Clippings

Late Again

For the MLK holiday

We could do with more leaders who tried to make this vision real.

Why Aren't Doctors More Tech-Savvy?

Whenever I feel like taking a trip back in time, I save myself the trouble of building a time machine and instead just head over to a doctor’s office. For a Millennial, or really anyone who lives a modern lifestyle, getting medical care is a rare departure from an otherwise technology-fueled existence...

Few of my doctors use email to communicate with patients, so medication refills, questions about side-effects, or reminders about appointments all require elaborate phone tag. This hassle is exacerbated by the fact that healthcare is one of the few consumer-focused industries where being a few minutes late is a sin so grave that it’s punished with a total cancellation of the appointment, and sometimes even the forfeiture of the fee.

At The Atlantic, Olga Khazan asks Why Aren't Doctors More Tech-Savvy? and tells an amazing (and disconcerting) tale of health care. The article includes the second reference I've seen lately to the use of scribes by doctors, mentions One Medical (which has come to my notice before), and suggests that the the price of switching to a tech-based doctor will be only about $150-$200 a year. That's a small cost, but the real disadvantage comes in breaking established relationships with doctors who haven't made the switch. Is it right to pay a premium to keep up with the times?

Get connected for good health

Due to the increasing connectivity among patients, medical professionals and even devices, two transitions will determine the year of 2014: from patient to person and from hospital to home. The whole healthcare experience must be redesigned in order to meet the expectations of today’s e-patients because they have to be in the center of delivering healthcare. The data, the devices and information required to give good care are mostly available but these elements are not always optimally connected. If policy makers realize the potential in connectivity, and innovation in digital health keeps on leading to key changes in healthcare, we are going to face an amazing year. 

Bertalan Mesko, MD, PhD, Clinician and Health Futurist adds his thoughts on John Nosta's piece on Digital Health for Forbes. I am so frustrated when I ask my doctors about possibilities I've heard about and I meet with lack of awareness or distrust from them. Nosta writes that he thought 2013 was going to be "the year of digital health." John Sculley is cited in this piece with "I predict that within 5 years telehealth services in the cloud will be as normal to most Americans as online banking is today." Let's hope it happens that quickly.