Frankly Speaking About Family Medicine

Listen to this podcast episode for a brief summary of the literature on electronic media and its relation to sleep—specifically delayed bedtimes and decreased sleep duration. Screen-based media consumption is eating up our sleep health! Guest: Jill Terrien PhD, ANP-BC

71% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. To tackle this problem, primary care providers must stay up to date on the best evidence for addressing overweight and obese status in their patients. The DIETFITS Randomized Clinical Trial offers direction for nutritional advice in this important and serious public health concern. Guest: Kenneth Peterson, PhD, FNP-BC

Immunization practices are constantly in flux as new vaccines are approved and guidelines are updated. Recently, the FDA approved a 2-dose hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine and a new 2-dose herpes zoster (HZ) vaccine. Additionally, the CDC now recommends a 2-dose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine schedule, a change from the previous recommendation for a 3-dose schedule. This session will discuss the changing landscape of immunization practices and recent changes to recommendations. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP

Management of patients with atrial fibrillation has long centered on the relative merits of rate control versus rhythm control. The CASTLE-AF trial evaluated catheter ablation as a treatment for patients with both heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation. Listen to this week’s podcast episode to learn about the results of this new trial and how the catheter ablation impacted clinical outcomes.  Guest: Alan Ehrlich MD

In this week’s episode, we’ll be continuing the discussion on the AAN’s updated practice guideline on mild cognitive impairment. Last week’s podcast episode provided overview of the updated practice guideline, and this week’s episode focuses on treatment recommendations. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP

The American Academy of Neurology recently published the first updated practice guideline on mild cognitive impairment since 2001. Listen to this week’s episode for an overview of the updated practice guideline, which includes a systematic review of prevalence, prognosis, screening, and treatment research with clear recommendations for practicing clinicians. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP

This observational study found adding very little activity, akin to going for a 30-minute walk or converting to a standing desk for half your workday, lowered all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Guest: Alan Ehrlich, MD

Direct acting oral anticoagulants are increasingly used for stroke prevention for individuals with atrial fibrillation. Whether these agents are as safe and effective as warfarin has been a concern for many clinicians, but recent comparative effectiveness analyses are providing answers. In this week’s podcast episode, we will review these recent studies and draw some conclusions about which agents are best. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP

Listen to this week’s episode to learn about the basic concepts of behavioral activation (BA), what research has demonstrated about its use in depression, and how to apply BA in everyday care.  Guest: Susan Feeney, DNP, FNP-BC

Patients with chronic diseases, including coronary artery disease, are advised to get yearly flu shots because they are at higher risk for having a more severe illness. Canadian researchers have found that in the week following being diagnosed with the flu, adults over 65 years old have a significantly increased risk of myocardial infection.