Episodes

The director of Mayo Clinic’s COVID Activity Rehabilitation Program says they’re seeing a decrease in Long COVID cases, likely due to variant changes and the effectiveness of vaccines. Dr. Greg Vanichkachorn describes Long COVID as a group of symptoms that linger longer than the normal COVID recovery period. He says fatigue and physical complaints decrease but patients have lingering cognitive effects like brain fog.

Unfortunately, Dr. Vanichkachorn says patients can still face stigma for the condition and he says some clinicians also do when they deliver such a diagnosis. In order to reach everyone, clinicians are increasing efforts to inform diverse populations, including hourly workers and farmers who may be coping in silence.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also learn how olfactory retraining and cognitive behavioral therapy are encouraged for Long COVID patients.

Federal provisional data shows more people died from suicide in the United States last year than any other year on record. American Psychiatric Association President Dr. Petros Levounis is at the center of efforts to prevent suicides, with substance use addictions a key part of his focus. He and the 38,000 APA members have launched a campaign called “Confronting Addiction: From Prevention to Recovery.”

Dr. Levounis discusses vaping, opioids, alcohol and the rapidly growing addiction to tech.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also ask him about the need to hold health plans accountable to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

The nation’s expanded focus on community health and family (or primary) care didn’t just occur by chance. It took the dedicated commitment of professionals across the country to make it happen. This week we present a special edition of “Conversations on Health Care” with Dr. Carl Lecce. For 45 years he’s served as a family physician with Community Health Center in Middletown, Connecticut.

Our hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter have worked closely with Dr. Lecce through the years and their reflections give us all insights into the challenges and opportunities for making health care a right and “not a privilege.”

Millions look to NBC News Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. John Torres for advice and insights about their health. But how is he coping with surveys that show Americans lost trust in mainstream media during the pandemic and are increasingly turning to social media for health news? He gives us good advice about where to go for verified information.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also ask him about his role with NATO Special Forces on a variety of initiatives including tactical combat casualty care, combat simulations, and medical leadership. Join us for this special conversation, recorded on location at Aspen Ideas: Health.

Scientists say this July was the Earth’s warmest month on record in “hundreds, if not thousands, of years.” The City of Los Angeles is taking a unique approach to help its people deal with the record-breaking temperatures through the leadership of Marta Segura, one of the few appointed chief heat officers in the world. Her work is focused on finding solutions when the weather causes physical and mental health issues and she’s keeping equity at the forefront of their efforts.

She has tough words in her interview with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter, including criticism of the Texas governor for nullifying local ordinances that had provided workers protection from devastating, triple-digit temperatures.

We’re on location at Aspen Ideas-Health, talking with the leaders of a new innovation effort. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is backed by $2.5 billion dollars in federal money with a mandate to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone. The initiative aims to work outside of traditions with a “range of performers and a variety of approaches to solve” health care’s biggest hurdles. Can they find a way to reduce cancer deaths? That’s one of the questions hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter ask Renee Wegrzyn, ARPA-H’s director and Amy Jenkins, its director of Health Science Futures.