In this thought-provoking episode, Dr Ankur Kalra is joined by Dr Anuradha Lala, assistant professor of medicine at the Zena and Michael A Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and in the Department of Population Health Science and Statistics at Icahn School of Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr Lala is also the Deputy Editor of the Journal of Cardiac Failure.
Dr Kalra and Dr Lala delve into the critical topic of disparities in care within the healthcare system from a cardiologist's point of view and explore actionable steps towards a more inclusive and fair healthcare landscape.
Dr Lala advocates for an approach focused on the patient, valuing the unique needs and preferences of each individual as crucial elements in creating a personalised treatment strategy. In this podcast, she provides insight to her study on 'Acute Heart Failure Presentation to the Emergency Department: National Trends by Race and Ethnicity 2007-2019' and how it shows there are differences based on race and ethnicity in terms of wait time and the demographic of patients presenting.
The fundamental principle that healthcare is a basic human right is emphasised, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the disparities prevalent within the system. Through candid discussions, the episode highlights the differences in healthcare access and quality and examines methods to prevent and mitigate these discrepancies.
Addressing the 'why' behind these disparities is a central theme, exploring the presence of subconscious biases within healthcare. The conversation isn’t just theoretical, Dr Kalra and Dr Lala present real-life scenarios and personal stories, offering a refreshingly honest and open perspective.
Key questions are explored, such as identifying the top places where disparities in care exist and strategies to address these issues.
This series is supported by ZOLL and is intended for Health Care Professionals.
The American College of Cardiology surveyed cardiologists across the globe to have a more detailed understanding on the impact of hostility, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace. Of almost 6000 cardiologists who took part in the survey 44% reported hostile work environment.
In this week's latest podcast episode, host, Ankur Kalra, MD, meets guest Prof Madhav Swaminathan (Duke University Health System, NC, US) to discuss how he has orchestrated a major humanitarian effort, in association with Duke University Health and The American Society of Echocardiography, to supply ventilation equipment and PPE to hospitals and NGOs during the current COVID-19 crisis in New Delhi, India.
Hear them discuss the challenges and learnings associated with the supply chain, inventory, logistics and cost to deliver this humanitarian effort; which most recently resulted in $140,000 of life-changing equipment being delivered to four key hospitals in New Delhi. A most inspirational episode.
In this candid and spiritual conversation Amit and Ankur take a journey through former episodes of Parallax and Ankur’s writings to explore what it takes to strive for a deeper knowledge of ourselves; or, as Ankur puts it, dharma, the inherent order of reality.
Parallax’s guest this week is Dr Eric David Adler, Medical director of heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health.
How did Dr Gragossian receive her diagnosis? How does she feel about her new reality? What drives her? What is her message to our listeners?
Just after 9/11, Heval, the 18-year-old Syrian Kurdish refugee found a job as a dishwasher. At this point, he was the sole provider of his family. The pressure that comes from being poor did not leave him for many years. Today, he is firm believer in giving back to underserved communities by spreading awareness within the medical community. As he says, well-meaning people of privilege are sometimes afraid to act. What we need is more people to bridge the gap and find ways to help each other.
What drives Dr Nishtha Sodhi? What were the formative moments of Dr Sodhi’s career? What are the new frontiers of cardiology?
In this week’s episode Ankur’s guest is Dr Mandeep R Mehra, Medical Director of Brigham Heart and Vascular Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Health Equity Committee decided to confront the status quo by asking: How is racism on a structural level present within our walls?
Ankur Kalra’s guests Michelle Morse (Founding Co-Director of EqualHealth and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School) and Lauren Eberly (Cardiology Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania) are co-authors of a retrospective study that demonstrated what had previously only been observed: That black or brown heart failure patients ended up in general medicine rather than specialised cardiology services. Following the publication of the study in November 2019, the Health Equity Committee started to roll out anti-racism trainings and to work on objective admission guidelines to mitigate biased behaviours.
Aarti Bhatt (Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota), member of the Minnesota chapter of Campaign Against Racism, talks about their initiative to support projects that have a positive impact on local communities on a global scale.
In this week’s Parallax, Dr Kanaa’N, the director of the program, and Dr Lahorra, chairman of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Department of Akron General introduce the listeners to the foundations of their program and the paradigm shift brought by TAVR.
Ankur Kalra asks Grant W Reed, Director of the Cleveland Clinic’s STEMI program, to reflect on the actions they took and the challenges of delaying cardiovascular procedures in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Reed offers insight on the factors that influenced the Cleveland Clinic’s STEMI policy for COVID-19. Ankur and Grant discuss the triage considerations for patients with structural heart disease and the steps the clinic took to protect its healthcare workers.
In this edition of Parallax Dr Kalra asked Dr Rosenbaum about the influences that shaped her choices as a writer and as a healthcare professional. Dr Rosenbaum opens up about her childhood and how she connected to her grandfather through writing and medicine. We learn about Lisa’s first day at medical school and her latest writing project.
Jagmeet P Singh, associate chief of the cardiology division at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School joins Ankur Kalra for a deep conversation about his journey across three continents. Dr Singh talks about the importance of choosing fulfilment over success. We gain more insights on the recent late-breaking trial, MADIT-CHIC focusing on cardiac resynchronization therapy. Ankur asks Jag about his experience of being on the other side of the healthcare system and his enrolment in the since halted remdesivir trial.