health care

Dr. Ethan Welch is a retired local surgeon who has written a new booked called  "Quackonomics! The Cost of Unscientific Health Care in the US." We talk to him about the critical importance of science in medicine and how Americans can better spend their health care dollars.

Our guest:

• Ethan Welch, M.D., author of "Quackonomics! The Cost of Unscientific Health Care in the US" 

A local woman says the staff at Highland Hospital saved her life after they recognized she had sepsis. Lynn Lubecki says she was feeling fine after a night out with friends, but then started experiencing symptoms she and her family didn't understand. Doctors at Highland recognized immediately that she had sepsis. Lubecki says without their training and expertise, she would not be alive today.

This hour, she joins us to share her story, and the medical staff who treated her help us understand the characteristics of sepsis. In studio:

• Lynn Lubecki, early care and education strategies director at the Children’s Institute
• Dr. Timothy Lum, M.D., chief of the Emergency Department at Highland Hospital
• Diane Martin, registered nurse and nurse educator at Highland Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit
  

The New York State Medicaid Redesign Team II is holding a public forum Tuesday afternoon to take questions and comments about possible changes to the state’s Medicaid program.

This hour, we discuss the program, possible upcoming changes, and more. In studio:

• Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health who serves on the Medicaid Redesign Team II 
• Dr. Deborah Pierce, M.D., clinical associate professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center
  

Dr. Gina Cuyler has more than 25 years of clinical experience, and throughout her career, she says she has seen a breakdown in communication, miscommunication, or misunderstandings between patients and providers. In her new book, “Insider’s Guide to Leading Your Medical Care,” she provides information and resources aimed at helping patients advocate for their medical needs.

She joins us in studio to discuss the impact of physician burnout, electronic medical records, and the healthcare process on patients. In studio:

• Dr. Gina Cuyler, M.D., author of “Insider’s Guide to Leading Your Medical Care,” and founder of Comprehension Internal Medicine PLLC

We sit down with Jonathan Gruber, an economics professor at MIT who says Rochester is set to become one of America's growth engines. He’s in Rochester to discuss his book, “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream.” We talk to him about the promise he sees in Rochester.

Gruber is also one of the key architects of the Affordable Care Act and the 2006 Massachusetts healthcare reform – Romneycare. We discuss healthcare and healthcare policy in the U.S. In studio:

• Jonathan Gruber, professor of economics at MIT
• Jim Senall, president of NextCorps, Inc., and managing director of the Rochester Angel Network
  

Making decisions about end-of-life care can be challenging and confusing. A program called Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) seeks to help families through the process. MOLST forms record detailed descriptions of how patients and families want treatment and care to be handled in scenarios they may experience.

Rochester has been recognized as a leader in IT advances that assist families with end-of-life care, so why don’t more people in the region know about and use MOLST? This hour, we're joined by healthcare providers who help us understand how the program works and what patients and their families need to know. In studio:

• Dr. Patricia Bomba, M.D.M, vice president and medical director of geriatrics at Excellus BlueCross and Blue Shield, chair of the MOLST Statewide Implementation Team, and program director for eMOLST
• Jill Eisenstein, president and CEO of Rochester RHIO, who has used the MOLST program both professionally and personally
  

The number of people without health insurance in Steuben County has been cut in half since 2014. That should mean more people have access to the health care system. But that’s not always the case, according to Erin Bankey, who manages funds from a state program aimed at reducing hospital visits in the Finger Lakes.

“The story starts there, with trying to get people insurance, but then we found even people who have insurance don’t necessarily have the relationship with a primary care provider, or transportation, or healthy food,” Bankey said.

We discuss the recent measles outbreak in the Pacific Northwest, where most of the victims were not vaccinated.

Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mike Mendoza says he wants to communicate with parents who are against vaccines to share the message that it is dangerous not to vaccinate children. He joins us, along with Dr. Elizabeth Murray and Dr. Lori Anderson, to discuss the outbreak and address parents’ concerns. Our guests:

• Dr. Mike Mendoza, M.D., Monroe County Commissioner of Public Health
• Dr. Elizabeth Murray, M.D., pediatrician at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong
• Dr. Lori Anderson, M.D., family physician at The Synergy Center in Manlius, NY
  

How can doctors better communicate with their patients, especially when they need to discuss the prognosis of a serious illness? That's the subject of an upcoming lecture at the Rochester Academy of Medicine.

We preview that talk with our guests:

• Dr. Ronald Epstein, M.D., professor of family medicine, psychiatry, and oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center
• Dr. Robert Horowitz, M.D., chief and professor of palliative care in the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center