In Depth: TV audiences, dental procedures, prostate treatment
LOS ANGELES - Segment One: COVID and Live TV Audiences
Joining us is Lisa Garr of Standing Room Only Audience and Casting Company. Garr is now screening audiences for live TV shows with COVID prevention protocols.
Garr says that the Ellen show, the Bill Maher show and others are returning to in-person audiences with their help. She says you’re probably safer in a studio audience right now than you are going to the market, because everyone has been tested.
The company does pre-testing outdoors with the Curative van. The subjects get test results within 12 hours.
Garr says that the crew and staff are tested as well, to protect family members. They want to get the word out to production companies that they now can re-start production safely. They do compensate the audience so that they are covered under workers’ comp.
Segment Two: COVID and Dental Care
Dr. Kami Hoss joins Hal to talk about the new protocol for dentist offices since they have reopened in mid-May. He says there have been zero instances of COVID transmission in dental offices. There have been stringent protocols in place in dental offices for decades, ever since the HIV crisis.
The doctor says it’s a bad idea to wait to go to the dentist, even though a large percentage of people feel like they should wait. He says dental problems such as cavities or gum disease will only get worse, and that new research shows that poor dental health can negatively impact the recovery from Covid-19, so that dental care is actually beneficial against the virus. Precautions include stringent screening, check-in from your car, use of a mouth rinse before being examined, and changes in procedures that limit aerosolization.
Dr. Hoss says retrofitting and creating COVID precautions is costing an arm and a leg. He says many smaller dental practices could go out of business. Some practices are passing on minimal PPE costs to patients.
Segment Three: New Prostate Procedure
Dr. Robert Princenthal, Medical Director for RadNet's Prostate Program and Paul Colacchio with RadNet who is also a prostate cancer patient join Hal to discuss a new prostate treatment that is much less invasive and has fewer side-effects than prostatectomy.
Called the TULSA technique, it involves using precise control to use monitored thermography, and controlling that heat, so that it does not affect surrounding tissues. It takes three hours and is done as an outpatient procedure.
Colaccio says that he would probably opt for a prostatectomy if he had to do it again, because he just wanted to get rid of the cancer immediately. There is also a concern about insurance coverage. The TULSA technique is considered too new to be covered by insurance, but Princenthal says he anticipates that the insurance company will cover the technique within the next two years.
Segment Four: Wrap-Up
Hal promotes his podcast and we close with the Flaming Lips’ “socially distanced” concert with both band members and audience members in giant bubbles.