Expert Interviews

An expert discusses the burden of physical symptoms and the financial impact, including indirect costs, of atopic dermatitis (AD) on patients and their families.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a diverse disease that affects people all over the globe. This diversity in setting and treatment options makes it difficult for researchers to estimate the exact cost of care, according to Johan Burisch, M.D., Ph.D., a gastroenterologist at Hvidovre Hospital in Denmark.

An expert discusses considerations for tailoring narcolepsy treatment plans for patients with complex comorbidities or lifestyle needs, the role of insurance policies, prior authorizations, and specialty pharmacies in treatment access, emerging strategies to improve care in underserved populations, and the role of hypocretin in narcolepsy.

Ashwin N.  Ananthakrishnan, M.D., M.P.H., MGH

Environmental factors like diet and early antibiotic use have an impact on the gut microbiome and can contribute to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), explained Ashwin N. Ananthakrishnan, M.D., M.P.H., MGH, associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Major Medicaid cuts may be overshadowing work requirements, but they remain a priority for Republicans. Work requirements are “bad health policy,” says Leanne Berge, J.D., CEO of the Community Health Plan of Washington, although they would not have as great an impact as the cuts that have been under discussion.

Three Washington, D.C., healthcare policy experts and the former chief of staff of HHS dive into the healthcare politics and policies of the new administration: RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearings; the future of IRA drug price negotiations and PBM reform; Medicare Advantage under the new administration; DOGE cuts at HHS; and ant-DEI and the social determinants of health.

Monica Christmas, M.D.

Conversations around menopause symptoms are becoming more common, but there is such a thing as potentially calling too much attention, especially in the workplace, according to Monica Christmas, M.D., director of the menopause program at the University of Chicago Medicine and the Center for Women’s Integrated Health.