In the News

Janet Baum, MD, radiology, discussed with New England Cable News (NECN) a recent study that found digital mammography has benefits over traditional screening for certain groups of women. The Digital Mammographic Imaging Screen Trial (DMIST) found that digital images are more accurate for women under the age of 50, women with radiographically dense breasts and pre- and peri-menopausal women.

Carol Warfield, MD, chief of anesthesia and critical care, spoke with “Good Morning America” about pain management issues and the importance of “awakeness” during certain medical procedures. Warfield was also featured in a piece in Harvard Magazine.

Douglas Hanto, MD, PhD, chief of transplantation services, discussed the ethical decisions that go into determining the priority of individual patients for transplants in an interview with ABC-TV's “Good Morning America.” The interview came after St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles suspended its liver transplant program after discovering doctors improperly arranged for a Saudi national to receive an organ that should have gone to a higher priority patient at another hospital. Hanto believes moving patients up the list for anything other than a medical reason is “totally unconscionable.” He was also interviewed by the Los Angeles Times and the Toledo Blade.

Bettina Siewert, MD, radiology, talked with NECN about the goals of a national clinical trial to determine whether “virtual” colonoscopies can be as effective as the procedure currently considered the “gold standard” in screening for the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The research study, being conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), is coordinating the largest multi-center study to compare the effectiveness of CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) to conventional colonoscopy.

Richard A. Steinbrook, MD, anesthesia, spoke on the management of postoperative ileus in an interview with Today's Hospitalist magazine.

Ciaran Kelly, MD, gastroenterology, discussed celiac disease in an interview with WBZ-TV CBS 4. Celiac disease is an inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract in genetically susceptible individuals. The disease specifically affects the small intestine and is characterized by inflammatory injury to the lining of the intestine following ingestion of gluten, a mixture of proteins found in wheat, rye, barley, and to a lesser extent, oats. People affected by the disease must follow a strict gluten-free diet.

Adela Margules, executive director, Bowdoin Street Health Center, took part in a panel discussing how to provide coverage to the uninsured on NECN's “Road Map to Coverage: Reaching Common Ground. ”Sponsored by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the show involved 20 health care and legislative leaders and was moderated by Chet Curtis. Margules represented community health centers across Massachusetts.

Susan Troyan, MD, co-director of the BreastCare Center, appeared on ABC's “World News Tonight” to discuss two studies appearing in the current issue of The New England Journal of Medicine that demonstrate increased survival rates among breast cancer patients treated with herceptin in addition to a chemotherapy regimen.

Charles Day, MD, orthopaedic surgery, discussed common stress injuries resulting from the overuse of “small gadget keypads,” a condition that has come to be known as “Blackberry thumb,” in a live studio interview on WFXT-TV, Channel 25.

Zahid Bajwa, MD, anesthesia, spoke with The Boston Globe about the use of sedatives during the administering of a feeding tube. The Globe story was in response to the Guantanamo Bay detainees alleging they were victims of abusive force-feeding.

George Blackburn, MD, PhD, general surgery and nutrition, was cited as one of the pioneers of bariatric surgery in an interview with Boston Magazine.

Ram Chuttani, MD, chief of endoscopy, spoke to The Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times about the acid-reflux related procedure performed with the use of the Boston Scientific medical tool Enteryx, and the recall of the product.

Felipe Fregni, MD, neurology, talked to the Harvard Gazette, and appeared in a television interview which aired on various newscasts across the United States, about the benefits of transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy for stroke patients.

Jonathan Edlow, MD, emergency medicine, discussed a new study with The Boston Globe suggesting that patient volume goes down when a city's professional sports teams are in the playoffs. “I've always noted that when there's a big game, especially a hometown big game, it gets slow in the ER,” said Edlow.

John Halamka, MD, chief information officer, discussed RFID technology and medical privacy related issues in Business Week, The Boston Globe and Information Week.

William Maisel, MD, cardiology, spoke to the Boston Herald, the Wall Street Journal and Townhall.com about an article he authored in the Journal of the American Medical Association which called for “slapping the device makers with greatly-expanded reporting requirements” with regard to pacemakers and defibrillators.

Jane Matlaw, director of community relations, discussed the Web site lotsahelpinghands.com with the Boston Herald. Lotsa Helping Hands is a Web site for “friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors to assist those with cancer with an easy-to-use, private group calendar, specifically designed for organizing helpers, where everyone can pitch in with meal delivery, rides, and other tasks necessary for life to run smoothly during a crisis.” The Web site was started by the husband of a former BIDMC cancer patient who passed away a few years ago.

Kenneth Mukamal, MD, general medicine and primary care, talked to WebMD.com and the New York Post about a new study he published which showed that alcohol may work as a blood thinner.

Benjamin Sachs, MBBS, DPH, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology, spoke with the Risk Retention Reporter about an article he authored in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article “highlights how medical mistakes occur, often because of an accumulation of smaller miscues, and the changes his department (ob/gyn) adopted in the aftermath.”

Daniel Sands, MD, staff physician, discussed patient access to online records in interviews with HealthLeaders and Health Data Management.

Robert Stickgold, PhD, psychiatry, talked to HealthDay.com about a new sleep study which showed that “different regions of the brain stop communicating with each other during sleep.”

Matthew Walker, MD, psychiatry, spoke with the Harford Courant about how sleep affects the human memory.

Gregory Wellenius, MD, cardiology, spoke with HealthDay.com and Reuters about a study he authored which showed a link between air pollution and the risk of stroke.

Frank Sellke, MD, chief of cardiothoracic surgery, talked to the Milford Daily News about the Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians (HMFP) effort to design a cardiac program at Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, RI.