Through researching the literature and conducting patient studies, I continue to evolve the delivery of "Whole Person" Care. (Click on each title to learn more.)

• Don’t Ask…Don’t Tell – The Untold Story of Urinary and Fecal Incontinence
  “You are not alone.” This is what the National Institutes of Health has recently said to consumers about incontinence. I had the honor of participating in a State of the Science Panel charged with reviewing what is currently known about both fecal and urinary incontinence… and what needs to be known going forward, especially with the aging of the baby boomers. We found lots of data about how common and disturbing incontinence is and how poorly addressed it is both clinically and scientifically. Incontinence may not be life-threatening, but it can be life-limiting, leading to social isolation, avoidance of intimacy, and depression. It may also be life-transforming—the tipping point where family caregivers can no longer manage their elders at home and resort to nursing home placement. Interestingly, people entering nursing homes without incontinence soon become so because there is not enough staff to actually bring them to the bathroom on a regular basis! For more...
• Vitamin D Stories - The Future Depends on the Past
  After reading my first newsletter on Vitamin D, many of you have asked how one simple nutrient could affect so many different conditions. The answer is that vitamin D has an impact on health from the very beginning - even before conception. Science is increasingly becoming aware of how the fetal environment impacts a person's health over the course of their life. In complex, living systems (as different from machines) the course of events over time is influenced by "sensitivity to initial conditions." Here are some stories that demonstrate this effect...
• Vitamin D - The Untold Story
  The importance of vitamin D and its role in health is underappreciated by most of us - clinicians and patients alike. More importantly, by following recommendations to avoid sunlight and wear sunscreen, we block the way our body gets 95% of its vitamin D - from the midday sun. While we may be aware of vitamin D's role in absorbing calcium and keeping bones strong, many of us are not aware that chronic deficiency over time may also be related to hypertension, diabetes, cancer, immune disorders, chronic pain, winter depression, and cancer…
• HYPERTENSION: High Blood Pressure and the Hyper, Tense Person
  People expect their blood pressure to be high at the doctor’s office because they are nervous… But it turns out that most studies linking high blood pressure and its long-term health consequences are based on in-office measurement. Before starting serious medications, there is another piece of the story to explore…
• "The Metabolic Syndrome" - The underlying state from which diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease emerge, all of which may be preventable with early treatment. Women with some menstrual irregularities or complications of pregnancy are at particular risk and are good candidates for early detection.
• "Collaborative Care" - Integrated physical and mental health care for better diagnosis and outcomes in collaboration with behavioral health specialist, Jamie Olken, ACSW. The results of this work were presented at the American Psychological Association.
• "Asthma in Women" - A unique focus on diagnosing and managing this serious medical condition from a sex- and gender-based scientific perspective.
• "Palpitations and the Heart's Electrical System" - Sex differences in the heart's electrical system may require sex-specific strategies for proper diagnosis and management.
• OUR HEALTH, OUR LIVES - A Revolutionary Approach to Total Health Care for Women - a book I wrote addressing sex- and gender-based medicine and whole person care.
• "Keeping our Focus Women-Centered in Traditional and Complementary and Alternative Medicine" - The text of a presentation given at NYU that takes a historical and evidence-based look at both traditional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine from a women-centered perspective.
• "Women's Health and Complexity Science" - This article by Dr. Hoffman, published in the prestigious journal, Academic Medicine, describes developing and teaching the new medical specialty of women's health.

Over time, I intend to use the "Whole Person" Care approach to address the treatment and prevention of additional conditions.