producer Nicole Conn. Her work focuses on providing information to parents in simple terms to enhance health literacy, critical when parents are dealing with the very challenging environment of a neonatal intensive care unit. For her work in this area, Ms. Discenza has been widely recognized and is a founding member of many organizatons as well as a regular author to several publications. She has received awards for her work and continues to be very active helping to promote better awareness for parents and others in the health field.Suzanne Staebler has been a leading voice in the field of neonatal nursing for almost 25 years. Currently, she maintains her practice the Pediatrix Medical Group of Tennessee, in Nashville and has a healthcare/health policy consulting business.  Previous positions included APRN leadership positions and faculty appointments within neonatal nurse practitioner programs.  Suzanne also is active on multiple different national organizations including acting as the Governing Council Chair of the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners and sits on the board of directors for the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. Suzanne graduated from Baylor University before obtaining her nursing degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and Texas Christian University. She is a board-certified Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and has authored articles on the subject of the health policy implications of regionalization.

Dr. Thomas Rice is Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health where he teaches courses in health economics, research methodology, and current issues in health policy. He served as Vice Chancellor, Academic Personnel for the UCLA campus from 2006-11. His portfolio of published research includes the topics of physicians' economic behavior, the role of competition in health care reform, and managed care. He has testified before the U.S. Congress numerous times on various health policy issues. Dr. Rice has been the recipient of prestigious outstanding health services researcher awards from both the Association for Health Services Research and the Association for University Programs in Health Administration. He also has received the Article-of-the-Year Award from the Association for Health Services Research. His other honors include being elected to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Rice served as Editor of the journal, Medical Care Research and Review from 1994-2000. His Ph.D. in Economics is from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Rice provides great insights into the relevance of behavioral economics to health, including  "present bias", "loss aversion", and many other subjects in this critical element of the health domain.

Dr. JR Rizzo is a board-certified physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is a researcher at NYU Langone Medical Center and is well versed in exercise physiology and the interplay between physical ailments and medical diseases. Dr. Rizzo received a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience from New York University and went on to receive an M.D. from New York Medical College, before starting residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rusk Rehabilitation at NYU. Dr. Rizzo is also an entrepreneur, launching his company, TNT, in 2013. TNT offers multiple products designed to improve the lives of those with vision deficiencies and to promote better awareness for a myriad of other stakeholders. TNT was recently featured in leading publication Crain's and JR was named a Top 40 under 40 for NY's Rising Stars.In this interview, Dr. Rizzo provides us with a glimpse of what TNT will offer the future of health and the backbone of his amazing patented sixth-sense technology including the underpinnings of the Google Driverless Car technology. Firefighters, police, military personnel, and those with neurological disorders could all benefit from this, well worth the listen! Dr. Rizzo also shares personal stories and reflections that are inspirational.

Timothy Jost is a law professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law. He is a co-author of a casebook that is used widely throughout the United States in teaching health law. He also is the author of several other key publications, including Readings in Comparative Health Law and Bioethics, along with another book entitled Health Care at Risk: A Critique of the Consumer-Driven Movement. He has written numerous articles and book chapters on health care regulation and comparative health law and policy, and has lectured on health law topics throughout the world. One of his most recent articles was published in April of this year in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled “Obama's Affordable Care Act Delays – Breaking the Law or Making it Work?” which discusses the legality of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act implementation postponements. Professor Jost is a frequent contributor to the highly influential Health Affairs Blog regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz and he obtained his law degree with honors from the University of Chicago.

Mr. Andrew Jablonski is a leading voice in patient advocacy. He is the Founder and CEO of the Short Bowel Syndrome Foundation, a charity organization that supports the community of patients and caregivers who are impacted by the rare intestinal disease Short Bowel Syndrome, and the healthcare providers who care for them. In less than 3 years, the foundation has grown to over 3000 followers and members who are affected by this condition. Andy works closely with a number of different organizations including the National Organization of Rare Disorders as well as leading medical centers in order to increase the understanding of SBS. Andy is currently working toward his BA in Human Relations and plans to pursue a Masters of Arts in Counseling, which will enable him to become a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner.

Dr. Stephen Wilson is retired from The Ohio State University where for 20 years he served as Director, School of Allied Medical Professions and Associate Dean, College of Medicine.  During this time he led a nationally recognized school of allied health that included undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. He continued to teach courses in the graduate program in the School and was principle investigator on a national study with Indiana University and the Department of Defense. The project establishes a registry of Vietnam veterans who received traumatic amputations during the war and studies their long term outcomes over the life span. Research outcomes are expected to have direct application to those veterans who have suffered traumatic amputations through service in Iraq and Afghanistan.  From 2007-2009, Dr. Wilson served as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages (ACICBL), a federal advisory committee supported through the Bureau of Health Professions within the U.S. Public Health Service. He is a Past President of the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions.

Katherine Leon is a leading patient advocate and is co-founder with Rachel Doucette of the SCAD Alliance, a health nonprofit focused on improved care and outcomes of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, an underdiagnosed form of heart attack and sudden death. Katherine experienced SCAD in 2003 following the birth of her second son. After several weeks of misdiagnoses, she survived a heart attack and emergency double bypass surgery. The ordeal was a new beginning for her as an advocate for women with heart disease and her fellow SCAD survivors. In addition to initiating SCAD clinical studies at Mayo Clinic, she advocates for patient empowerment and supports survivors and their families through @SCADalliance. Katherine spent her early career in corporate communication and today is a freelance writer/editor. In addition to her advocacy through SCAD Alliance, she is a 2009 graduate of the Women Heart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic, and volunteers to educate the public in person and online about the number one killer of Americans: heart disease.

Dr. Carole Timpone is the Associate Dean of Clinical Programs at Pacific University College of Optometry in Oregon.  She served as the Director of the Pacific University Eye Clinic in Portland, Oregon, for over 15 years. She received Pacific's President's Award for Excellence in Professional Education in 2004. She has served professional organizations in numerous roles, including Director of Education for the Oregon Optometric Physicians Association, and Site Coordinator for the administration of Clinical Skills Examination of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry.  She was the founding Chairperson of the University Faculty Senate,  and most recently, the founding director of the Pacific Interprofessional Diabetes Clinic.  Dr. Timpone was named a Distinguished University Professor at Pacific University.  She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice. Her areas of interest, research, and expertise include ocular disease, glaucoma, and primary care optometry. Her bachelors degree is from Cornell University and her Doctor of Optometry degree is from the State University of NY.

Judy Messina is a well-known and respected healthcare writer and editor. After starting her career in banking, Judy shifted to reporting over 20 years ago starting with a local paper before moving to Crain's New York Business. At Crain's, Judy has long covered health care in addition to many other areas. In the mid-1990s, Judy launched the technology and telecommunications beat for New York City, writing “Digital New York”, a Crain's publication, the first daily newsletter about the technology scene in the City. She has continued her strong interest in health since then, with her stories appearing in multiple top-tier venues such as CNBC.com, NBC.com, Advertising Age, Modern Health Care, and many others. She also edited and wrote for Health Pulse, Crain's must-read newsletter for the health care industry. She has also been recognized for her excellence in reporting with numerous awards, including the Gold Award/Best Feature for a story on the impact of Silicon Alley in NYC. Judy received her MBA from the Wharton School and her Masters in Journalism at Columbia University where she was awarded the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship.

Dr. James Koeninger has 45 years of experience in public education, higher education, corporate training and development, association management and strategic partnerships between government and corporations. As the Executive Vice President of Jobs for America's Graduates, he and the Texas-based JAG staff are responsible for managing the delivery of technical assistance to the 33-state JAG National Network including: staff development, national accreditation, site reviews, national meetings, publications, handbooks, media development and meeting management. Since 1985, Dr. Koeninger also has served as Executive Director of HOSA—Future Health Professionals. He has served as the lead designer and facilitator of the Walton Institute and the Advanced Leadership Development Program, funded by Sam and Helen Walton, over an 18-year period for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.  He also was the designer of the Arkansas Leadership Academy for superintendents and principals in the state of Arkansas. His doctorate is from The Ohio State University and he has held business and education faculty positions in several universities over the years.

Dan Lambert is the CEO of boardvitals.com, an Education Technology company focused on improving Physician Training. He is an experienced software developer and holds over fifteen software and telecom patents. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 2011, Dan co-founded a venture backed company in retail, which had a successful exit that same year. In this interview, Dan provides insights into the patent process, his switch into healthcare from other industries, and meaningful use.

Dr. Deborah Scharf is a clinical health psychologist and behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She also is a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her work addresses issues related to tobacco use, treatment, and policy; innovations in electronic real-time data capture; behavioral and primary health care delivery systems; and evaluation of, and technical assistance for, civilian and military behavioral health programs. Her research focus embraces the areas of Mental Health and Illness; Primary Care; Program Evaluation; Tobacco and Smoking; and Traumatic Brain Injury. She holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Her bachelor's degree is from McGill University and along with her doctorate, her master's degree was obtained at the University of Pittsburgh. In this interview, Dr. Scharf discusses many issues around mental health including several initiatives designed to close the gap between focus on the mind and the body in patients with mental health disease.

Daniel Lieber is a research scientist and an entrepreneur. He completed his PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard University where he studied mitochondrial metabolism and bacterial genomics. There, he integrated computational and experimental methods to discover the function of uncharacterized proteins and genetic variants in human disease. Daniel completed his undergraduate training at Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude in Molecular Biology with certificates in Quantitative and Computational Biology and Finance and authored his thesis on protein motifs at the Lewis-Sigler Institute of Integrative Genomics. Daniel has received many awards including National Merit Scholar and has multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals. He has taken his extensive knowledge and experience to found Genterpret, a company dedicated to connecting patients to researchers to drive personalized medicine.In this interview, Daniel discusses his passion for genetics which began in the shadow of the famed NIH and both the challenges and opportunities the field presents today. He also talks about this time at Blueprint Health and provides advice for other entrepreneurs.

Dr. Thomas Smalling serves as Executive Director of the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) where he is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the organization and all aspects of the corporation's operations. He has worked in the respiratory care profession since 1987 and joined the respiratory care program faculty at Stony Brook University in 1995, where he also served as Director of Clinical Education. Prior to his appointment as CoARC's Executive Director, he served as a board member for four years, working primarily on accreditation standards for polysomnography.  He previously served for a number of years on the Board of Directors of the New York State Society for Respiratory Care (NYSSRC), including the position of President and was a Delegate for the American Association for Respiratory Care. His doctorate is from New York University.

Victor Wang grew up pushing the boundaries of computerized science. Starting at age 6 when he was programming role-playing games for MS-DOS, Victor never turned back. He received a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of British Columbia, majoring in Mechatronics Engineering and minoring in Commerce, and was awarded the Wesbrook Scholar designation. After working stints in telemarketing, environmental research, aerospace manufacturing, particle physics, oil sands, medical robotics, and the military as an officer, Victor won the Canada Graduate Scholarship and earned his Master of Science at MIT. There, he researched human-machine interaction for the NASA space telerobotics program while serving as one of the premier leaders in graduate student government. Considering his grandmother in Taiwan who became depressed due to being home-bound and living alone, Victor started GeriJoy to bring joy to seniors and families caring for older loved ones. Victor is widely recognized as a senior care technology innovator and thought leader, and has spoken at the Connected Health Symposium, CES Silvers Summit, TEDMED, and other national events. In this interview, Victor provides a first-hand look at what he is accomplishing with Gerijoy and the challenges associated with seniors and elder-care living, as well as other tremendous insights into the health landscape today, plus shares his incredible background. Alzheimers and senior care are so important in health today, as is loneliness, and Victor is tackling these problems and more head on using innovation in a truly unique way merging technology and pet therapy.

Kathryn Harris is a third year Doctorate of Physical Therapy student at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and is scheduled to graduate in May 2014. She has a bachelors of science degree in Health and Exercise Science from the University of Oklahoma and she currently holds many leadership positions across campus and within the community. Kathryn is part of an emerging group of young professionals who eventually will play an important role in delivering health care services and in making improvements in the way that care is delivered. As an individual who soon will be entering the field of physical therapy, she represents a new generation of health professionals who will bring their knowledge to the forefront in addressing the nation's health care challenges and problems.

Edward Seguine is the CEO of Clinical Ink, a pioneer in the development of electronic source record solutions for clinical research.  Prior to Clinical Ink, Mr. Seguine was the General Manager of Medidata's Trial Planning product suite after serving as the CEO of Fast Track Systems before that company was acquired by Medidata.Mr. Seguine began his pharma career at Eli Lilly where he helped establish Lilly's venture capital groups e.Lilly and Lilly Bioventures. Mr. Seguine has participated as an active board member and advisor for numerous start-up companies as well as CDISC.  In addition, he has actively collaborated with leading academic institutions (Tufts CSDD, MIT, Duke) to develop, publish and present research into novel approaches to improving clinical development.  Ed earned a BS in Finance from Brigham Young University, an MBA from Indiana University, and spent several years early in his career as the VP Finance of a start-up defense technology company. In this interview, Ed discusses the $7-10B industry of monitoring research sites for clinical trials, as well as the broader context and process of this dynamic and critical space including Meaningful Use.

Gil Addo has been involved with health in a few different areas and has amassed years of experience in both healthcare delivery and information technology. Over the last few years, he worked at Putnam Associates, a pharma consultancy, where he designed payer and market access strategies for Fortune 500 companies. He is currently running his own company, RubiconMD, where he responsible for vision, strategy, and growth and which started based on his own personal experiences in the healthcare system. Gil holds a BS in economics and biomedical engineering from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. In this interview, Gil discusses how he initially got interested in health with a touching personal story and how he has used his knowledge to found a company dedicated to improving the system. Gil also walks us through the importance of payers and market access, as well as personalized medicine.

This specific topic update is on robotics and health. Robots are a prominent feature of contemporary life. They are used in many fields, including industry, medicine, agriculture, and the military. This podcast is about the use of robots in health care. An important kind of robotic intervention is being employed in the performance of hysterectomies, along with gastric cancer, colorectal, prostate, and mitral valve surgery. This podcast will not address the surgical branch of robotics. Instead, the focus will be restricted to non-surgical applications and includes topics such as the use of robotics for seniors, those who benefit from robotics as companions, and rehabilitation robotics.

William Ashton is a former Fortune 100 senior executive with more than 28 years experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. He retired as a Vice President at Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology firm. He then joined the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia where he became the founding dean of the Mayes College of Business and Health Care Policy and later was appointed Senior Vice President for External Affairs. He presently is a Principal at the Harris Consulting Group LLC,  is on the board of the National Osteoporosis Foundation. His degrees are from the California University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh. In this interview, Bill speaks about growing up in a family of coalminers and how he got started in health, as well as his insights into challenges and opportunities within the system.

Terry McManus spent almost 20 years in the banking and investment advisory business, working for Fifth Third Bank and the US Bank. There, he led a myriad of responsibilities including asset management and wealth planning. Terry has also worked for a number of not for profit organizations including the One City Foundation and the Starfish Foundation. Most recently, Terry has assumed the role of Executive Director of May We Help, an organization that is dedicated to providing assistive equipment for those with disabilities. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and lives in Cincinnati with his wife Christine and two children. In this interview, Terry walks us through the process of May We Help and shines light on the difficulties many individuals face and the tremendous courage and hope provided when they are matched with the proper tools that they need to gain independence and to fulfill their passion.

Allison Sklarew is an American teenager and high school student who lives with her family in Maryland, right outside Washington, DC. Unlike many prominent guests in this podcast series, she does not have an impressive professional resume, but it is easy to suspect that that part of her life will change over time. For now, she is similar to millions of other youngsters in the United States, except for some important details. First, as a toddler she underwent heart transplant surgery. Secondly, she has made a presentation to a group of experts at the National Institutes of Health and testified before the Maryland State Legislature. Another way in which she stands out in contrast to individuals her own age and also to a great many adults is that she has an enormous amount of experience as a recipient of health care services, which include taking various medications and undergoing sophisticated diagnostics, such as electrocardiograms and biopsy catheterizations. Many love songs contain lyrics along lines of “my heart belongs to someone else.” In her case, it is literally true, for she owes her life to being one of the fortunate individuals to have undergone transplant surgery. In this interview, Allison provides details on all of this as well as her care at UPMC and with Kaiser insurance and the incredible story of her reaching out to her donor family and then meeting them at The Transplant Games.

Paloma Luisi serves as Manager, Research & Evaluation at HITLAB. Her work focuses on leading research projects that aim to evaluate new technologies or ideas. She uses her passion for research to develop appropriate, and oftentimes innovative methodologies, to study healthcare innovations and works to translate findings into real-world results that have the potential to improve lives. Paloma's approach to solving difficult problems in healthcare research stem from a belief that technology can eliminate barriers in healthcare and that technology innovation, whether simple text messages or sophisticated telemedicine devices, should be evaluated and compared against each other and the status quo to enable decision makers to make the right investment choices at home and abroad. Her professional experience is grounded in academic degrees in public health, anthropology, and economics from Fordham University and Hunter College. In this interview, Paloma tells us about the HITLAB and all the work she is doing on examining how technology may positively influence health delivery moving forward, while still recognizing the challenges in doing so. From mHealth and telemedicine to Health 2.0 many other emerging technologies, Paloma provides an in-depth look at innovation in health today with recommendations for apps and resources.

Dr. Gary Sayed is a professor of radiology at Alfaisal University College of Medicine and Director of the Molecular and Functional Imaging Laboratory at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Prior to his current role, Gary served as the Executive Director of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, a division of the Institute of International Education, where he led the Fulbright Scholar Program on behalf of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State to develop international faculty and higher education exchanges, research, and linkages. He previously, served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Dean and professor of radiology at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, and Chairman and clinical professor of Diagnostic Imaging at Thomas Jefferson University. He is certified by the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine and currently serves as the Director of the Board. His doctorate is from the University of Pennsylvania. In this interview, Dr. Sayed provides personal reflections into his path through healthcare and some of his favorites, including conferences and books.

Molly Lindquist is a leading patient advocate and founder of Consano, a crowdfunding platform for medical research. Molly has a long history of professional work. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in economics, she worked as an investment banking analyst in the consumer group at Robertson Stephens before transitioning to World Market, where she traveled the globe sourcing products, and then doing company planning for Banana Republic and Gap. Molly's focus on patient advocacy began in 2011 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. Her focus with Consano is helping facilitate the connections between individuals and medical research projects and has met with great success. Her slogan of Hope. Honor. Heal is a great representation of patient advocacy at its finest. In this interview, Molly shares her incredible story of her journey through breast cancer as well as her desire to affect the broader aspects of health by becoming an entrepreneur and starting Consano.

Michael Morris is a native of Lawrence Massachusetts, a city 25-miles north of Boston whose residents experienced many hardships that affect their health after its principal industry—the production of woolen textiles—shut down permanently. He is a product of the Lawrence schools. Along with the responsibility of raising a family and building a successful law practice, he has been able to devote much of his adult life to efforts to improve the lives of the inhabitants of Lawrence. He has made a special point of making it possible for a huge number of youngsters to complete their early education and continue on to college. Even after they reach adulthood,  he continues to serve as an inspirational mentor in many valuable ways that help to enrich the quality of their lives. His degrees are from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Suffolk University Law School.In this interview, Michael shares personal stories about growing up with co-host of The Health Crossroad Dr. Tom Elwood and about Central Catholic Highschool, insights into helping kids succeed despite major obstacles, and other reflections on the broader notions of health. While Michael is not our typical guest entrenched in the world of health, his stories are personal and enjoyable and convey how health factors relate to so many other elements of how and where we live.

Dr. Blaine Warkentine is a true leader in health who has been involved in multiple different elements of the industry. A Physician-entrepreneur, Blaine's most recent endeavor is called Vimty, which focuses on end of life care planning. Prior to his current company, Blaine either founded or held leadership positions in companies like SurgeryTrack, Innovation Thrives, Fitness Builder, InVivoLink, and WellDoc to name just a few. Blaine's passion for improving health revolves around building and harnessing innovation strategies, user data, engagement, design principles, and rapid iterative product development to test hypotheses about solving some of health's biggest problems. Blaine completed his medical orthopedic residency at the University of Maryland and his fellowship in sports medicine at the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.In this interview, Dr. Warkentine provides great insights into the world of health, being an entrepreneur, his philosophy of B2C4B, the importance of palliative care and end of life arrangements, and the intersection of health and technology including the revolution that was introduced by the iPhone.

Ashley Mason manages the wellness program for Massachusetts State employees.  She spends her days traveling across the state delivering lunchtime seminars on wellness topics; meeting with Wellness Champions and other interested employees at each agency; and developing onsite programming, including a state-wide weight loss competition.  She publishes a wellness blog for the program, which can be found at wellmass.wordpress.com. She also reviews nutrition articles for The Journal of Allied Health. She has experience providing nutrition education and counseling to adolescents, inmates at state correctional facilities, and residents of mental health group homes. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and holds degrees from Boston University and the University of Bridgeport.In this interview, Ashley reveals why she started studying nutrition, discusses working with incarcerated individuals, and shares her experiences on working in the health field and some of the amazing people and conferences she has met and attended -- including Dick Hoyt, who has appeared at The Health Crossroad.

Dr. Destry Sulkes has held executive positions in healthcare IT settings for over 15 years, including roles as Managing Director at Medsn, Inc., since acquired by Indegene, Managing Director at MedsiteCME, a subsidiary of Medsite, Inc., and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Strategy at WebMD. His research is published in leading peer-reviewed medical journals such as The American Journal of Medicine, The American Journal of Cardiology, Archives of Ophthalmology, Retina, and others. Dr. Sulkes holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a joint MD/MBA with research honors from Tufts University School of Medicine. He currently serves in voluntary roles as President of the Board of Directors at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Healthcare Professions, and as a Mentor for the Blueprint Health accelerator program for healthcare IT start-ups. Dr. Sulkes is currently the Co-Founder and Executive Vice President at Medivo, a company dedicated to simplifying and transforming health.In this interview, Dr. Sulkes discuss several critical topics in health care today, including transparency, patient education, value, HIPAA, leadership, and his path through Alaska!

Ann Battrell is Executive Director of the American Dental Hygienists' Association, a position she has held since 2005. Prior to doing so, she served in other key positions for that organization, beginning in the year 2000. Her background includes experience in corporate management, education, and in the clinical setting. She has been the manager of dental hygiene development for the Ohio company Innovative Customer Solutions. She has provided didactic and clinical instruction to undergraduate dental and dental hygiene students and graduate dental hygiene students at the Northwestern University Dental School. She also has more than a decade's experience as a clinical dental hygienist, providing direct patient care in general dentistry practices. During her career, she was elected President of the American Dental Hygienists' Association and has been a forceful advocate for advancing the practice of dental hygiene, which included making presentations at an Institute of Medicine workshop and other important venues. She holds degrees from the University of Missouri- Kansas City and Northwestern University Dental School.In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future. In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future. In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future.In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future. In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the biggest challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future.

John Mack is one of the most well-known voices on the pharmaceutical industry. Known as "pharmaguy" on Twitter, John has several outlets through which he provides "constructive criticism" on the industry, and a wide fan base who follows his insightful commentary. Celebrating 20 years of online writing this year, John has cemented himself as an authority on the industry through podcasts, newsletters, and other venues such as the Pharma Marketing Blog and Pharma Marketing News. In addition to helping us all stay abreast of the industry, John is also an experienced executive with a background in interactive technologies, medical privacy, and pharmaceutical marketing, and is now Chief Pundit at pharmaguy.com. In this interview, John provides great insights into the pharma industry and discusses key opportunities for system improvement.