The Home Health Care Today Show: S1, E10: National Men's Health Week and Month: Fathelrahman Ali, MD.

Dr. Fathelrahman Ali discusses top concerns, tips, and resources as related to Men's Health in Metro Detroit. The show's goal is to recognize National Men's Health Week and Month to inform, inspire, influence, and educate Metropolitan Detroiters on how to address Men's health, wellness, and issues at various ages and stages.

This episode is not only focused on men, but it's also focused on the caregivers of men, children, siblings, significant others who care greatly about men's health.

Dr. Fathelrahman Ali is an internal medicine specialist in Dearborn. Dr. Ali completed a residency at Oakwood hospital. He currently practices at his own office here in Dearborn.

He is affiliated with Beaumont hospital, Dearborn, Wayne and Taylor. He is a board certified internal medicine physician.

In addition, Dr. Ali practices at Beaumont extended care facility, Heartland Care, and Allen park and Beaumont skilled rehab.

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?A. (Question #1: Dr. Ali, we are cohabitants of the same medical office building in Dearborn, Monroe medical center. We see patients come down the hall all the time to see you and see you working late at night, going back and forth to hospitals, to take care of patients. Doctor share with us a little bit about your passion for medicine, your focus on health and various specialties.)

Dr. Fathelrahman Ali:

“I graduated from the University of Khartoum - School of Medicine. I practiced in Africa for about three years and then immigrated to the USafter completing an equivalent exam. I completed residency in internal medicine at Beaumont hospital and medical center, I was the chief resident for the telemedicine program.

After I completed my residency, I started practicing in the Dearborn area. From Dearborn, West Detroit and a diverse patient population. I'm very passionate about taking care of a diverse patient population. Our area here in Southeast Michigan has all kinds of patients from all kinds of backgrounds. I also see patients in the inpatient setting and in the office and with extended care facilities. I love to see patients and their families and take care of the whole family.”

B. (Question #2: Dr. Ali, you got to share with us a little bit about some of the challenges, the obstacles that you faced along the way. How did you overcome some of those challenges and obstacles?)

“I think the career paths may be a little bit more clear in Africans than here, because you go straight from high school to medical school, which is a six year program. Then you have to finish two years or more of an internship before you can pursue a special line of specialty.

It all depends on hard work and effort and how you can go to high school to make it to medical school. The big challenge is after I immigrated to the US that's a different experience. To adopt a new country and a new culture to get started and get residency and training. That's a challenge, the biggest obstacle for immigrants, the challenge that we face here, not back home.”

C. (Question #3: Was it a cultural adjustment to the States? Is it the structure and the programming of education or the expectations?)

I think the structure of the training programs - I trained in Africa, I went to school there, we know the British system. You can go there and get some internships. You can have people ahead of you and you can get your foot in the door. Over here, it's a whole lot different structure, they ask you for experience in the US and you just came in before you can get into a training program.

C. (Question #3: As we focus on men's health this week, as well as men's health month, it's also graduation season. I'm sure there's student viewers that are aspiring for med school. What would be some advice for some of those students that are aspiring to do well and go to medical school?)

First of all, I'm very proud this week as I have two sons graduating. They are younger. One is a graduate, went to college this year and one is going to high school. I think for the students and for the younger generation my passion is to encourage them. Especially in my community and the community around me, where I live and work, even in my conversation with my patient, the younger patients. I always try to play a father role and say, this is what you need to do. I talk?about school, about home environment, encouraging my patients and the younger generation to study hard and work hard and to get their opportunities and their share of the stem program.?

D. (Question #4: Dr. Ali, what are some of those top health concerns that men should be aware of at various ages and stages of their life?)

I will start with the US preventative task force guidelines or recommendations. Where they recommend all men need to be screened for alcohol, for tobacco use and intimate partner violence. We also need to study for common conditions. For diabetes and obesity, especially in overweight or obese patient. Hypertension or high blood pressure in old patients, 18 and older, every three to five years. For patients 40 and older every year. Regardless of their age, all sexually active men need to be counseled regarding sexually transmitted infections. With the recommendation for periodic screening for patients who are at higher risk. We also screen our patients, especially the smokers.?

One time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is the abdominal aorta. That's recommended for patients 50 to 75 years of age and in men who are smokers. There's also screening for lung cancer in smokers. Now we have a CT scan, which is a screening for lung cancer. We have regular screening for other cancers, like colon cancer. Colon cancer is recommended for screening anywhere between 50 to 75. We have different modalities for the screening. We have done invasive testing recently and we see the fecal DNA and we have the traditional colonoscopy.

Vaccination for every individual with an annual flu vaccine for certain individuals and older patients. They need the vaccination for the shingles, the zoster vaccine, vaccination for pneumonia. More importantly at this time, the COVID-19 vaccine, I know it made a big impact with the vaccination program we have. Now we have very few cases of COVID-19. We have very few cases in the hospital right now. So it definitely makes a big impact, but we still have a segment of our population who are very resistant to the vaccine.

This is for all men and for everyone to get vaccinated. We don't know what's happening in the fall. We don't know if you're going to have a different variant of the virus. We all hear about the variant in India right now.?

Cleamon Moorer: “How about prostate health?”

There's a little bit of debate in the medical community and the consensus from the American Cancer Society, the American urological association and the US preventative task force. In the past, we used to screen with the blood test, which is a PSA it's no longer recommended. As for routine testing, but it's still for men over the age of 50 or men who are at high risk, they need to talk to the doctors and discuss the pros and cons of the test of the screening. Either to the primary doctor or to their urologist. But we no longer recommend routine screening for prostate cancer with PSA.

You also see among men articles online, there's a lot of advertising for low testosterone, sexual testosterone replacement. The consensus now is that testosterone has a risk of increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases which can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease.

It's recommended only for men who have real low testosterone and they have symptoms of hypogonadism - they are exhibiting symptoms. We know with men with aids, testosterone starts to decrease. We have other medications that can treat men before erectile dysfunction, especially men with a history of diabetes and hypertension and heart disease. This medication is very effective. We have to alert everyone that testosterone is available as a medication, it's available as a gel. It's available as a shot, as an injectable medication every three to four weeks. But it's not without risk. It increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. So it's only recommended for certain patients with certain symptoms of hypogonadism or show symptoms of low testosterone. It's not just because of a low number.

E. (Question #5: We're thinking about Father's day, right upon us here. How should men attempt to cope with depression and anxiety?)

I know COVID 19 had a devastating impact over the last 18 month. There's a lot of grief and there's fear, fear of the virus itself. There are a lot of people who have lost family members and lost loved ones. The area was hit specifically hard in the beginning of the pandemic in March and April of last year. I know a lot of families in my own practice, I lost a few patients. The anxiety depression kind of stemmed from the fear, as I said, of the virus itself. The grief from losing someone, the anxiety of losing income, losing jobs.

All that increases the risk and there's a lot of reports that reveal an increase in alcohol consumption. The illicit drug use. Increased domestic violence. Social isolation is a big factor. So we tell our patients, yes social distance, but it creates social isolation. People stayed in their homes for months and months without having any interaction with loved ones or in some cases anyone. That creates a lot of anxiety and depression as well. I have patients who suffered for the last year. There is a lot of help. I think most of our therapists and psychiatrists and psychologists, now they're doing a virtual visit and they're doing virtual counseling, a lot of primary care physicians do that as well.

F. (Question #6: You mentioned the social isolation and due to the lockdown, there were a lot more patients who were considered to be homebound. In your professional opinion, should men consider home healthcare? Not just the skill, but maybe even private duty home care to assist and help with managing/debilitating?)

I think both men and women, everyone who is in need, should get some kind of help. What's good about being homebound is that you take care of the patient in their own home, their own environment.

Not only that, communication is easier now. In the past you had to wait for a visiting physician to come and see the patient every now and then. Now, every patient can be helped by their visiting nurse, by their family member. They can schedule a virtual visit, video conferences with their physician and providers, and that can help to provide the care in their home environment.”

Cleamon Moorer:

“As a skilled home health care provider, American advantage Home Care, our goal is to get into that house 24 to 48 hours, after a patient has been discharged and start to provide care under physician's orders to help patients recover or to better manage chronic illness.”

G. (Question #7: Are there any other resources - clinics, specialists, or groups that you would recommend to male viewers out there and listeners in Southeast Michigan?)

I think we are very blessed in this area. Just in the Detroit area by itself, we have multiple healthcare systems. We have thousands of physicians, providers and specialists. I think my advice is to encourage patients and to encourage people, to seek access and to seek help. Help is available. As long as people are committed and they are encouraged to do it.

There's 37,000 MPIs registered in the state of Michigan. A lot of doctors to choose from. I encourage you if you don't have a primary care physician and you're in the Metro Detroit area to consider our friend here, Dr. Ali in the Monroe Medical Center.?

?The Home Health Care Today Show was launched in 2021 to inform, inspire, influence, and educate viewers and listeners about a variety of health and wellness topics important to home health care clients, caregivers, and family members in Metro Detroit and beyond.

Sponsored by American Advantage Home Care, Inc.