Interview with Justin E. Bekelman, MD, author of Comparison of Site of Death, Health Care Utilization, and Hospital Expenditures for Patients Dying With Cancer in 7 Developed Countries

Peripheral neuropathy is a highly prevalent and morbid condition affecting 2% to 7% of the population. Patients frequently experience pain and are at risk of falls, ulcerations, and amputations. It is most commonly occurs in patients with diabetes. For most cases, the diagnosis and treatment of neuropathy can be made without complex testing or referral to specialists. Drs. Eva Feldman and Brian Callaghan from the University of Michigan Department of Neurology, authors of Distal Symmetric Polyneuropathy and Electrodiagnostic Tests in Polyneuropathy and Radiculopathy, explain how to manage neuropathy.

Interview with Michael P. Pignone, MD, MPH, author of Screening for Impaired Visual Acuity in Older Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

An opioid abuse epidemic now plagues US healthcare. It was caused, in part, by overzealous advocacy for controlling chronic pain resulting in overuse of narcotics. There are now 2 million Americans addicted to opioids. The approach for treating chronic pain must change. In this podcast, we summarize recent CDC guidelines for the proper use of opioids for treating chronic pain.

Articles discussed in this episode:

• CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain— United States, 2016,
• The CDC Guideline on Opioid Prescribing: Rising to the Challenge (Yngvild Olsen, MD, MPH),
• The DSM-V definition for opioid use disorder and 11 point checklist

Interview with Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD, author of Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction vs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Usual Care on Back Pain and Functional Limitations in Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Interview with Wendy C. King, PhD, author of Change in Pain and Physical Function Following Bariatric Surgery for Severe Obesity

Interview with Kiros Berhane, PhD, author of Association of Changes in Air Quality With Bronchitic Symptoms in Children in California, 1993-2012

Interview with Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, author of Association of Pembrolizumab With Tumor Response and Survival Among Patients With Advanced Melanoma

Interview with Douglas B. White, MD, MAS, author of Prevalence of and Factors Related to Discordance About Prognosis Between Physicians and Surrogate Decision Makers of Critically Ill Patients

Interview with Gillian L. Booth, MD, author of Association of Neighborhood Walkability With Change in Overweight, Obesity, and Diabetes

Interview with Douglas K. Owens, MD, MS, author of Screening for Colorectal Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Howard Bauchner, MD, Editor in Chief of JAMA, interviews Simon Chapman, MD, author of Association Between Gun Law Reforms and Intentional Firearm Deaths in Australia, 1979-2013

Interview with Axel Linke, MD, author of Effect of a Cerebral Protection Device on Brain Lesions Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis: The CLEAN-TAVI Randomized Clinical Trial

Introducing a new series of JAMA articles on professionalism, discussed from the perspective of how clinicians should address challenging clinical situations and adverse events in their medical practice. In the first episode of the accompanying podcast, JAMA Professionalism: Best Practice, we interview Wendy Levinson, MD, and Jensen Yeung, MD, authors of Disclosure of Medical Error, which appeared in the August 16, 2016 issue of JAMA, as well as Thomas H. Gallagher, MD.

Drug prices continue to rise in the US. Many solutions have been proposed but few have been implemented. Drs. Janet Woodcock from the FDA and Aaron Kesselheim, author of The High Cost of Prescription Drugs in the United States from the Harvard Medical School discuss the role of brand name drugs and generics and how they influence the cost of pharmaceuticals.

Also see The Cost of US Pharmaceutical Price Reductions: A Financial Simulation Model of R&D Decisions by Thomas A. Abbott and John A. Vernon.

Interview with Vivian S. Lee, MD, PhD, MBA;, author of Implementation of a Value-Driven Outcomes Program to Identify High Variability in Clinical Costs and Outcomes: Association With Reduced Cost and Improved Quality, and Michael E. Porter, PhD, author of From Volume to Value in Health Care: The Work Begins

In this episode of JAMA Professionalism: Best Practice, Edward H. Livingston, MD looks at the case of a physician requesting prescription medication from a colleague to examine professional boundaries between physicians and options for managing those boundaries. Shiphra Ginsburg, MD and Wendy Levinson, MD, authors of the related article, join Dr Livingston to discuss the best options for handling this challenging situation. Arthur S. Hengerer, MD, chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards discusses the legal and licensure ramifications of physicians prescribing for other clinicians and Kate E. Engelhardt, MD, and D. Brock Hewitt, MD, MPH, practicing physicians, relate their experience with other clinicians asking them to prescribe medications.

Medicare recently developed a star rating system to help consumers determine the quality of care delivered at various hospitals. This rating system was considered controversial by many. In this podcast we discuss the rating system with one of its critics, Karl Y. Bilimoria, MD, MS, and with Kate Goodrich, MD, the Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at Medicare.

Article discussed in this episode:

The New CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings: The Stars Are Not Aligned

Interview with Christopher JL. Murray, MD, DPhil, author of US County-Level Trends in Mortality Rates for Major Causes of Death, 1980-2014

Interview with Roger L. Zemek, MD, author of Association Between Early Participation in Physical Activity Following Acute Concussion and Persistent Postconcussive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

Interview with Ann E. Kurth, PhD, RN, MSN, MPH, author of Serologic Screening for Genital Herpes Infection: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Alex R. Kemper, MD, MPH, MS, Task Force member and co-author of Folic Acid Supplementation for the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Workplace violence–related injuries occur disproportionately in health care settings. In this podcast, we discuss how individual clinicians should manage violent patients who might attack them. Article discussed in this episode: Ensuring Staff Safety When Treating Potentially Violent Patients

Interview with Julie Rani Nangia, BA, MD, author of Effect of a Scalp Cooling Device on Alopecia in Women Undergoing Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: The SCALP Randomized Clinical Trial, and Hope S. Rugo, MD, author of Association Between Use of a Scalp Cooling Device and Alopecia After Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

Rudolph Tanzi, PhD, of Harvard University, and Berislav Zlokovic, MD, PhD, of the University of Southern California, discuss what the future holds for Alzheimer Disease research and treatment.

Can testosterone gel improve memory, correct anemia, increase bone density or prevent the growth of coronary artery plaque in older men with low testosterone levels? Four new studies in JAMA and JAMA Internal Medicine found improvement in some of these measures.

Articles discussed in this episode:

• Testosterone Treatment and Coronary Artery Plaque Volume in Older Men With Low Testosterone

• Testosterone Treatment and Cognitive Function in Older Men With Low Testosterone and Age-Associated Memory Impairment

• Effect of Testosterone Treatment on Volumetric Bone Density and Strength in Older Men With Low Testosterone: A Controlled Clinical Trial

• Association of Testosterone Levels With Anemia in Older Men: A Controlled Clinical Trial

Interview with Freddie C. Hamdy, MD, FRCSEd(Urol), and Jenny L Donovan, PhD, FMedSci, authors of Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer: Helping Decision Making for Patients and Their Physicians

This Medical News podcast features an interview with Barry Marshall, MD, who codiscovered the stomach bug H pylori in 1982.

This podcast discusses the latest research into the workings of the lung microbiome and how it will affect future diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases. Related article: The Lung Microbiome: Key to Respiratory Ills?

Whole-genome sequencing is now easily done for very little cost. It is not known how to interpret the results of this testing. Healthy individuals should not have this performed. If someone has a reason to suspect a particular disease with a known genetic association, then whole-genome or targeted sequencing is reasonable to pursue.

Interview with Timothy E. McAlindon, MD,MPH, author of Effect of Intra-articular Triamcinolone vs Saline on Knee Cartilage Volume and Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Interview with Susan J. Curry, PhD, author of Behavioral Counseling to Promote a Healthful Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults Without Cardiovascular Risk Factors: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Ann C. McKee, M.D., author of Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football

Interview with JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, author of Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Long-Term All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: The Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Trials

Interview with Jeffrey Alan. Golden, MD, author of Deep Learning Algorithms for Detection of Lymph Node Metastases From Breast Cancer: Helping Artificial Intelligence Be Seen

Interview with Dr. Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, about his study using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data to compare health care infrastructure, outcomes, and prices in the US and other high-income countries to identify the sources of spending that make US health care so expensive.

Interview with John W Epling, MD, MSEd, Task Force member and co-author of Behavioral Counseling to Prevent Skin Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Alex H Krist, MD, MPH, Task Force member and co-author of Vitamin D, Calcium, or Combined Supplementation for the Primary Prevention of Fractures in Community-Dwelling Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement, and Interventions to Prevent Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Michael J. Barry, MD, Task Force member and co-author of Screening for Peripheral Artery Disease and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment With the Ankle-Brachial Index: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Seth Landefeld, MD, member of the US Preventative Services Task Force, on  Screening for Atrial Fibrillation With Electrocardiography: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Carol M Mangione, MD MSPH, Task Force member and co-author of Screening for Cervical Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Chyke A Doubeni, M.D., F.R.C.S., M.P.H., Task Force member and co-author of Behavioral Weight Loss Interventions to Prevent Obesity-Related Morbidity and Mortality in Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Susan J. Curry, PhD, author of Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions to Reduce Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Adolescents and Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Alex R Kemper, MD, MPH, MS, Task Force member and co-author of Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Interview with Sonoo Thadaney-Israni, MBA, and Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, authors of Humanizing Artificial Intelligence

Interview with Elizabeth O'Connor, PHD, author of Interventions to Prevent Perinatal Depression: Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force

Interview with Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., author of Next Phase in Effective Cost Control in Health Care

Interview with David A. Asch, MD, MBA, author of The Uncertain Effect of Financial Incentives to Improve Health Behaviors

Interview with Kevin A. Schulman, MD, author of The Implications of “Medicare for All” for US Hospitals

Interview with John A. Baron, M.D., author of Vitamin D as Cancer Therapy?: Insights From 2 New Trials