The Health Crossroad with Dr. Doug Elwood and Dr. Tom Elwood

Dr. Ralph Manchester is Vice-Provost and Director of the University Health Service and a Professor of Medicine in the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. He has served as President of the Performing Arts Medicine Association and is currently the editor of Medical Problems of Performing Artists. He also has served as President of the American College Health Association and is on the editorial board of the Journal of American College Health. His research interests focus on the musculoskeletal problems of musicians and applying Self-Determination Theory to change college student drinking behavior. In this interview, Dr. Manchester discusses several important topics including access to care and health problems faced by students and performance artists.

Richard Carmona is a highly decorated Vietnam combat veteran who became the 17th Surgeon General of the United States. A high school dropout in Harlem, his incredible subsequent educational journey enabled him to go from a community college in the Bronx to graduating first in his medical school class at the University of California at San Francisco. He currently serves as a professor at the University of Arizona School of Public Health. He is involved in many contemporary issues that affect individual and community health status and discusses childhood obesity, legalization of marijuana, health policy, and other key health topics in this interview.

This Topic Update focuses on the health within the United States and the litany of challenges the system faces. In our discussion, we explore multiple topics that are at the forefront of our conversations with our guests, including medical homes, ACOs, ObamaCare and the ACA, obesity, access to care, and legalization of marijuana, health literacy, and many others.

David E. Albert, MD is an Oklahoma native. He is a physician, inventor and serial entrepreneur who has developed medical and other life-saving technologies and products over the last 30 years, turning a number of those innovations into tech startups. Today, he is a founder of three tech companies, InnovAlarm, Lifetone Technology and AliveCor. His previous startups include Corazonix Corp (sold to Arrhythmia Research Technology and Data Critical (sold to GE). Dr. Albert left GE in 2004 as Chief Scientist of GE Cardiology to disrupt several new markets. His latest invention, the iPhone ECG, became a global sensation via a 4-minute YouTube Video in January around the Consumer Electronics Show and was featured on local media, ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News among many other media outlets. Dr Albert has 37 issued US patents, a large number pending and several new "secret inventions" in development. He has authored or co-authored over 50 scientific abstracts and publications principally in the Cardiology literature. Also, Dr Albert has lectured at the Entrepreneurship programs at the MIT Sloan School and the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Albert graduated with Honors from Harvard College and from Duke University Medical School. Dr. Albert lives in Oklahoma CIty with his wife and his two "young kids". The Albert's two other children are grown and out of the house. In this interview, Dr. Albert discusses disruptive technologies and how they are leading into a new era of medical care.

Dr. Navin Singh is a Board-Certified plastic surgeon in private practice and an Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also is a clinical assistant professor of Neurosurgery as well as Gynecology. He is licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC and practices at several hospitals, including Johns Hopkins Hospital which has been consistently ranked No.1 in the nation. His research interests include minimally invasive surgery, laser techniques, and computer/robotic-assisted plastic surgery. Dr. Singh has authored influential papers on cosmetic surgery in the most prestigious medical journals. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Mathematics from Brown University and graduated at the top of his class at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also holds a Masters of Science in Clinical Biostatistics from Harvard. After completing his plastic surgery training at Johns Hopkins, including a fellowship in craniofacial reconstruction and microsurgery, he earned an MBA. Dr. Singh is a firm believer in philanthropy, managing to spend about 4-6 weeks of his personal time each year on surgical missions to Ecuador, India, Peru, Philippines, and China. In this interview, Dr. Singh provides great insights into the ACA's effects on physicians, patients, and the system including his own personal experiences.