Latest / Morning Medical with Dr. Chow / Sexual health care, cybersecurity in hospitals, and insights from Dr. Anthony Fauci

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Sexual health care, cybersecurity in hospitals, and insights from Dr. Anthony Fauci · Morning Medical with Dr. Chow

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Good morning.
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Listeners.
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Welcome to another episode of Morning Medical with Doctor Chow.
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I am Doctor Chi Ming Chow.
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And today, we have a compelling episode lined up for you.
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We will be discussing how you can get the sexual health care you deserve, the critical
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changes needed to improve hospital cyber security and some fascinating takeaways from
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Doctor Anthony Fauci's memoir on call.
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So let us dive right in.
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Today, we start with an important topic that affects millions of people, how to get the
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sexual health care you deserve.
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This segment is based on an insightful article by Doctor Karen Landman, a senior reporter at
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VOX.
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Doctor Landman highlights a significant issue in the health care system.
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The lack of conversations between health care providers and patients about sexual health.
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This can be due to discomfort, short appointment times, or assumptions made by
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providers about their patient's sexual activity.
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As a result, many Americans with sexually transmitted infections go undiagnosed and
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untreated, perpetuating stigma and shame around sexual health.
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If you are struggling to get the sexual health care you need, it is essential to learn how to
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manage up your sexual health care.
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This means guiding your provider toward the conversations you want to have, the testing,
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exams or preventive strategies you might need, and the information that will help you make the
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healthiest decisions going forward.
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Ideally, offering proactive sexual health care should be routine for all health care providers
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But if it is not, there are tools to help you get your needs met.
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Talking about sexually transmitted infections and contraception, can be uncomfortable for
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many patients.
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Doctor Marl Bruce Furness, a preventive medicine doctor, with over 2 decades of
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experience in sexual health care suggests that primary care providers should ask their
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patients Have you had sex in the last year, and was it pleasurable?
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This question could open up many helpful conversations.
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If your provider does not initiate this conversation, you can start by mentioning you
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have read about high rates of sexually transmitted infections and are wondering how to
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protect yourself.
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You can also say, I know I'm here for a checkup, but can we talk about my sexual health
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for a few minutes?
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I have some questions.
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Routine testing for common infections is recommended for people who have oral, vaginal,
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or anal sex, especially if there is a new sex partner or multiple partners.
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Testing is also advisable if you are sharing sex toys or having skin to skin contact in the
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genital area, with another person.
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Additionally, if you have new symptoms, whether in the genital area, or more general symptoms
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following sexual encounters, it is wise to get tested.
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Syphilis transmission has risen significantly in the United States and is often
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underdiagnosed.
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Doctor Inna Park, a doctor at a San Francisco sexual health clinic, recommends asking your
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provider to specifically test for syphilis during your sexually transmitted infection
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screening.
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Providers offering sexual health services provide various strategies for preventing
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sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
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Including different types of condoms and medications or vaccines that can prevent
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infections.
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You might want to ask about pre exposure or post exposure prophylaxis to learn about
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strategies for preventing some sexually transmitted infections by taking certain drugs
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before or after sex.
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Do not hesitate to ask about specific infections you are particularly worried about
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such as M POX, which has been on many people's minds recently.
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There is a vaccine available to protect those at risk.
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Contraception is another critical aspect of sexual health care.
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This includes long acting options like intrauterine devices, daily options like birth
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control pills, and emergency options like Plan B.
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If you are concerned about unplanned pregnancy, Ask your provider about the best options for
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you and the potential side effects.
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It is also wise to check whether contraception is covered by your insurance.
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If cost is a concern, talk to your provider about affordable options.
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Sexual health care also involves considerations around abortion care.
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If you need help finding a provider to talk to about abortion, resources like I need an a or
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abortion finder can be very helpful.
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Aid access, plan c, and May day health also offer information on accessing medication
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abortion online for people in the United States.
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Pleasure, mental health, and relationship issues are integral parts of sexual health.
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If sex or masturbation is not pleasurable, you can talk to your doctor about potential causes.
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For women experiencing pain during sex, using lube, pelvic floor physical therapy or estrogen
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treatments might help.
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These conversations may feel awkward, but they are essential for your overall health.
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You can tell your doctor if you have a low libido, trouble getting an erection, or
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reaching climax, and ask about possible treatments or behavioral strategies.
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Mental health significantly impacts sexual enjoyment.
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Doctor Park notes that one's mental state can affect the pleasure derived from sex.
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Conversely, sex can sometimes cause mental health issues if it is used to fill unmet needs
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or if it involves risky behavior or abusive partners.
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You can discuss with your provider if you feel your mental health is affecting your sex life
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or vice versa.
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Additionally, you can seek advice on how to talk to a partner about sexually transmitted
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infection testing, or if you test positive for an infection.
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It is crucial to find the right provider for your sexual health care.
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While it would be ideal for everyone to feel comfortable with their primary care providers,
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Some may avoid them due to past negative experiences.
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Religious exemption laws have made it easier for some providers to refuse certain types of
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care, which doctor Finesse finds unacceptable.
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If your primary care provider is uncomfortable discussing sexual health, Ask why.
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It may be due to a lack of knowledge or time rather than judgment.
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If they react negatively, consider filing a written complaint to help improve resource
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allocation and care standards.
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If you do not have a primary care provider or prefer not to use them for sexual health care,
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you can find specialized providers through resources like the Centers for Disease Control
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and preventions get tested website.
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Health Department Run clinics often offer low cost options.
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The national Coalition for Sexual Health advises looking for providers who use
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understandable language, listen without judgment, respect your pronouns, explain their
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reasoning for tests, support your autonomy and maintain confidentiality.
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Some issues may require specialists like OBGYNs, urologists, mental health
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professionals, or sex therapists.
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Online providers and at home testing kits for sexually transmitted infections are also
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available.
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These options are suitable for certain group such as those who have never been tested live
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far from testing centers or belong to sexual and gender minorities.
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However, home testing is not recommended for those with symptoms as they may need additional
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tests not included in home kits.
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Free home testing kits are available through sites like I want the kit and take me home, but
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they usually do not include a consultation with a provider.
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You miss out on comprehensive sexual history discussions and personalized care that in
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person visits offer.
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Ultimately, the best sexual health care is the kind you actually receive.
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Whether you prefer in person visits or home testing, The most important thing is to get the
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care you need.
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We need a variety of options to meet different people's needs.
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Remember, your sexual health is a vital part of your overall well-being, and you deserve to
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have access to the care and information you need to stay healthy.
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Cyber criminals across the globe continue to target health care organizations, exploiting
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any vulnerability they can.
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Health care entities are still struggling to protect themselves against these hackers whose
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tactics are getting more sophisticated by the day.
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Below are 3 changes that cybersecurity experts think need to happen in order to strengthen the
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health care industry's defense posture.
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All health care employees need cyber security training.
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Internal human error is one of the most common factors that cause cyber attacks at enterprises
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across all industries, pointed out Anurag Lau, chief executive officer of NETSphere, a
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cybersecurity company offering a secure messaging platform.
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Most attacks happen at the hands of an employee who simply made a mistake.
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He said, these mistakes have detrimental impacts, though, which is leading to a growing
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fear among staff members.
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In fact, according to a survey, some cyber security professionals say that they have not
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reported a breach due to fear of losing their jobs.
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To address this problem, companies need to create an open door policy in the workplace, so
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employees feel empowered to talk about any and all risks that their organization may be
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facing.
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Lowell recommended.
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Companies must also ensure that all employees understand how to recognize cybersecurity risks
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as well as educate all workers on how to communicate or transport patients' electronic
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health information properly.
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He added.
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Health care companies need to assign clear job roles and descriptions and ensure it is
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communicated throughout the organization.
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Lyle remarked.
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Healthcare entities need to make certain that workforce members are equipped with the
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necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to fulfill particular roles and that these
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requirements are included as part of the personnel hiring process.
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Lal also noted that employees cybersecurity training should be an ongoing evolving process
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that is responsive to environmental and operational changes.
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The federal government must establish minimum cybersecurity standards.
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The federal government has yet to set a standard for a minimum set of cybersecurity
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protections across all industries noted Joel Burleson Davis, senior vice president of
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Worldwide Engineering and cyber, a digital identity security company in Provada.
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There are a few issues that arise from the lack of a governmental cybersecurity program.
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He said.
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The first issue that arises is the mentality shift for organizations that are making hard
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choices.
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When controls are a should versus a must implement, resource strapped organizations may
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veer away from implementing them.
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The lack of a strong government program leads to inconsistent security practices across the
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health care sector making it easier for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities.
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And this is becoming even more of an issue as health care organizations become more
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interconnected, and in many cases, consolidate, Rillis and Davis pointed out.
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Organizations like the National Security Agency cybersecurity And Infrastructure Security
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Agency And National Institute of Standards And Technology have released cybersecurity
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guidelines and frameworks for health care organizations, but they have not been very
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effective, he said.
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While these guidelines provide helpful information, they have not established any firm
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standards, incentives, or accountability for organizations to proceed with implementing
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updated best practices.
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They are just recommendations, meaning organizations can take or leave them.
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Burleson Davis declared.
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The lack of consequences in the event of an attack also allows health care organizations to
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gamble with their security and patient safety when they failed to implement best practices or
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appropriate backup and data recovery methods he added, the impact of the change health care
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cyber attack is a key example.
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Many were aware that change health care was the single point of failure for all payment
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processes.
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Yet they did not implement a backup method as it was deemed too expensive and time consuming
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of a process.
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Burleson Davis remarked.
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Last month's attack on Ascension is another timely example he noted.
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Ascension is one of the largest health systems in the country with a 140 hospitals across 19
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states.
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If it can get attacked, then every health system in the United States is at risk of
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suffering a devastating cyber attack, he said.
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In Burleson Davis' view, the number one thing that needs to change for health care cyber
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security to improve is the establishment of minimum, government, enforced cybersecurity
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standards specific to the health care industry.
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Along with incentives and resources to ensure health care organizations can successfully
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build and maintain their cybersecurity programs.
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Real change will come when standards and initiatives are introduced alongside the means
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needed to achieve them.
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He declared Budgeting is a routine issue for smaller health care providers as their leaders
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know that cyber attacks have dire privacy and financial consequences.
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When they are forced to choose between an urgently needed magnetic resonance imaging
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machine for their patients or a new cybersecurity product, they will understandably
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choose the former.
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Health care organizations should collaborate to address shared vulnerabilities.
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Cyber attacks are pretty horizontal, but the entry points are vertically oriented, said
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Gaurav Kapoor, chief executive officer, of cybersecurity software company Metrics stream.
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He noted that when a cyber attack occurs in the finance industry, stakeholders from all over
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the sector often collaborate to solve the issue as quickly as possible.
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The finance sector also works collaboratively in a proactive sense, banks all over the world
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have established networks where they regularly share new risk that are emerging and how to get
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ahead of them, he stated.
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But in the health care cybersecurity world, there does not seem to be the same type of
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speedy cooperative approach.
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I feel like there can be more collaboration in health care in terms of plugging up where the
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leak points are.
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Kapoor remarked.
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Health care providers that have been hacked should share details with other organizations
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throughout the sector so they can be aware of what to patch in their own systems he
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recommended.
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Now let us turn our attention to a fascinating new book that provides an inside look into the
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life and career of one of America's most renowned doctors doctor Anthony Fauci.
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His memoir titled on call, a doctor's journey in public service, offers a wealth of insights
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into his 4 decades of service as the nation's top infectious disease expert.
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Doctor Fauci's memoir is a detailed account of his career during which he advised 7 different
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presidents.
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He shares how he consistently aimed to speak with complete candor while navigating the
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complexities of politics to push for critical public health policies.
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For instance, he maneuvered for more HIV funding during the Reagan administration and
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expanded access to experimental aids medicines under George H W.
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The Bush.
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He also set up the National Institutes of Health's vaccine research center with Bill
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Clinton and worked on the global HIV medicine initiative, Petfar, with George W Bush.
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1 of the most striking revelations in the book is how doctor Fauci strive to separate science
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from politics, a task that became increasingly difficult, especially in recent years.
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He recounts being screamed at and taunted by former president Donald Trump.
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Doctor Afauci admits that If given another chance, he would handle certain aspects of the
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COVID 19 pandemic differently.
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For example, he wished he had known sooner about the importance of aerosol transmission,
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which would have influenced masking and distancing guidelines.
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Doctor Fauci also reflects on the broader US response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
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Noting that while the country succeeded in developing vaccines and antiviral drugs
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rapidly, it failed in terms of public health infrastructure.
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He points out that the US stay had far too many deaths, partly because the public health
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infrastructure was underfunded and antiquated.
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Local health departments often relied on outdated technology, like fax machines, making
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it challenging for federal authorities to assist effectively.
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The memoir also delves into how doctor Fauci and other officials stopped relying on the
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centers for disease control and prevention early in the pandemic, instead turning to the
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Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard for more reliable data.
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He explains that the CDC's traditional approach of testing only symptomatic individuals was not
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suited to handle COVID 19.
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Which often spreads asymptomatically.
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Another interesting takeaway from doctor Baum Fauci's memoir is his growing concern about the
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politicization of science, which he first noticed during the Zika virus outbreak.
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He describes how the negotiations over funding to address Zika were marred by partisan
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politics, making it difficult to secure the necessary resources.
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This experience left him worried about future infectious disease outbreaks and the potential
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for political interference.
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Doctor Sai Fauci also shares his experiences dealing with the surge of hate mail and threats
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he received during the COVID 19 pandemic.
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He recounts receiving an anthrax powder scare and facing protests outside his home.
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Despite these challenges, He remains deeply concerned about the crisis of truth in society,
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which he believes exacerbates public health disasters.
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On a more somber note, doctor Bifauci expresses his pessimism regarding the development of an
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HIV vaccine.
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Despite initial optimism, several key trials have failed, leaving researchers back at square
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1.
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He notes that a promising approach is in development.
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But any success is still years away if it is achievable at all.
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The memoir also highlights some of doctor Fauci's unfulfilled ambitions.
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For example, he tried to convince the George W Bush administration to make a significant push
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to combat tuberculosis and malaria, but was unsuccessful.
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Similarly, during the Obama administration, He proposed a $2,500,000,000 initiative to create
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an aids free generation, but the funds never materialized.
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Doctor Fauci recounts turning down an offer in 1989 to become the director of the National
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Institutes of Health.
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Preferring to continue his work in the lab and with AIDS patients.
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He believed he could serve the country better in his existing role.
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He also describes his strategic efforts to secure more HIV funding, often working behind
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the scenes with key members of Congress and constituency groups to achieve his goals.
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In summary, doctor Anthony Fauci's memoir on call a doctor's journey in public service
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offers a comprehensive look at his extraordinary career and the challenges he
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faced while navigating the complex landscape of public health and politics.
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It provides valuable lessons and reflections that are particularly relevant in today's world
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where the intersection of science and politics continues to shape our responses to public
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health crises.
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That brings us to the end of today's episode.
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Thank you for joining me on morning medical with doctor Chow, I hope you found our
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discussions on sexual health care, hospital cyber security, and doctor Fauci's memoir in
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Lightning.
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Stay tuned for more updates and insights on the latest medical and health news.
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Until next time, stay healthy and take care.