Podcast appearances and mentions of jack lewin

Jack Lewin, MD CEO of Cardiovascular Research Foundation was Interviewed Live on 640WGST Talk Radio Atlanta's Health Tech Talk Live Hosted by Ben Chodor -- February 21, 2015 ARCHIVE Interview Aired at 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT / 2:30pm CT on Health Tech Talk Live Radio Show, Hosted by Ben Chodor. Show Broadcasts weekly on Talk Radio 640 WGST Atlanta. Public Relations and Marketing by http://1800publicrelations.com ("1800pr"), The Leader in Performance based PR and Marketing Services. To inquire about being a guest on this show or others: Matthew Bird 1800 Public Relations ("1800pr") 917-409-8211 matt.bird@1800pr.com Twitter: @1800pr http://www.640wgst.com/main.html http://www.640wgst.com/articles/health-tech-talk-490191/health-tech-talk-13092706/ http://healthtechtalk.com/ Twitter: @HealthTech_Talk

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Harry Greenspun, MD Will healthcare reform do enough to alleviate the current problems in our system, or is the entire delivery model in need of a substantial re-design? Dr. Harry Greenspun, chief medical officer of Dell Services and co-author of the book Reengineering Health Care: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery, says that while health care reform has changed payment models, reform has not done enough to change the delivery system. What elements of our current system are most in need of re-engineering, and how have some organizations successfully transformed their delivery models? Dr. Jack Lewin hosts. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Rashi Fein, PhD What can we learn from the past century of healthcare policy that can better inform how we develop such policies today? How has the landscape of medicine and economics surrounding health policy changed, and how have these changes influenced health policy? Join host Dr. Jack Lewin as he welcomes guest Dr. Rashi Fein, professor of the economics of medicine emeritus in the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and author of the book, Learning Lessons: Medicine, Economics and Public Policy. Although the Affordable Care Act is thousands of pages in length, Dr. Fein suggests that policy makers "keep it simple," even with the most complex health policy issues, in order to have an efficient system that is easy to implement. How can such complicated health policy issues be clearly explained? Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Rashi Fein, PhD What can we learn from the past century of healthcare policy that can better inform how we develop such policies today? How has the landscape of medicine and economics surrounding health policy changed, and how have these changes influenced health policy? Join host Dr. Jack Lewin as he welcomes guest Dr. Rashi Fein, professor of the economics of medicine emeritus in the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and author of the book, Learning Lessons: Medicine, Economics and Public Policy. Although the Affordable Care Act is thousands of pages in length, Dr. Fein suggests that policy makers "keep it simple," even with the most complex health policy issues, in order to have an efficient system that is easy to implement. How can such complicated health policy issues be clearly explained? Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Harry Greenspun, MD Will healthcare reform do enough to alleviate the current problems in our system, or is the entire delivery model in need of a substantial re-design? Dr. Harry Greenspun, chief medical officer of Dell Services and co-author of the book Reengineering Health Care: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery, says that while health care reform has changed payment models, reform has not done enough to change the delivery system. What elements of our current system are most in need of re-engineering, and how have some organizations successfully transformed their delivery models? Dr. Jack Lewin hosts. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: James Wilentz, MD Before the January 2010 earthquake rattled Haiti, healthcare access for the country's citizens was unreliable, but after the disaster, everything changed. How has an influx of foreign physicians impacted Haiti's healthcare system, and what lessons can the US learn from the proposed public-private partnership solutions in Haiti? Dr. James Wilentz, assistant professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and co-director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York, volunteered at the General Hospital in Port Au Prince shortly after the disaster struck, and explains the downsides to well-intentioned humanitarian aid. Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: James Wilentz, MD Before the January 2010 earthquake rattled Haiti, healthcare access for the country's citizens was unreliable, but after the disaster, everything changed. How has an influx of foreign physicians impacted Haiti's healthcare system, and what lessons can the US learn from the proposed public-private partnership solutions in Haiti? Dr. James Wilentz, assistant professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and co-director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York, volunteered at the General Hospital in Port Au Prince shortly after the disaster struck, and explains the downsides to well-intentioned humanitarian aid. Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Francois de Brantes, MS, MBA As we all strive to improve quality of care, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the issue: How do we define, and identify, quality in practices, hospitals and other health care settings? Then, how can new methods of identifying quality in practices help improve the standardization of processes and care that patients receive? Join host Dr. Jack Lewin and his guest, Francois de Brantes, executive director of the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute in Newton, Connecticut, which manages the Bridges to Excellence and PROMETHEUS payment programs. Mr. de Brantes talks about the specific data that can help identify quality, and ways to utilize these data to improve and facilitate quality improvement. How does identifying quality in cardiovascular practices coincide with the increasing interest in value-based health care delivery? Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Francois de Brantes, MS, MBA As we all strive to improve quality of care, two crucial questions remain at the heart of the issue: How do we define, and identify, quality in practices, hospitals and other health care settings? Then, how can new methods of identifying quality in practices help improve the standardization of processes and care that patients receive? Join host Dr. Jack Lewin and his guest, Francois de Brantes, executive director of the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute in Newton, Connecticut, which manages the Bridges to Excellence and PROMETHEUS payment programs. Mr. de Brantes talks about the specific data that can help identify quality, and ways to utilize these data to improve and facilitate quality improvement. How does identifying quality in cardiovascular practices coincide with the increasing interest in value-based health care delivery? Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Jim Guest Recommendations and ratings are a dime a dozen for patients looking for more information about a physician or procedure online, but finding quality, consumer-friendly information that's also reliable can be more of a challenge. What tools can physicians recommend to patients for understanding the implications of both reform and other healthcare matters? Jim Guest, president at CEO of Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, and ConsumerReportsHealth.org, discusses ways physicians can encourage better communication and health literacy with their patients, and stresses the importance of bringing up costs with your patients. How can healthcare ratings based on outcomes data improve quality of care? Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Jim Guest Recommendations and ratings are a dime a dozen for patients looking for more information about a physician or procedure online, but finding quality, consumer-friendly information that's also reliable can be more of a challenge. What tools can physicians recommend to patients for understanding the implications of both reform and other healthcare matters? Jim Guest, president at CEO of Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, and ConsumerReportsHealth.org, discusses ways physicians can encourage better communication and health literacy with their patients, and stresses the importance of bringing up costs with your patients. How can healthcare ratings based on outcomes data improve quality of care? Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Mark McClellan, MD, PhD Defensive medicine and medical liability concerns create a symbiotic relationship that costs everyone in the medical system. Has healthcare reform legislation addressed the medical malpractice issue, and will it do enough to contain healthcare costs? Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, former commissioner of the FDA and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, discusses the impact of defensive medicine on the healthcare system. Dr. McClellan also suggests that health information technology will play a significant role in bending the healthcare cost curve by ensuring safety, as well as increasing coordination of care and effective communication. Among states have taken up tort reform, how successful have these reforms been at reducing liability pressure and overall healthcare costs? Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Mark McClellan, MD, PhD Defensive medicine and medical liability concerns create a symbiotic relationship that costs everyone in the medical system. Has healthcare reform legislation addressed the medical malpractice issue, and will it do enough to contain healthcare costs? Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, former commissioner of the FDA and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, discusses the impact of defensive medicine on the healthcare system. Dr. McClellan also suggests that health information technology will play a significant role in bending the healthcare cost curve by ensuring safety, as well as increasing coordination of care and effective communication. Among states have taken up tort reform, how successful have these reforms been at reducing liability pressure and overall healthcare costs? Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: David Blumenthal, MD, MPP Electronic management of health information will someday replace the pen and paper chart. How significant a role will health information technology, or HIT, play in the newly-reformed healthcare system? What incentives are the federal government offering to foster the widespread, meaningful use of or HIT, and more importantly, what qualifies as meaningful use? Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under President Barack Obama, weighs in on the value of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry and explains meaningful use criteria. How can your practice implement an electronic system that will comply with federal meaningful use guidelines? Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin.

Guest: Kevin Weiss, MD Host: Jack Lewin, MD Although the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program may conjure up unpleasant testing jitters, its value to both patients and the medical professional community should not be underestimated. How does MOC improve clinical performance, increase physician accountability and ultimately improve quality of care for patients? How will the MOC program evolve in the future? Dr. Kevin Weiss, president and CEO of the American Board of Medical Specialties, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss the MOC program's areas of competency as well as plans to integrate MOC with health information technology. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Ralph Brindis, MD, MPH How will the recently-passed health reform legislation impact cardiologists and other physicians in the next year? What can physicians do to prepare for the changes ahead? Dr. Ralph Brindis, senior advisor for cardiovascular disease for Northern California Kaiser Permanente, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and president of the American College of Cardiology, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss various elements of health reform, including the further needs for tort reform as well as the sustainable growth rate formula (or SGR) and the need for payment reform. Dr. Brindis also weighs in on the role of registries in measuring success, ensuring quality of care, reducing disparities and decreasing healthcare costs.

Guest: Kevin Weiss, MD Host: Jack Lewin, MD Although the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program may conjure up unpleasant testing jitters, its value to both patients and the medical professional community should not be underestimated. How does MOC improve clinical performance, increase physician accountability and ultimately improve quality of care for patients? How will the MOC program evolve in the future? Dr. Kevin Weiss, president and CEO of the American Board of Medical Specialties, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss the MOC program's areas of competency as well as plans to integrate MOC with health information technology. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: David Blumenthal, MD, MPP Electronic management of health information will someday replace the pen and paper chart. How significant a role will health information technology, or HIT, play in the newly-reformed healthcare system? What incentives are the federal government offering to foster the widespread, meaningful use of or HIT, and more importantly, what qualifies as meaningful use? Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under President Barack Obama, weighs in on the value of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry and explains meaningful use criteria. How can your practice implement an electronic system that will comply with federal meaningful use guidelines? Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Ralph Brindis, MD, MPH How will the recently-passed health reform legislation impact cardiologists and other physicians in the next year? What can physicians do to prepare for the changes ahead? Dr. Ralph Brindis, senior advisor for cardiovascular disease for Northern California Kaiser Permanente, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and president of the American College of Cardiology, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss various elements of health reform, including the further needs for tort reform as well as the sustainable growth rate formula (or SGR) and the need for payment reform. Dr. Brindis also weighs in on the role of registries in measuring success, ensuring quality of care, reducing disparities and decreasing healthcare costs.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP How can cardiologists and our internal medicine colleagues work together to promote the patient-centered medical home as an efficient strategy for re-organizing care that will reduce costs and improve quality of care? How can we improve communication between specialist and subspecialist providers? Dr. John Tooker, executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Physicians, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to outline some of the best practices and lessons learned from current integrated health systems, and emphasizes the importance of accountable care organizations. Can some of these lessons even apply to more fragmented delivery of care models?

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Stephen Ubl How do physicians play a particularly crucial role in the development of medical devices, and how does the device innovation model differ from the drug development model? How can we encourage transparent, ethical relationships between healthcare professionals and the medical device industry, as collaborations between these parties are vital to the development process? Mr. Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, provides an overview of the medical device industry landscape, and stresses the need to reward innovation in order to create the environment for new technologies to thrive. Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Stephen Ubl How do physicians play a particularly crucial role in the development of medical devices, and how does the device innovation model differ from the drug development model? How can we encourage transparent, ethical relationships between healthcare professionals and the medical device industry, as collaborations between these parties are vital to the development process? Mr. Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, provides an overview of the medical device industry landscape, and stresses the need to reward innovation in order to create the environment for new technologies to thrive. Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP How can cardiologists and our internal medicine colleagues work together to promote the patient-centered medical home as an efficient strategy for re-organizing care that will reduce costs and improve quality of care? How can we improve communication between specialist and subspecialist providers? Dr. John Tooker, executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Physicians, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to outline some of the best practices and lessons learned from current integrated health systems, and emphasizes the importance of accountable care organizations. Can some of these lessons even apply to more fragmented delivery of care models?

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Chris Kaiser What payment cuts does the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule include for cardiology? How will these lower reimbursements affect cardiology practices and impact patients' access to care? Chris Kaiser, editor of Cardiovascular Business, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss ways cardiology practices can try to adapt to payment cuts by increasing practice efficiency. How can cardiologists optimize use of health information technology to help their practices thrive and encourage better outcomes, despite these payment cuts? What economic challenges will cardiology practices continue to face? Tune in to hear more.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Richard Katz, MD Use of electronic medical records (EMRs) and personal health records (PHRs) can improve adherence, increase efficiency and better coordinate patient care. What role are health information exchanges playing in the integration of EMRs and PHRs, and how effective are disease management software programs? How can we meet the challenges of integrating health information technology, or HIT, tools into cardiology practices? Dr. Richard Katz, the Bloedorn Professor of Cardiology, director of the division of cardiology at George Washington University Hospital, and director of the George Washington Cardiovascular Institute in Washington, DC, discusses the opportunities to utilize existing and emerging technologies to improve patient care. Dr. Katz also offers pragmatic advice about implementing HIT systems, and reviews current HIT initiatives. Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Richard Katz, MD Use of electronic medical records (EMRs) and personal health records (PHRs) can improve adherence, increase efficiency and better coordinate patient care. What role are health information exchanges playing in the integration of EMRs and PHRs, and how effective are disease management software programs? How can we meet the challenges of integrating health information technology, or HIT, tools into cardiology practices? Dr. Richard Katz, the Bloedorn Professor of Cardiology, director of the division of cardiology at George Washington University Hospital, and director of the George Washington Cardiovascular Institute in Washington, DC, discusses the opportunities to utilize existing and emerging technologies to improve patient care. Dr. Katz also offers pragmatic advice about implementing HIT systems, and reviews current HIT initiatives. Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin. Produced in Cooperation with

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Chris Kaiser What payment cuts does the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule include for cardiology? How will these lower reimbursements affect cardiology practices and impact patients' access to care? Chris Kaiser, editor of Cardiovascular Business, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss ways cardiology practices can try to adapt to payment cuts by increasing practice efficiency. How can cardiologists optimize use of health information technology to help their practices thrive and encourage better outcomes, despite these payment cuts? What economic challenges will cardiology practices continue to face? Tune in to hear more.

Guest: George Halvorson Host: Jack Lewin, MD How does an integrated cardiac care model work, and how difficult a process is such a model to implement? What are the various components of the program, and what have the results been? George Halvorson, chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente and author of the book Healthcare Will Not Reform Itself, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss the advantages of a collaborative care model and the importance of efficient data flow. How might such a systematic, coordinated model impact the discussion of health care reform?

Guest: Christopher Cannon, MD Host: Jack Lewin, MD Previous trials, including the ENHANCE trial, have raised doubts about the clinical benefits of adding ezetimibe to high-dose statin therapy. The ARBITER 6-HALTS trial added further weight to the results of ENHANCE, wherein the ARBITER trial demonstrated that extended-release niacin was superior to ezetimibe as adjunctive therapy to high-dose statins in slowing atherosclerosis. However, this study was not based on clinical outcomes, but rather on measuring carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). In addition, the ARBITER trial was relatively small, based on 208 patients completing the trial. Are these data enough to impact clinical use of ezetimibe and niacin, or should we await results of further large-scale trials? Dr. Christopher Cannon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and editor-in-chief of the American College of Cardiology's Cardiosource, weighs in on these questions and more regarding adjunctive therapy to high-dose statins, with host Dr. Jack Lewin.

Guest: George Halvorson Host: Jack Lewin, MD How does an integrated cardiac care model work, and how difficult a process is such a model to implement? What are the various components of the program, and what have the results been? George Halvorson, chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente and author of the book Healthcare Will Not Reform Itself, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss the advantages of a collaborative care model and the importance of efficient data flow. How might such a systematic, coordinated model impact the discussion of health care reform?

Guest: Christopher Cannon, MD Host: Jack Lewin, MD Previous trials, including the ENHANCE trial, have raised doubts about the clinical benefits of adding ezetimibe to high-dose statin therapy. The ARBITER 6-HALTS trial added further weight to the results of ENHANCE, wherein the ARBITER trial demonstrated that extended-release niacin was superior to ezetimibe as adjunctive therapy to high-dose statins in slowing atherosclerosis. However, this study was not based on clinical outcomes, but rather on measuring carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). In addition, the ARBITER trial was relatively small, based on 208 patients completing the trial. Are these data enough to impact clinical use of ezetimibe and niacin, or should we await results of further large-scale trials? Dr. Christopher Cannon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and editor-in-chief of the American College of Cardiology's Cardiosource, weighs in on these questions and more regarding adjunctive therapy to high-dose statins, with host Dr. Jack Lewin.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Donald Berwick, MD, MPP There are several prominent points of disagreement in today's health reform debate, but one area of general accord involves hospital readmissions: we can (and must) do much better in coordinating the transition and follow-up process for admissions and readmissions — and, if executed properly, this will improve outcomes for our patients. As we embark on a campaign to reduce unnecessary readmissions, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, president and chief executive officer for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), joins host Dr. Jack Lewin for an important conversation about the Hospital-to-Home (H2H) campaign, co-sponsored by IHI and the American College of Cardiology, to apply scientifically-based protocol to keep patients healthy at home once they leave the hospital. Dr. Berwick says the shift won't come by simply telling hospital staff to work harder; instead, we need to use the hard evidence we have to change the paradigm for transition and follow-up care.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Donald Berwick, MD, MPP There are several prominent points of disagreement in today's health reform debate, but one area of general accord involves hospital readmissions: we can (and must) do much better in coordinating the transition and follow-up process for admissions and readmissions — and, if executed properly, this will improve outcomes for our patients. As we embark on a campaign to reduce unnecessary readmissions, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, president and chief executive officer for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), joins host Dr. Jack Lewin for an important conversation about the Hospital-to-Home (H2H) campaign, co-sponsored by IHI and the American College of Cardiology, to apply scientifically-based protocol to keep patients healthy at home once they leave the hospital. Dr. Berwick says the shift won't come by simply telling hospital staff to work harder; instead, we need to use the hard evidence we have to change the paradigm for transition and follow-up care.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: John Rumsfeld, MD, PhD So much of our clinical interaction with patients revolves around the collection, analysis and application of information. On a much broader scale, data registries work to assemble the information from each and every one of these clinical encounters. In this age of information, there is so much data at our fingertips, it is easy to be excited about the potential. How are we harnessing the information available to us, toward the improvement of clinical outcomes? Dr. John Rumsfeld, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and chief science officer for the National Cardiovascular Data Registry, an initiative led by the American College of Cardiology Foundation, talks with host Dr. Jack Lewin.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Glenn Steele, MD, PhD At some point during the health reform debate, you've probably heard President Obama and others recognize the work of the Geisinger Health System. Through a variety of mechanisms -- among others, charging a flat fee for certain surgical procedures and other high-volume episodes of care, and working hard to integrate services -- Geisinger has been able to bend that all-important cost curve, while also improving the quality of the care they provide. Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes the physician executive who has overseen this prolonged period of successful innovation, Geisinger President and CEO Dr. Glenn Steele. On a grand scale, how feasible would it be to leverage the innovations developed at Geisinger across the various markets for health care around the United States?

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Glenn Steele, MD, PhD At some point during the health reform debate, you've probably heard President Obama and others recognize the work of the Geisinger Health System. Through a variety of mechanisms -- among others, charging a flat fee for certain surgical procedures and other high-volume episodes of care, and working hard to integrate services -- Geisinger has been able to bend that all-important cost curve, while also improving the quality of the care they provide. Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes the physician executive who has overseen this prolonged period of successful innovation, Geisinger President and CEO Dr. Glenn Steele. On a grand scale, how feasible would it be to leverage the innovations developed at Geisinger across the various markets for health care around the United States?

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: John Rumsfeld, MD, PhD So much of our clinical interaction with patients revolves around the collection, analysis and application of information. On a much broader scale, data registries work to assemble the information from each and every one of these clinical encounters. In this age of information, there is so much data at our fingertips, it is easy to be excited about the potential. How are we harnessing the information available to us, toward the improvement of clinical outcomes? Dr. John Rumsfeld, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and chief science officer for the National Cardiovascular Data Registry, an initiative led by the American College of Cardiology Foundation, talks with host Dr. Jack Lewin.

Guest: Karen Davis, PhD Host: Jack Lewin, MD The concept of the accountable care organization (ACO) has many things going for it, not the least of which is its name: certainly any entity for care that can encourage more accountability and organization would seem to be something which we can incorporate into our reform movement. But there's more to an ACO than just the name: why might these groups be one of our best options for better quality and reduced costs -- helping patients, providers and hospitals? Dr. Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a national philanthropy engaged in independent health policy research, outlines her vision for ACOs in the future of American healthcare. Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.

Guest: Sean Tunis, MD, MSc Host: Jack Lewin, MD The Institute of Medicine recently released a list of 100 priority topics for comparative effectiveness research. The first topic on the first page of the report calls for an evaluation of treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation, from surgery or catheter ablation, to pharmacologic therapy. How do we design research to produce an accurate comparison of these treatment options, and what other subjects should stand at the top of our priority list? Dr. Sean Tunis shares his perspective on these questions with host Dr. Jack Lewin. Dr. Tunis, the founding director of the Center for Medical Technology Policy in Baltimore and formerly the director of the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality and chief medical officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says it may not be the spotless level 1 data that proves ideal for improving our evidence base, but rather a broader range of imperfect information that can be shaped for our clinical benefit.

Guest: Karen Davis, PhD Host: Jack Lewin, MD The concept of the accountable care organization (ACO) has many things going for it, not the least of which is its name: certainly any entity for care that can encourage more accountability and organization would seem to be something which we can incorporate into our reform movement. But there's more to an ACO than just the name: why might these groups be one of our best options for better quality and reduced costs -- helping patients, providers and hospitals? Dr. Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a national philanthropy engaged in independent health policy research, outlines her vision for ACOs in the future of American healthcare. Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.

Guest: Sean Tunis, MD, MSc Host: Jack Lewin, MD The Institute of Medicine recently released a list of 100 priority topics for comparative effectiveness research. The first topic on the first page of the report calls for an evaluation of treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation, from surgery or catheter ablation, to pharmacologic therapy. How do we design research to produce an accurate comparison of these treatment options, and what other subjects should stand at the top of our priority list? Dr. Sean Tunis shares his perspective on these questions with host Dr. Jack Lewin. Dr. Tunis, the founding director of the Center for Medical Technology Policy in Baltimore and formerly the director of the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality and chief medical officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says it may not be the spotless level 1 data that proves ideal for improving our evidence base, but rather a broader range of imperfect information that can be shaped for our clinical benefit.

Guest: Kim Belshé, MPP Host: Jack Lewin, MD California is the largest state in our union. Bigger than a host of nations in many ways, from population to gross domestic product, its sheer size is one of many reasons why the state's health care system is under duress. Despite the state's budget woes, California is one the few states in our union to take significant steps toward health care reform. As national reform efforts begin to take shape, what lessons can we draw from California's experience, to inform future federal policy initiatives? Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Belshé for a wide-ranging conversation, covering California's previous attempts at reform, progress toward greater health information technology adaptation across the state and the burden to the healthcare system posed by California's ever-expanding population of undocumented workers and their families.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Harlan Krumholz, MD The transition from inpatient to outpatient status is a vulnerable spot in our health care system: more than one in four patients with congestive heart failure are back in the hospital within 30 days of discharge, and readmission rates for a host of other conditions are above 20 percent. The right improvements during this transition phase could have a profound impact, reducing the incidence and cost of unnecessary readmissions, and most importantly, improving outcomes for our patients. Dr. Harlan Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines, Jr., Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale University School of Medicine, talks with host Dr. Jack Lewin about the new Hospital-to-Home (H2H) initiative to lower rates of unneeded readmissions, and how the field of cardiology can contribute toward improving the hospital discharge process.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Nancy Brown Decisions our young patients make now can have metabolic consequences for the rest of their lives. It's hard to overstate, not only how crucial it is that we reduce the incidence of childhood obesity, but also how difficult it has been for us to turn the corner on this issue. These concurrent themes are central to a campaign put forth by the American Heart Association (AHA) that aims to make major progress on childhood obesity in the years to come. Host Dr. Jack Lewin gets the details on this campaign during his conversation with the AHA's chief executive officer, Nancy Brown. How is the AHA partnering with schools to empower kids to make healthier decisions about their consumption habits and lifestyle choices? How can we help fellow clinicians move beyond the feeling that their efforts to reduce childhood obesity aren't having the desired effect?

Guest: Regina Herzlinger, PhD Host: Jack Lewin, MD The role of specialization in our economy dates back to the 18th century. Now fast-forward to healthcare in the present day: one application of specialization is the concept of a focused factory, where care providers focus on one or two specific organs or disease processes. Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Dr. Regina Herzlinger, the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, for an interesting conversation about the potential role of focused factories in healthcare. We have seen this model take hold in a few areas of medicine, including cardiology, but is the time ripe for an expansion of the focused factory model? Dr. Herzlinger also explains where a specialty hospital or a general tertiary care facility would fit within this system.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Nancy Brown Decisions our young patients make now can have metabolic consequences for the rest of their lives. It's hard to overstate, not only how crucial it is that we reduce the incidence of childhood obesity, but also how difficult it has been for us to turn the corner on this issue. These concurrent themes are central to a campaign put forth by the American Heart Association (AHA) that aims to make major progress on childhood obesity in the years to come. Host Dr. Jack Lewin gets the details on this campaign during his conversation with the AHA's chief executive officer, Nancy Brown. How is the AHA partnering with schools to empower kids to make healthier decisions about their consumption habits and lifestyle choices? How can we help fellow clinicians move beyond the feeling that their efforts to reduce childhood obesity aren't having the desired effect?

Guest: Regina Herzlinger, PhD Host: Jack Lewin, MD The role of specialization in our economy dates back to the 18th century. Now fast-forward to healthcare in the present day: one application of specialization is the concept of a focused factory, where care providers focus on one or two specific organs or disease processes. Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Dr. Regina Herzlinger, the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, for an interesting conversation about the potential role of focused factories in healthcare. We have seen this model take hold in a few areas of medicine, including cardiology, but is the time ripe for an expansion of the focused factory model? Dr. Herzlinger also explains where a specialty hospital or a general tertiary care facility would fit within this system.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Harlan Krumholz, MD The transition from inpatient to outpatient status is a vulnerable spot in our health care system: more than one in four patients with congestive heart failure are back in the hospital within 30 days of discharge, and readmission rates for a host of other conditions are above 20 percent. The right improvements during this transition phase could have a profound impact, reducing the incidence and cost of unnecessary readmissions, and most importantly, improving outcomes for our patients. Dr. Harlan Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines, Jr., Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale University School of Medicine, talks with host Dr. Jack Lewin about the new Hospital-to-Home (H2H) initiative to lower rates of unneeded readmissions, and how the field of cardiology can contribute toward improving the hospital discharge process.

Guest: Kim Belshé, MPP Host: Jack Lewin, MD California is the largest state in our union. Bigger than a host of nations in many ways, from population to gross domestic product, its sheer size is one of many reasons why the state's health care system is under duress. Despite the state's budget woes, California is one the few states in our union to take significant steps toward health care reform. As national reform efforts begin to take shape, what lessons can we draw from California's experience, to inform future federal policy initiatives? Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Belshé for a wide-ranging conversation, covering California's previous attempts at reform, progress toward greater health information technology adaptation across the state and the burden to the healthcare system posed by California's ever-expanding population of undocumented workers and their families.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Mark McClellan, MD, PhD It takes a substantial measure of time, money and manpower to bring a new drug from the bench to the marketplace. One key aspect of this sequence is the drug approval process, overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, former commissioner of the FDA and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to discuss a range of issues within the FDA's approval process: from essential boosts in funding, to more transparency about conflicts of interest, to the imperative need for comprehensive, real-time surveillance of long-term drug outcomes, how can the agency devote more attention to each of these areas of concern?

Guest: Alfred Bove, MD Host: Jack Lewin, MD The next year promises to be an important one in health policy, in cardiology and in many other areas of medicine, as we set our sights on significant transformations across our health care system. What improvements can you anticipate that will enrich your practice environment and enhance the care you provide to your patients? Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Dr. Alfred Bove, the newly installed president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), for a look ahead at key points of emphasis during the coming year, from more rigorous quality measurements, to patient empowerment and value of care, to the broader issue of health care reform and the ACC's role in furthering the priorities of cardiologists and care providers across the entire health care spectrum.

Guest: Alfred Bove, MD Host: Jack Lewin, MD The next year promises to be an important one in health policy, in cardiology and in many other areas of medicine, as we set our sights on significant transformations across our health care system. What improvements can you anticipate that will enrich your practice environment and enhance the care you provide to your patients? Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Dr. Alfred Bove, the newly installed president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), for a look ahead at key points of emphasis during the coming year, from more rigorous quality measurements, to patient empowerment and value of care, to the broader issue of health care reform and the ACC's role in furthering the priorities of cardiologists and care providers across the entire health care spectrum.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Mark McClellan, MD, PhD It takes a substantial measure of time, money and manpower to bring a new drug from the bench to the marketplace. One key aspect of this sequence is the drug approval process, overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, former commissioner of the FDA and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to discuss a range of issues within the FDA's approval process: from essential boosts in funding, to more transparency about conflicts of interest, to the imperative need for comprehensive, real-time surveillance of long-term drug outcomes, how can the agency devote more attention to each of these areas of concern?

Guest: Chris Jennings Host: Jack Lewin, MD It seems we all work so much these days, we might as well get our personal mail delivered at work, or maybe even consider a hide-a-bed for the office. That may seem a bit far-fetched, but many of us do receive our health insurance coverage from our place of employment, and an increasing percentage of us are participating in so-called wellness programs at work. As we anticipate reforms in our health care system, what is the future role of the employer and the workplace in this movement? For a look at these questions, host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Chris Jennings, president of Jennings Policy Strategies, a health policy and advocacy consulting firm based in Washington, DC, and a former White House Senior Health Care Advisor during the Clinton administration. Mr. Jennings also compares the current efforts toward health care reform to those of the early Clinton years, and outlines what he sees as the key reasons why the present climate will be more receptive to the achievement of meaningful reform.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Robert Hauser, MD Because new cardiac technologies are often rapidly integrated into clinical practice, we must be mindful that these innovations can contain a level of risk. Regrettably, we've seen examples of this before with previous generations of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD), and some experts say the latest advances in ICD technology could pose similar problems. Host Dr. Jack Lewin explores this issue with Dr. Robert Hauser, senior consulting cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute and a founder and past president of the Heart Rhythm Society.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Robert Hauser, MD Because new cardiac technologies are often rapidly integrated into clinical practice, we must be mindful that these innovations can contain a level of risk. Regrettably, we've seen examples of this before with previous generations of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD), and some experts say the latest advances in ICD technology could pose similar problems. Host Dr. Jack Lewin explores this issue with Dr. Robert Hauser, senior consulting cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute and a founder and past president of the Heart Rhythm Society.

Guest: Chris Jennings Host: Jack Lewin, MD It seems we all work so much these days, we might as well get our personal mail delivered at work, or maybe even consider a hide-a-bed for the office. That may seem a bit far-fetched, but many of us do receive our health insurance coverage from our place of employment, and an increasing percentage of us are participating in so-called wellness programs at work. As we anticipate reforms in our health care system, what is the future role of the employer and the workplace in this movement? For a look at these questions, host Dr. Jack Lewin welcomes Chris Jennings, president of Jennings Policy Strategies, a health policy and advocacy consulting firm based in Washington, DC, and a former White House Senior Health Care Advisor during the Clinton administration. Mr. Jennings also compares the current efforts toward health care reform to those of the early Clinton years, and outlines what he sees as the key reasons why the present climate will be more receptive to the achievement of meaningful reform.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Elliott Antman, MD New treatment guidelines regularly make headlines in medicine, recommending advances in our approach to care. In recent years, we have accelerated the speed at which we can update our guidelines and welcomed more global input into the process. Will these trends continue? Where else can we improve our process for authoring treatment guidelines? Host Dr. Jack Lewin explores these questions and more with Dr. Elliott Antman, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and past chairman of the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association’s Task Force on Practice Guidelines.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Elliott Antman, MD New treatment guidelines regularly make headlines in medicine, recommending advances in our approach to care. In recent years, we have accelerated the speed at which we can update our guidelines and welcomed more global input into the process. Will these trends continue? Where else can we improve our process for authoring treatment guidelines? Host Dr. Jack Lewin explores these questions and more with Dr. Elliott Antman, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and past chairman of the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association’s Task Force on Practice Guidelines.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: James Dove, MD Host Dr. Jack Lewin speaks with Dr. James Dove, immediate past president of the American College of Cardiology, about strategies to improve the integration of quality into our healthcare system. No physician wants to fall short of providing the best care available, so it is imperative, Dr. Dove says, that physicians receive the tools they need to succeed, based on clinical data they trust. What are these tools and how can we integrate them into the workflow? Further, how do we incorporate these challenges into an efficient payment system?

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Uwe Reinhardt, PhD In a recent survey tracked by Dr. Uwe Reinhardt, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, Medicare patients in northern New Jersey accrued three times the medical costs in their last two years of life as patients in the southern half of the state. Save for seismic demographic differences, Dr. Reinhardt explains how our current system produces these staggering billing disparities. How could a peer-review mechanism stem the tide of clinical ‘cost-ineffectiveness' and concurrently improve quality assurance in American healthcare? Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: James Dove, MD Host Dr. Jack Lewin speaks with Dr. James Dove, immediate past president of the American College of Cardiology, about strategies to improve the integration of quality into our healthcare system. No physician wants to fall short of providing the best care available, so it is imperative, Dr. Dove says, that physicians receive the tools they need to succeed, based on clinical data they trust. What are these tools and how can we integrate them into the workflow? Further, how do we incorporate these challenges into an efficient payment system?

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Uwe Reinhardt, PhD In a recent survey tracked by Dr. Uwe Reinhardt, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, Medicare patients in northern New Jersey accrued three times the medical costs in their last two years of life as patients in the southern half of the state. Save for seismic demographic differences, Dr. Reinhardt explains how our current system produces these staggering billing disparities. How could a peer-review mechanism stem the tide of clinical ‘cost-ineffectiveness' and concurrently improve quality assurance in American healthcare? Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.