Conversations on Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton

Do you know someone – perhaps in your own family – who has spent time in a rehabilitation facility? Maybe after an illness or operation? Lots of people – and particularly older people who live alone – find themselves in rehab or long term care facilities. These are somewhat different from the assisted living or independent care communities we talked about in Episode 10 - when we explored one family’s exhaustive effort to find a pla...

We’re spending some time this summer revisiting the UK’s National Health Service. It’s celebrating its 76th birthday this month – although I doubt anyone would use that exact word. Actually, right after the Labor Party swept the UK parliamentary elections on July 4th – both the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his new Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said flat out that the NHS is broken. Both promised to save i...

As the US Surgeon General calls for a social media warning label similar to the one on cigarettes and alcohol, we focus on child and teenage mental health in this somewhat longer than usual episode. And about halfway through – we get into a really good discussion on that really big issue: the role of social media in the growing problems of Gen Z and the youngest children – Gen Alpha.

We’re talking about all this with a child psychi...

How many times have we all asked – when will they find a cure for cancer? Of course there is no one cure any more than there is just one type of cancer. Each one requires its own research pathway. But there have been great strides in recent years. Some cancers which used to be a death sentence can now be basically cured or turned into treatable, chronic illnesses.

My guest for this episode is Theodore Lawrence, MD, PhD. He’s a Prof...

This may surprise you with all the medical advances we’ve made in the last decade --but heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US. As it has been since 1921. A recent poll conducted for the American Heart Association found 51 percent of respondents had no idea! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  – one person dies every 33 seconds in the US from cardiovascular disease. And this may also sur...

Part 2:  I think we all learned a lot in Episode 18 about Sweden's pioneering universal health care system. Most countries except for the U-S have some version of this – health care that’s paid for by taxes, controlled by the government and essentially free at the point of use. But health care costs are skyrocketing everywhere. So now we're going to talk about how AI and other data-driven innovations may help Sweden - and health ca...

Part 1:  Most of us are familiar with the idea of universal health care. Ideally – tax-paid, “free” health care for all. We know that in the US we don’t have it – while almost all other countries do – in some form. One of the first countries to adopt universal health care was Sweden – in the early 1950s. But how - exactly - does such a system work? And can it keep afloat as health costs keep rising?  I ask Catharina Barkman who hea...

I’m sure you’ve heard or read that Americans have better access to the newer, often life-saving drugs than people in other countries. But access and being able to pay for the drugs are two different matters. As anyone knows who has been to a pharmacist window lately – these great new drugs are really expensive. And in the United States – unlike other countries - they're often not covered or poorly covered by insurance. Sadly in thi...

Part 2: Open enrollment for 2024 Medicare supplementary plans continues into December - while those under 65 who don’t have employer health insurance can look for Obamacare plans on state marketplaces until mid January. In Episode 14 we talked mainly about how those Obamacare plans work. Now we’re focusing more on Medicare. More on the difference between Medicare Advantage and purely supplementary plans. And toward the end – we do ...

Starting in mid October and ending January 15th, millions of eligible Americans who don’t get health insurance through their jobs or Medicaid can use what is known as the Open Enrollment Period to sign up for or change various insurance plans.  Medicare recipients – mostly 65 or older - have 6 weeks ending on December 7th this year to choose supplemental insurance or Advantage plans.  And those who have or want what most of us call...

Talking about health care systems doesn’t have much meaning unless you know how they actually affect people. My friend Gina Mžourek is an American from New Jersey. She currently lives in Germany with her Czech husband.  But over the past 24 years she’s also lived in the Czech Republic, France and of course – the US.  Gina has a chronic illness so she’s very good at comparing the health care systems. They’re all state run except of ...

Imagine what it’s like to know that if you get sick or need a knee replacement or just grow old – you’ll never have to worry about paying for your medical care? It’s something few Americans can even imagine. But something that is simply normal for most Europeans. So last month when my husband and I were in Prague – I had a conversation with a Czech friend who’s a public school English teacher and translator. She pays the usual high...

We’re looking at the growing health care crisis in the United Kingdom in this episode. The government-funded and run National Health Service or NHS as it’s usually known was started in 1948 and most UK citizens really love it. It’s basically the international role model for health care services which are free at the point of use. Something most Americans can only dream of.  But ever since the COVID lockdowns ended – the NHS has bee...

After the last two episodes on mental health, we’re talking about another difficult issue many families are struggling with – when and how to find an affordable and caring assisted living facility for Mom or Dad. Rich’s 92 year old Mom is doing well in her new home and Rich shares a lot of helpful information if your family is just beginning to the emotionally draining search. I’m also giving you some useful U.S. research links bel...

Part 2: When Part 1 ended – we were talking about how life has changed after the COVID pandemic. and how many people seem to be having trouble just coping these days. Part 2 picks up there. And as we go on – I think you’ll feel almost like you’re in your own personal therapy session as we talk a lot about mental resilience and our lack of it, the effects of social media and how you know you need help. You don’t want to miss the res...

Many Americans seem to be having trouble coping with life these days - perhaps because the COVID pandemic changed life as we knew it. It changed life everywhere - including in the Czech Republic. How do we deal with uncertainty? What does it mean to be a man in 2023? Are our children as mentally resilient as we were? What about the effect of social media? Do Czechs try to ignore mental health problems as many Americans do?  This is...

It’s hard to characterize Dr. Lisa Layne because she’s worn so many hats. As a result - the way she looks at health care and our relationship with its delivery is quite unique. Dr. Layne went from being a Foreign Service Officer to earning a doctorate in Medical Humanities and later, certificates in Bioethics.  As you can imagine, we talk about a lot. We even share a few laughs. What did she learn from her years as a patient advoca...

It’s hard to characterize Dr. Lisa Layne because she’s worn so many hats. As a result the way she looks at health care and our relationship with its delivery is quite unique. As this preview of Episode 7 suggests - we talk a little about a lot. Dr. Layne went from being a Foreign Service Officer to earning a doctorate in Medical Humanities and later, certificates in Bioethics. What did she learn from her years as a patient advocate...