Massachusetts Medical Society's Physician Focus

End-of-Life Care: Advance Care Planning
Physicians are trained to promote wellness, cure illness, and preserve and protect life. Yet, death is inevitable, and health care providers are now paying more attention to end-of-life issues. One of the most important aspects of end-of-life issues is preparing advance directives. These include such items as a living will, health care proxy, durable power of attorney. Why should people prepare advance directives? What do they signify? How difficult are they to prepare? And how do they benefit the patient, family members, and health care providers?

Physician Focus is a monthly, half-hour educational talk show that brings important health and medical information from practicing physicians and health care professionals to people and patients of all ages.

Produced for public access television stations, Physician Focus is a collaborative effort of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide organization of physicians, and HCAM-TV, Hopkinton. The program is distributed each month to 195 Massachusetts public access television stations, reaching some 272 communities and an estimated 1.9 million cable households.* The program also has a national reach, available to public access stations across the U.S. via download from the transfer site, pegmedia.org. It is also available on iTunes. With statewide and national broadcasts, Physician Focus reaches an estimated 2.5 million households.

In each edition, members of the Medical Society share their knowledge and expertise in patient-friendly discussions with a physician host. The principal program host is Bruce Karlin, M.D., a primary care physician in Worcester, Mass. Other regular hosts include Mavis Jaworski, M.D., a primary care physician, James Kenealy, M.D., an otolaryngologist; Lynda Young, M.D., a pediatrician; and John Fromson, M.D., a psychiatrist. Other physicians may appear as guest hosts from time to time.

The Massachusetts Medical Society develops the content and distributes the programs to public access stations as a public service. HCAM-TV provides the studio and production facilities. The show is taped two months in advance of distribution.

Executive Producer of the show is Richard Gulla of the Medical Society’s media relations office. The program is produced by HCAM Station Manager Jim Cozzens and directed by HCAM’s Michael Torosian. Mr. Cozzens has over 25 years experience producing programs and overseeing community access television stations, and Mr. Gulla has more than 25 years experience in public relations and communications for some of the region's largest nonprofit and media organizations. The producers welcome inquiries and comments. Write to PhysicianFocus@mms.org.

*Subscriber figures from Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy, Cable Television Division