Conversations on Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton

UPDATE: As of mid September PA health officials say a third person has died of measles - a 40 year old, unvaccinated woman. We are all about vaccines in this episode. And appropriately. Summer already seems a distant dream; the kids are back at school and the signs reminding us to get our seasonal flu and Covid shots are everywhere. Along with the continuing battle in the US over all vaccines. But especially over the measles and other childhood vaccines. During the summer the number of measles cases continued to grow here, with over 31 hundred confirmed as I recorded this episode in early September. It’s tempting to blame the controversy over vaccines on Covid or MAHA Moms or their one-time leader and now US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But actually, vaccines have been controversial ever since Edward Jenner introduced the first cowpox-based, smallpox vaccine in 1796. I’m told medical students are often shown this 1802 satirical engraving by the famous British caricaturist James Gillray. As an example of how far back people have feared and fought over vaccines. So. We have the perfect guest to discuss the immeasurable contribution of vaccines to health and to life itself. Dr. Anil Dutta got his medical degrees in India and France and was a practicing pediatrician for almost a decade - before moving into vaccine manufacturing. Dr. Dutta  headed the Medical Department of Sanofi Pasteur International in Lyon, France – with responsibility for all international clinical and epidemiological studies. He later worked to strengthen immunization programs worldwide. In 2009 Dr. Dutta joined GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals as Vice President and Head of Clinical Research and Development, and Medical Affairs. He has authored or co-authored 65 scientific publications and book chapters and has presented over 300 papers at medical conferences. Currently, Dr. Dutta is building support for vaccinations through his own venture –  Vac-Science. Dr. Dutta is based in Belgium. And as usual on this pod – we use first names. YouTube Episode 48 link: https://youtu.be/dVbPaqMbS9M YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482

It’s been nearly 3 years since we had a conversation about heart disease. Which sadly remains the number one killer of Americans - as it has been since 1921. It also remains number one in many other countries. But since we last talked about it - there have been huge advances in how heart disease - in its many different forms - is detected and treated. And I’ll bet you can guess the reason. Exactly. It’s AI. So I asked one of the best specialists I know to come back and help us understand how AI is already improving the practice of cardiology and its many specialties. And how quickly there will be more breakthroughs. Many of these likely resulting in the prevention of heart disease as we know it today. As you may recall from Episode 20 - Dr. Mohammadali Habibi is an electrophysiologist with the highly rated Valley Health and Hospital System in New Jersey - where he’s Director of its Ventricular  Arrythmia Program. And before we got into the AI nitty gritty – I asked Ali to spend a few minutes explaining how the late Senator Lindsay Graham – who likely had the best healthcare coverage in the country as a US Senator – could have died so unexpectedly just a little over a month ago. YouTube Episode 47 Link: https://youtu.be/ikK5Y1oveNk https://youtube.com/shorts/_TAtBPyrra4 YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482

Have you ever wondered what it’s like being a medical student in the age of AI? As AI constantly evolves, influences or changes what students must learn? Well – in Episode 46 you’ll find out. As we talk to Alfir Latypov, a very tuned-in medical student from Tatarstan who’s studying at one of Europe’s top medical schools – The Second Faculty of Medicine at  Prague’s Charles University. If you’ve followed this podcast - you’ll recall the Czechs have a solid universal health care system. And all medical education is changing to reflect AI’s advance into healthcare. So - while we were in Prague a few weeks ago, a good friend suggested Alfir. He agreed – and – here we are. And - just wait till you see where we are. Where we recorded this!!  Our same friend – her name is Priscilla - offered her beautiful apartment. Which is in a building that was once a palace. One corner of the original building survives and there are historical mentions of it dating back to 1407. The end of the Middle Ages. Like so many buildings in the old part of Prague there were fires and rebuilding and multiple reconstructions and many wealthy owners. This being Prague, it’s all chronicled. The now modernized apartments are long term rentals; the owner’s family got the building back after Communism fell in1989. Funny we should be talking about AI in this history-spanning place. One could also say that for Prague itself. So settle down and watch or listen to Alfir Latypov’s vision of the medical future. YouTube Episode Link: https://youtu.be/A9wBjJE3kfI YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482

I think most of us know that AI is rapidly changing the meaning of that now rather old fashioned-sounding phrase – “I’m going to the doctor’s”. If you go for a scan of some kind – AI’s now involved. Same with making appointments or the patient portals that almost all of us use now – willingly or not. If the AI is well integrated and works well – it saves time. If it isn’t – and that’s too often the case at the moment – we hate it. But the speed that some version of an AI is moving into all aspects of American health care is accelerating and it appears there’s no stopping it. And indeed – if AI is improving your healthcare – why would you want to stop it?  So – is it? In Episode 43 we learned what a well-integrated AI can do in an advanced, well organized healthcare system. As they have in Israel. And Israel is already far ahead of the US in using AI to improve direct patient care. In our own, more fragmented, more competitive, mostly for-profit system – the deployment is primarily in the largest hospital, imaging and doctor groups and in the big insurance companies. So in this episode we’re talking to someone who’s at the helm of AI rollout at Optum – the huge, health services and technology arm of United Health. Dr. Racquel Moore is Vice President of EHR Strategy, Governance, and Special Projects at Optum. EHR, which I had to look up too, stands for “electronic health record”. It has broadly replaced most paper records. At Optum – Dr. Moore leads enterprise AI and digital strategy across a large, multi-platform healthcare network. Her work focuses on how AI tools are evaluated, implemented, and responsibly scaled to improve provider efficiency and reduce administrative burden, while maintaining strong clinical and governance oversight. With a background that spans frontline clinical work, quality and compliance, and enterprise strategy, she brings both a practical and strategic perspective to the evolving role of AI in healthcare. So that ultimately – both providers and patients should benefit. As always in these informal conversations – we used first names. YouTube Episode Link: YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482

It’s been a while since we did the episode on women’s health. You can tell by the number – Episode 29.  Since then quite a bit has changed about the management and treatment of menopause. (no – sorry – there is still no way to make menopause disappear). But. I do think it’s time for an update. There have been many new drugs approved for menopause symptoms. And after new studies, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is again being prescribed – often in the form of a simple patch. Dr. Michelle P. Warren kindly agreed to come back to talk about all this. She’s a distinguished New York City physician who specializes in both endocrinology and gynecology and has spent her lifetime focused on women’s health issues. In 1997 Dr. Warren founded and remains the medical director of the Center for Menopause, Hormonal Disorders and Women’s Health at Columbia University Medical Center.  Where she is the Wyeth Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Medicine. Full disclosure - I have been her patient for many years. http://www.center-for-menopause.com/ https://menopause.org/ YouTube Episode Link: https://youtu.be/fF6tVLJVuIQ YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482