Archive

Thu, Dec 18, 2008 -- 8:00 PM

Health Dialogues: Holiday Health - Chemicals in our Gifts
It's holiday gift-giving time. Remember all those toy recalls? California and the federal government both have new laws banning certain chemicals, but they don't go into effect until the new year. Join Health Dialogues as we navigate the murky waters of healthy gift giving this holiday season.

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Host: Scott Shafer

Segment 1: A Sea of Chemicals
Most of us have little idea what chemicals are in the things that we buy. We think government safeguards us, regulating things like lead in toys. That much is true. But what about the more than 80,000 chemicals used in manufacturing today? As it turns out, almost all of them are completely unstudied and unregulated.

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Segment 2: The Secrets in Makeup
The Food and Drug Administration was created to protect Americans from dangers in consumer products. But lobbyists succeeded in leaving cosmetics explicitly out of the FDA's reach. Today, no one uses more of those potentially dangerous products than teenage girls. From KPBS, Kenny Goldberg reports.

Segment 3: Chemicals and You / The U.S. vs. The European Union
The FDA and EPA are supposed to be protecting us from potential health and environmental risks. How good a job are they doing? Host Scott Shafer put that question to a couple of journalists who cover the issue.

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Segment 4: Green Chemistry - Government and Industry Weigh In
Here in California, the agency charged with protecting public health and the environment from toxic chemicals is the Department of Toxic Substances Control, part of the California EPA. Host Scott Shafer speaks with the DTSC and the chemical industry about the Green Chemistry movement in California.

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Segment 5: What Happens to E-Waste?
We've heard a lot about the things we use and how they can harm us. But the potential hazard doesn't end once we throw our products away. In fact, in the case of e-waste (electronic gadgets like cell phones and i-Pods), disposal is where the problem often begins. Join Scott Shafer on a trip to the San Francisco dump.

Segment 6: Green Toys
All these green chemistry initiatives in California raise the question: what would consumer products look like in this new world of green chemistry? KQED health reporter Sarah Varney found one company who just might have the answer.

Thu, Nov 20, 2008 -- 8:00 PM

Health Dialogues: Health Advocacy
Navigating the health care system challenges a family in the best of times. But, what if your family isn't around, or doesn't have the time to monitor your care? That's where the growing business of patient advocacy steps in, providing competent oversight to prevent medical mistakes and even save lives. Join the November edition of Health Dialogues as we discuss the growing trend of patient advocacy.

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Host: Rachael Myrow

Different Types of Patient Advocacy
We explore the various types of patient advocacy, including non-profit, for-profit and government-run. We also hear from people who've had problems with their health care, and talk with the head of the leading non-profit patient assistance organization in the country.

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Extended patient testimonial interviews
Kim Kutcher - Dana Point, CA. Kim's back pain got so bad that she was unable to get up from the couch or pick up her children. The pain only got worse, and Kim (a registered nurse) and her doctor decided that she needed disc replacement surgery ? a relatively new procedure here in the United States. Still, it's FDA approved, and Kim figured she'd be able to get coverage from her provider. She set a date for the surgery, but the provider kept saying no. Eventually, the insurance provider approved the surgery... but then refused to pay for it.

Merry Selk - Albany, CA. For the past 15 years or so, Merry has had knee problems. Shoe inserts would temporarily relieve the pain, but after a while, her knee would hurt again and she would need a higher insert. Merry's knee eventually deteriorated to point where she needed surgery. 13 months, two insurance providers, two general practitioners, four physical therapists and three surgeons later, Merry got her knee fixed.

Maha Soudah - San Francisco, CA. Maha needed to purchase an individual heath care policy. So, she filled out an application and sent it in. Maha figured her clean bill of health would be enough for quick approval for the $750/month plan. But she ran into a roadblock when the insurance provider saw that her doctor had once given her some blood pressure pills to try out.

Different Types of Patient Advocacy

The Cost of Patient Advocacy
As patients are asked to get more involved in their own health care, there is a growing trend of for-profit patient advocacy businesses. These companies act as hired guns to challenge an insurer's denial of treatment or billing disputes.

The Cost of Patient Advocacy

The Industry Weighs In
We talk with representatives of both the health advocacy and health insurance industries about their business. The reality is that insurance does not cover everything -- even if patients want it to -- and the overwhelming majority of consumers do not have problems with their insurers.

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The Industry Weighs In

The HMO Help Line
Did you know the State of California will help you resolve an issue with your health insurer? We talk with the head of the Department of Managed Health Care, which runs a health care help center that reviews cases brought to it by the public.

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The HMO Help Line

Innovations in Health Care -- Self-Advocacy and Health 2.0
In our continuing coverage of innovations in thinking about and dealing with health care, we talk with a major player in Health 2.0 -- a social media health movement.

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Innovations in Health Care -- Self-Advocacy and Health 2.0

Thu, Oct 23, 2008 -- 8:00 PM

Health Dialogues: Health Care for All?
With the 2008 presidential election just around the corner, it's time to review the progress of universal health care. What do competing Democratic and Republican plans really mean? And what's happening with Governor Schwarzenegger's plan for universal health care coverage at the state level? We'll also take a look at San Francisco's pilot program called "Healthy San Francisco," a new safety net for the city's estimated 82,000 uninsured residents.

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Host: Scott Shafer

Barack Obama's Plan for Health Reform

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John McCain's Plan for Health Reform

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Non-Partisan Analysis of the Obama and McCain Health Plans

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Santa Clara Family Health

Healthy San Francisco
We look at San Francisco's plan to provide access to health care -- not insurance -- to its uninsured residents.

The State of Health Care Reform in California

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Proposition 4 and Parental Notification

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