Reasonable Precautions Make Safe Patients

Transcript Generated by AI.

Announcer: 0:00

Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio Show hosted by Kevin Gettings of WSOS St Augustine Radio and powered by Encore Research Group. Each Monday morning, dr Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates with insightful discussions. Medevidence is where we help you navigate the real truth behind medical research, with both a clinical and research perspective. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn about the truth behind the data in medicine and healthcare. This is MedEvidence.

Kevin Geddings: 0:30

And joining us live on the studio line, as he does on most Monday mornings, is Dr. Michael Koren. He's a medical doctor, cardiologist, research scientist and we appreciate him taking time out of his schedule to be with us today. We thought we'd talk a little bit about precautions and all the precautions that are taken when you're involved with clinical trials. There were some precautions, I guess, taken yesterday when you were watching the Jaguars beat up on the Panthers right that long weather delay.

Dr. Michael Koren: 0:55

Yeah, Good morning, Kevin, and I'm back from Europe and thank you for taking my call in Europe. That was fun for me.

Kevin Geddings: 1:01

That was fun for us too.

Dr. Michael Koren: 1:04

Well, to get back in part to watch opening day. I'm a Jaguar fan and very hopeful that the change in the coaching staff will lead to better results in the field this year. So far, so good. I was at the game and it was interesting because from the very beginning of the game there was a little bit of a dark cloud north of the stadium and it wasn't bad because it was probably keeping the temperature down a little bit.

Dr. Michael Koren: 1:28

And then in the middle of the second quarter, literally out of the blue, they announced okay, well, there's lightning in the area, everybody has to get up and take cover. And it was a bit of a strange thing because we hadn't heard any lightning or seen any lightning and the dark cloud looked to be not that close to the stadium. But okay, so we took the precaution and everybody you know went undercover and it was about I think it turned out to be about 80 minute delay. Obviously that I think it affected some of the play in the field. But uh, the funny part was that the cloud eventually came over the stadium. There was hardly any rain from this cloud and we didn't see any lightning and they actually started playing again while the cloud was still over the stadium and sort of moving off. I guess they determined that there wasn't really a danger from this particular cloud.

Dr. Michael Koren: 2:26

So it gets into this whole concept of precautions and what you do to take reasonable precautionary measures, which is certainly extremely important in medicine. And you're treating your cholesterol, treating obesity. These are two really important examples of taking precautions and sometimes it's inconvenient and sometimes it changes your routine, but at the end of the day you're thankful that you did it and hopefully, like the Jaguar game yesterday, it'll lead to good results. So one of the things to be mindful of is that, yeah, we're lucky that there wasn't any major lightning strikes, and actually it wasn't any major rain, but it could have been different and there's a certain degree of unpredictability in medicine and football and in many other things in life, and it's smart to take precautions that are time-tested.

Dr. Michael Koren: 3:10

So, as you know, there's been plenty of people who have been injured and killed from lightning, particularly in the state of Florida. It's actually the state that has had the most morbidity and mortality related to lightning strikes. That has had the most morbidity and mortality related to lightning strikes. In fact, a good friend of mine from college, who did a MedEvidence broadcast with me, has developed this lightning shirt to protect people who have to be outdoors during lightning storms. So I'm very aware of this issue, of the fact that lightning is a big, big problem in the state of Florida, and while these precautions were maybe a little bit awkward, they were certainly wise. And while these precautions were maybe a little bit awkward, they were certainly wise and at the end of the day, I think we're glad that we took them.

Kevin Geddings: 3:48

Yeah, absolutely. If you're just joining us, that's the voice of Dr. Michael Koren and of course, you can connect with him and also get involved in some leading edge clinical trials that could benefit your health and also let you participate in the next generation of medical science. Go to EncoreDocs. com. They have offices right here in St. John's County, so it's super easy to participate in these trials and you probably will be compensated for your time. Encoredocs. com that's EncoreDocs. com. And that reminds me too in terms of taking precautions, because I've been involved in some of the studies at ENCORE Research Group and there's lots of precautions involved in that process in terms of the extensive review of you know, my own or anybody else's personal medical history. You know a whole series of things that are done to make sure that you know you can be as safe as possible when you're involved in these studies, right?

Dr. Michael Koren: 4:37

Absolutely. We follow what's called a protocol which lays out all these precautions, so we're very, very careful about one who we involve. So, while we like to accommodate as many people as possible, the truth is that some people come, go through the screening process and we say you know, you're not really a good candidate for this particular research, for this or the other reason, research for this or the other reason. But that's valuable in and of itself and I wouldn't underestimate the fact that you're getting these very important and very knowledgeable medical opinions and you learn from that process. But if you go through the screening process and we feel that you're a good candidate, then absolutely every step along the way we're looking at safety and every step along the way we're looking at your individual experience and making sure it's optimized as much as possible, while collecting information that serves the general public and hopefully to help get products approved or hopefully get smarter about treating a particular condition.

Kevin Geddings: 5:32

Yeah, it's amazing because when you are involved in one of these clinical studies, of course they're constantly involved. You're connected with them both by email and text, but also regular visits that can be either weekly or monthly, so it's pretty extensive. So those of you who have thought about participating in some of these clinical trials and maybe have hesitated because you're not sure exactly what the safety precautions are, I assure you you're going to be very, very impressed. Let me just tell you that, Before we let you go, one other place too that might help you take the right precautions, depending on whatever chronic illness or ailment you may be dealing with, is to go to MedEvidence and learn the very latest research on your particular issue, right?

Dr. Michael Koren: 6:10

Absolutely, yeah. One of the things that was really exciting for me at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Madrid was the fact that there was so much interest in MedEvidence. In fact, there were a few companies that asked me to create podcasts specifically for their needs, so that was super exciting for us, and people are loving this format of having knowledgeable physicians discuss an issue in an unbiased way, and people have differences of opinion, but when two knowledgeable people are interacting with each other, you're going to get to the truth more likely than not.

Dr. Michael Koren: 6:46

And the truth is, kevin, it's hard to get to the truth. So if you just look at things on the internet that are being sponsored or funded by people with a vested interest in some particular product or service, you're not going to necessarily get the truth, whereas in mid-evidence, we're very, very careful about making sure that people hear all sides of the story and, most importantly, you hear people discussing it that may not always agree on every point, but will eventually find points of agreement that you can take home and become very confident.

Kevin Geddings: 7:11

Yeah, absolutely Well, once again, that website that we'd like you to check out. If you have any interest in anything health related and you want to trust what you're reading and what you are reading online, go to medevidence. com the truth behind the data, medevidence. com. With any questions about any of the items that we've been talking about this morning with Dr. Michael Koren. We encourage you just to talk to a real life human being right here, locally in St. Augustine and St. Johns County, 904-730-0166, 904-730-0166. 904-730-0166. We'll get to talk to.

Kevin Geddings: 7:50

Dr Korn, again next Monday after a big Jaguar win in Cincinnati. Right,

Dr. Michael Koren: 7:52

that's the plan, Kevin. That's the plan.

Kevin Geddings: 7:53

Thank you, Dr. Koren. We appreciate you All right.

Dr. Michael Koren: 7:57

Have a great week.

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