February 2010 Physician Focus TV examines Lyme disease
 from the MMS

The February edition of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Physician Focus educational health care program discusses the many aspects of Lyme disease, one of several infectious diseases endemic to Massachusetts.

Nearly 4,000 confirmed cases of Lyme disease were reported in Massachusetts in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control, a jump of some 33 percent from 2007.  In the ten years from 1999 through 2008, the number of cases in the state has quadrupled, making the state second in the nation in the number of cases reported. While it is more prevalent in the warmer months, Lyme disease is a threat year-round, and residents are considered to be at high risk.

The February program will examine such areas as how the disease is contracted, signs and symptoms of the condition, how individuals can protect themselves, and what treatments are available for those who do get the disease.

The guest for this program is Martin Kafina, M.D., Clinical Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a rheumatologist at Emerson Hospital in Concord.  Dr. Kafina is a Fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. Host for the program is Bruce Karlin, M.D., a primary care physician practicing in Worcester, Mass.

The program is distributed to public access television stations throughout the state and is available for viewing in its entirety via webcast beginning in February here.

Physician Focus is a noncommercial production of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide organization of physicians, and Hopkinton Community Television, HCAM-TV. Now in its sixth year of production, the half-hour program brings viewers health and medical information each month on timely topics from physicians and other healthcare experts. Distributed as a public service, Physician Focus currently reaches some 230 communities and more than 1.8 million households in the state each month through the courtesy of public access television stations.

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more than 22,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education for health care professionals throughout Massachusetts, conducting a variety of medical education programs for physicians and health care professionals. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information please visit massmed.org, nejm.org or jwatch.org.