Primary Care Today

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Guest: Joy Stephenson-Laws According to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, approximately two million workers fall subject to workplace violence every year. With that number continuing to increase, creating a healthy work environment is becoming the central focus of many employers. But how exactly can you go about doing that? Join Dr. Brian McDonough as he speaks with Joy Stephenson-Laws, founder of Proactive Health Labs and author of Minerals-The Forgotten Nutrient: Your Secret Weapon for Getting Healthy and Staying Healthy, who reveals simplistic approaches to obtain happier employees, less stress, and positive productivity.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Have we been fed misinformation about how our food choices affect our bodies? Listen in as Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with mythbuster and co-founder of the Florida Wellness Center Dr. Julie Gatza, who proposes a new spin on the most common misconception surrounding healthy eating.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Guest: Tanya Altmann, MD To investigate the concerning rise in both asthma and allergies in children, Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Dr. Tanya Altmann, pediatrician and Editor in Chief of the American Academy of Pediatrics parenting books, to discuss why a missing component of the gut microbiome may be the potential cause and how nutrition and probiotics play a vital role in a child's growth and development.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP With a wide spectrum of symptoms, treating depression often becomes frustrating—not only for the patient, but for the primary care physician as well. Joining Dr. Brian McDonough is Dr. Paul Gross, founder of the TMS Center of Lehigh Valley, to address the difficulties of properly identifying depression. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Green also exposes the impactful therapy Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which has been linked to improving other diseases beyond depression.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Dr. Mark Zucker, Director of the Cardiothoracic Transplantation Program at RWJBH/Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, and his HCM patient and founder of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, Lisa Salberg, to discuss her inspiring story and the importance of early diagnosis.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Is it possible that our emotional baggage is undermining our physical health? Dr. Bradley Nelson, holistic doctor and author of The Emotion Code, joins Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss the various impacts that negative emotions can make toward health maintenance and disease prevention.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Tobacco use accounts for nearly half a million deaths in the U.S. each year and is the leading cause of lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association. However, the economic and societal costs of smoking are also staggering. Every year, Americans spend more than $300 billion, which includes both medical care and lost productivity. Unfortunately, some people will have to pay more depending on the state in which they live. Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with analyst Jill Gonzales from Wallethub, a financial website that calculated the true per-person cost of smoking in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP At the age of 35, Jessica Cross was pursuing a rewarding career and raising a family with her loving husband when she was dealt a crippling blow: suffering a stroke that left her paralyzed on the right side of her body and hospitalized for months. Two years later, still in rehabilitation, Cross began punching at a keyboard to restore function in her arm and hand. Having little interest in typing mindlessly, this daily rehab exercise soon grew into writing what would become the book, Crossed Lines: What Lies Buried Within the Heart. Host Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Jessica Cross to talk about her journey through enduring this stroke, her recovery and rehab, and subsequent activism around education and wellness for stroke survivors. Jessica Cross is an author, speaker, and Executive Director of Strong Cross Foundation.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Guest: Benjamin Levine, MD, FACC Poor fitness in middle age is a strong predictor of a person’s future risk of heart failure. Prolonged exercise training, including a regular routine of high-intensity and moderate-intensity workouts, can forestall the effects of sedentary aging by preventing increased left ventricular stiffness. Dr. Benjamin Levine joins host Dr. Brian McDonough to talk about how regular exercise training may provide protection against the sedentary aging of the heart by preventing an increase in cardiac stiffness. Dr. Levine is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Director of Autonomic Function and Cardiopulmonary Clinics at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection remains one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in both females and males, with about 9 in 10 people contracting HPV at some point in their lives. Host Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Samantha Gottlieb, medical anthropologist and author of Not Quite a Cancer Vaccine: Selling HPV and Cervical Cancer. They explore the history of Gardasil, a vaccine developed for HPV but marketed primarily as a cervical cancer vaccine, which became embroiled in sociopolitical debates about adolescent sexuality and pediatric vaccinations. The two discuss these precedents alongside current controversies, such as whether vaccinating both males and females will induce herd immunity, and if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP According to a report from the Trust for America’s Health, an estimated 1.6 million people could die from drugs, alcohol, and suicide in the next ten years. This is a 60% increase from the past decade. Host Dr. Brian McDonough talks with John Templeton Jr, President of Footprints Beachside Recovery Center in Florida, about treating addiction and what doctors need to know about reducing opioid addiction risk in their pain medication management.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Over 33,000 lives were lost to opioid overdose in 2015, translating into 91 people dying each day, according to the most recent CDC data. Reducing exposure to prescription opioids, for situations where the risks of opioids outweigh their benefits, is a crucial part of reversing this trend. Host Dr. Brian McDonough explores alternative options to prescription opioids with addiction specialist Dr. Isaac Alexis, Medical Director of the Lifeline Addiction Center in Beckley, WV.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with veteran personal trainer and exercise therapy specialist Bobby Whisnand about ways to to keep your workout "working out" and how to avoid exercise pitfalls.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Several studies have shown that therapy dogs help to reduce people’s pain levels and anxiety. Therapy dogs have also been found to increase patients’ physical, mental, emotional and social states and improve their quality of life. Host Dr. Brian McDonough talks with David Frei, co-creator of Angel on a Leash, a charity supporting therapy dog programs that serve health care facilities, about how therapy dogs bring comfort, affection and happiness to people in confined living situations. Frei is the former host of The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and expert analyst for The National Dog Show on NBC Thanksgiving Day.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes between 150 to 170 pounds of refined sugars every year. Excessive sugar consumption is linked to a long list of health problems, from obesity and cardiovascular disease to joint inflammation and ADHD, but most of us can’t seem to be able to stop eating sugar no matter how hard we try. Joining Dr. Brian McDonough to address the growing threat of sugar addiction is health educator and wellness expert Dr. David Magnano.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP There is nearly a 20% chance that each of us will suffer a concussion this year. More concerning yet, over 30% of those concussions will lead to a long-term, potentially permanent disability. Many studies have explored how the use of Omega-3 fatty acids may add some measure of resilience within the brain to withstand injury in those at significant risk. Host Dr. Brian McDonough chats with Dr. Michael Lewis, founder of the nonprofit Brain Health Education and Research Institute about how the utilization of Omega-3 fatty acids may facilitate the concussion healing process and relieve symptoms.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Dr. Bob Arnot is an award-winning medical correspondent for NBC and CBS News and served as MSNBC’s chief foreign correspondent in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also worked as an Olympic physician and is a sports enthusiast who competes in Ironman events, triathlons, marathons, big-wall ice climbing, Himalayan climbs, the 100-mile Canadian ski marathon, 24-hour bike races, big wave surfing and stand-up paddling. Host Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Arnot to talk about his medical career and his involvement in endurance sports competitions. His broad experiences allow for unique insights into pain management, opioid addiction, and living and working through injuries.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 44,193 Americans die by suicide each year. The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) has been developed as a means of helping users identify whether someone is at risk for suicide, assessing the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauging the level of support that the person needs. Host Dr. Brian McDonough talks with Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber, Founder and Director of the Columbia Lighthouse Project who disseminates the C-SSRS worldwide as a tool for suicide prevention.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Out of the approximately 340,000 hip fractures that occur in the US each year, 9 out of 10 of them happen to people older than 65. Hip fractures in an older population can result in significant complications including pneumonia and blood clots, among others. Host Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Derek Donegan, Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery in the Division of Orthopedic Trauma at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to talk about some of the challenges physicians face when treating hip fractures in elderly patients.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP With more than 100 different disorders, rheumatic diseases comprise one of the most prevalent disease groups in the industrialized world. In fact, a third of the population will be affected by a rheumatic disease at some point during their lifetimes. Host Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Carol Langford, Chair of the Committee of Education at the American College of Rheumatology, about the diagnostic and treatment challenges of rheumatic diseases.