CardioExchange Archive

August 10th, 2010

A Family Affair

Juan J. Rivera, MD, MHS

The surplus of specialists and neglect of primary and preventive care in modern American medicine has led to a very sharp focus on individuals, with little regard for families. A perfect example of how this imbalance has detrimental effects at the population level is the childhood obesity epidemic. Many healthcare professionals perceive obesity as an […]

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April 13th, 2010

Are You Really a Cardiovascular Prevention Specialist?

Juan J. Rivera, MD, MHS

I call myself a “preventive cardiologist,” but what makes me different from other cardiologists? Many academic centers categorize cardiovascular prevention as a distinct field within cardiology that merits its own label, sub-department, and leadership. Outside the university, however, the distinction may seem, well, academic. But not to me. Although I’ve been in practice for only 1 […]

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November 24th, 2009

The Rescue Page — An Essential Element of Today’s Health Care Delivery System

Juan J. Rivera, MD, MHS

As the doctor begins to talk to his patient about smoking cessation, he receives the first “rescue” page. He immediately knows that he has violated — again — the 15-minute-per-patient rule, a rule that surprisingly even patients in the waiting area expect their doctors to follow. Nurses, administrators, and patients coalesce into one giant chronometer, […]

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October 30th, 2009

The Obese Passenger: Confronting the Obesity Epidemic Personally and Professionally

Juan J. Rivera, MD, MHS

I am a creature of routine and order, and therefore don’t do very well with Southwest Airlines’ lack of seat assignment. Not so long ago, during a business trip to San Antonio, I was looking at my group C boarding pass and wondering if there would be any room for my carry-on luggage, or if […]

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