Permanente physicians in the news – January 2023

From a rise of cases of strep throat in children to physician leadership, Permanente physicians regularly provide their expertise in media reports and interviews on a variety of topics in the news. The following are samples of recent physician newsmakers.

Week ending Feb. 3

• Alex McDonald, MD, family medicine physician, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, shared tips on how people can work in physical activity into their daily routine in this Wall Street Journal article. Dr. McDonald said he likes to “prescribe” exercise to his patients because writing specific instructions resonate with individuals.
• Stephen Parodi, MD, infectious disease physician and associate medical director, The Permanente Medical Group, discussed policies surrounding coverage for PrEP medication to help prevent HIV/AIDS in this interview with the AMA Update podcast.
• Amanjot Sethi, MD, urologist and director of wellness operations, The Permanente Medical Group, outlined how the medical group addresses physician burnout and foster a culture of clinician wellness in a report and “AMA STEPS Forward Podcast” with the AMA News. And read a recap story here.

Week ending Jan. 20

• Ainsley MacLean, MD, chief medical information officer, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, provided tips as part of the Forbes Technology Council on how companies can ensure team members keep software updated in this Forbes story. Dr. MacLean emphasized the need to keep things simple, suggesting providing screenshots of the changes to walk team members through the needed updates.

Week ending Jan. 6

• Afif El-Hasan, MD, pediatrician, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, was interviewed by NPR’s Morning Edition about a sharp rise in strep A throat cases in children age 5 to 15 and what symptoms look like.

Week ending Jan. 13

• Ainsley MacLean, MD, chief medical information officer, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, wrote a guest column in Forbes about the need for positive leadership in health care in the coming year, and shared examples of some of the positive leadership practices at Kaiser Permanente.