Can you imagine if you were shopping online and placing an order took eight hours? What if your order took 26 days to arrive? Sadly, this is the current state of many Americans’ struggles to schedule their doctors’ appointments. We, as physicians, can do better.
Americans are spending an average of eight hours a month managing their health care and are waiting 26 days to see a new doctor in many …
“Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.”
– H. G. Wells, 1945
Many anesthesia professionals will likely recall the rise and fall of the Sedasys platform. Touted as a revolutionary advancement that would one day put anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists “out of work,” the Sedasys computerized propofol-infusion platform predictably generated a fierce response from anesthesia professional societies who deemed it dangerous, off-label, and fraught with medicolegal liability. Sedasys …
As a health care writer and patient advocate for people in pain, I spend a lot of time online on venues like Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter). I am visible. And because I am visible, many people reach out to me seeking help or doctor referrals to the few clinicians who are still prescribing safe and effective opioid pain relievers. In recent years, I have also been contacted …
The U.S. health care industry is facing a nursing shortage crisis driven in part by burnout and technology burden, which was further emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic. To improve working conditions for nurses and drive quality patient care, industry leaders must prioritize implementing technologies that support the nursing workforce and care delivery.
I practiced earlier in my career as a critical care nurse at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. From this …
AI note-writing software will provide massive short-term relief to stressed-out physicians, effectively disconnecting the quality of notes from personal data entry skills. Unfortunately, after a brief respite from the stress of documentation, things could worsen.
The first EMR software was implemented in the early 2000s. The increased stress of digital documentation caused physician burnout rates to jump by 20 percent. Every study conducted since that time has identified documentation burden as …
Dot phrases work like magic. Just type a few keystrokes, and poof—a full template appears! But how do you pick shortcuts that don’t interfere with your regular typing? And how do you remember all these shortcuts? Over the years, I’ve made tons of templates, each with its own shortcut. I’ll explain the system I use for memorable shortcuts that don’t mess with my regular typing.
What is a shortcut? A shortcut, …
The potential advances that AI will bring to medicine boggle the mind and portend massive changes, the likes of which we have not experienced since the advent of modern surgical techniques, the development of image-based diagnostic methods, and the discovery of effective medications. As a primary care doctor who has worked at San Francisco General Hospital for over 30 years, and as someone who has worked through the epidemics of …
By now, you have probably heard of AI and tools like ChatGPT. But you still may be wondering how these tools apply to your clinical practice.
Let me share an experience I recently had that completely changed how I think about AI (artificial intelligence) in health care.
In one of the MBA classes I am taking at NYU, we write code to help analyze large datasets. …
As a physician and digital health practitioner, I have seen firsthand the challenges of ineffective patient education and the immense potential for technology to revolutionize how we inform, engage, and empower patients in their health journeys. Imagine a future where every patient, regardless of their language, cultural background, or health literacy level, can receive tailored, engaging, and easily understandable video content that empowers them to manage their health effectively. This …
Health care technology has a long history of getting it wrong. The electronic health record (EHR) boom of the late 2000s was a remarkable transformation — taking our sector from paper charts to computers in a matter of just a few years. Unfortunately, most of the technology that was so feverishly adopted was developed without clinical input and with a focus on medical reimbursement and policy-compliance checklists over medical care. …
Social determinants of health (SDoH) have a strong potential to positively and negatively affect health outcomes, but providers have traditionally faced substantial roadblocks in identifying patients who need SDoH interventions.
The result of this gap is often missed opportunities to improve patient health at the individual and population levels.
SDoH factors are responsible for up to 80% of health outcomes, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, yet patients and providers …
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has been around since the mid-20th century, but in the last two years, it has gone from science fiction to science fact at an incredible pace. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have dominated headlines in this space. LLMs are essentially AI systems that can understand, generate, and manipulate human language in various domains. LLMs represent a once-in-a-generation technological advance that holds incredible promise …
Are you tired of spending hours deciphering your colleagues’ EMR notes or struggling to understand your own? Excessive details in documentation can lead to confusion and decreased productivity. Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” It’s time to declutter your documentation and unlock the benefits of clear, structured clinical notes.
Why you should write clearer notes
Bloated notes clutter up space on your screen and in your thought process, …
A recent survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) revealed that 75 percent of medical group owners report that work-related stress levels have increased this year. A previous MGMA poll found that nearly 30 percent of medical groups had a physician leave the practice or retire early because of burnout.
When asked what factors were contributing to burnout in a Harris Poll online survey conducted by HealthDay, 58 percent of …
Today, in China, if you walk across the street where you are not supposed to, expect a ticket to arrive in the mail. Somehow. Out of all the faces in China. An AI-monitored camera will see you and report your crime to the authorities. Lately, these fines have been coming almost instantly by text message. This is not just about pedestrian safety, though that will be the …
I was working in a busy GP clinic when I finished seeing my last patient for the day, and I felt a sense of relief that the day was over; however, that relief was quickly overshadowed by the daunting mountain of paperwork I needed to complete before I could go home. In general practice, this work pattern is becoming expected practice throughout the profession. GPs routinely spend 1 to 3 …
In modern medicine, the operating room epitomizes precision, expertise, and innovation. While we’ve made incredible advancements in medical science and patient care in recent decades, operating rooms have faced their share of challenges, from inefficiencies to outdated technology. However, the OR is poised for transformation as health care embraces computational care and digitization, revolutionizing surgical practice and patient care.
The traditional challenges in operating rooms encompass various issues, such as technical …
“The patient is a 59-year-old male presenting with fatigue on exertion, pallor, and mild numbness and tingling in both feet. No family history of anemia or diabetes, but I still want to rule them out with a blood test. Does that sound reasonable?”
This is the 6th or 7th question I’ve asked in today’s session, but my tutor doesn’t mind the repetitiveness.
“Yes, performing blood work is a reasonable approach to help …
Apple’s new accessibility features—eye tracking, music haptics, and vocal shortcuts—mark a major technological leap to enhance life quality for individuals with disabilities. These innovations promise to revolutionize health care by boosting patient autonomy, care quality, and inclusive design. Here’s a comprehensive look at their transformative potential.
Eye tracking on iPad and iPhone for enhanced patient communication
Eye-tracking technology is a groundbreaking development for individuals with physical disabilities, enabling users to control their …
Apple’s recent patent application for a biosensing device integrated into their earbuds opens up numerous possibilities for health care. This innovative technology aims to measure various biological signals from users, including EEG, EMG, EOG, ECG, GSR, and BVP. Here’s how each of these technologies can be harnessed to improve health care:
1. Electroencephalography (EEG). Recording brain waves, EEG sensors in earbuds can monitor brain activity in real time. This capability can …
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