DocsTalk King County Medical Society

From surgical standards to burnout, EMR's to entrepreneurship, Ellen Derrick MD is at the forefront of a number of key issues in health care.

How does the vascular surgeon keep her own practice - Boxbar Vascula - thriving while serving on a national academy board, overhaul nationwide EMR systems and raise four kids? It's an amazing feat.

Dr. Derrick shares her insights, experiences and hard earned lessons with Josh Kerns in this edition of Docs Talk.

One high school-aged athlete suffers a Sudden Cardiac Arrest every three days in the U.S.

The leading cause of death in young athletes on the playing field is an undetected heart condition.

The best way to detect these heart conditions is through a heart screening using an ECG (Electrocardiogram) and in some cases an Echocardiogram (ultrasound) of the heart. However, virtually no young athletes are screened for heart abnormalities during their normal sports physical or well child checks.

Mill Creek mom Darla Varrenti learned all of this in the worst possible way – when her seemingly perfectly healthy teenaged son Nick died unexpectedly after playing football.

Despite her grief, she and her sister Suzanne started the Nick of Time Foundation, which has brought heart screenings to schools all over our area and the country, potentially saving countless lives.

Josh Kerns visits with Darla, Suzanne and Kim Harmon, MD (UW Medicine) to discuss their vital work, what every parent and primary care physician should know, and how we can work together to prevent needless childhood deaths.

While the need for their expertise is greater than ever, a shortage of rheumatologists has become a crisis in our communities. Patients are often waiting months to see a specialist or driving hundreds of miles while battling excruciating pain and the uncertainty of an autoimmune disease.

In this edition of Docs Talk, Dr. Amish Dave, MD, a Virginia Mason rheumatologist and King County Medical Society board member, speaks with host Josh Kerns about the current state of the crisis and proposes some short and long term changes to help mitigate the shortage.

Health care related bills are dominating this session of the Washington State Legislature, with dozens under consideration.

From mental health funding to immunization exemptions to increased B&O taxes, there’s no shortage of legislation that will have a direct impact on doctors.

Among the most important and influential voices on health care policy in Washington state is Rep. Eileen Cody (D-Seattle), the chair of the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

Cody recently retired after working at Kaiser Permanente (formerly Group Health Cooperative) in Seattle for the past forty years. She is a neuro-rehab nurse certified in both rehabilitation nursing and multiple sclerosis care. In addition to her work at Kaiser Permanente, Eileen is a founding member of District 1199 NW/SEIU Hospital and Health Care Employees Union.

Rep. Cody is the longest serving house member, and certainly among the most knowledgeable - if not the most knowledgeable - legislator when it comes to health care.

Despite her jam-packed and hectic schedule, she was kind enough to take some time to visit with host/producer Josh Kerns of the King County Medical Society and share her insights for this special edition of Docs Talk.

Talk about making your mark on medicine. From a small town in Argentina where his parents were the only physicians, to the presidency of the American Surgical Association and his tenure as Chief Medical Officer at University of Washington Medicine, Carlos Pellegrini,MD's career has been nothing short of a tour de force.

In this special edition of Docs Talk, Dr. Pellegrini joins host Josh Kerns for an insightful, thought provoking, and at times humorous conversation spanning his decades as a leader and innovator in medicine.

Dr. Pellegrini recently retired from UW Medicine after serving as CMO for the past three years. Prior to that, he served as the chair of the UW Medicine surgery department for 23 years.

UW Medicine CEO Paul Ramsey, MD, said, "As department chair, Dr. Pellegrini was an exemplary role model for the UW Medicine Patients Are First approach to clinical care. He was a mentor to faculty, staff and students, and he focused on developing relationships to bring people together as the best way to advance the profession. His work to advance the Department of Surgery included helping to raise more than $30 million from patients and community supporters to create several chairs and professorships. In addition, with his wife, Kelly, he made significant personal donations to create a fellowship in surgical ethics, a fellowship in education, and the Carlos and Kelly Pellegrini fund for diversity."

"His impact as CMO has been equally significant," Ramsey added.