Health Technology

Physicians writing on KevinMD about the technology in the exam room: the electronic record and what it did to the visit, meaningful use, alert fatigue, pajama time, human and AI scribes and whether they give time back, ambient documentation, telemedicine, and what AI can do in clinical practice now and who is responsible when it is wrong. Two maintained records draw on this archive: The electronic health record: what physicians say, in their own words and Artificial intelligence: what physicians say, in their own words.

Are patient portals a gateway or barrier to patient-centered care and communication?

Yul Ejnes, MD

Health Technology

August 13, 2014

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

Patient portals. They have great potential, but is it being met? And are we losing something in return? I ask myself these questions now that my practice offers a patient portal linked to our electronic health record (EHR). I did not expect to feel that way, …

10 potential benefits of robot caregivers

Louise Aronson, MD

Health Technology

August 10, 2014

shutterstock_190202906

My recent New York Times op-ed on robot caregivers for older adults has elicited curiosity, enthusiasm and controversy.

I have to admit that my own first reaction to the topic was captured in the Times’ letter from Sherry Turkle whom I mention in the piece. I was in a meeting and turned to a colleague, clumsily patted her on the back and said, “It … …

Why bad EMRs are forced on physicians

Edwin Leap, MD

Health Technology

August 7, 2014

I recently did a tally. Since starting my locums adventure last year, and going to full-time locums in January, I’ve worked in a grand total of 11 emergency departments. Let me qualify that for the occasional visitor to my blog. I decided to do this for purposes of flexibility, finances and a much needed change of scenery. Not because I’m a problem physician, or unable to do the work in …

Read more…

Why bad EMRs are forced on physicians

Bring order to chaos in medicine: Stick with an organizational system

David Mann, MD

Health Technology

August 4, 2014

There are few jobs more chaotic than that of physician, at least based on my own experience. Yes there is a schedule of sorts: hospital rounds, procedures, office patients. Unfortunately things rarely go as planned. There is a particularly sick patient on rounds who needs a temporary pacing wire placed. There are more consults than expected. The procedure that was planned to take up to 2 hours takes 4 hours because of …

Achieving the holy grail of wait-free medical care

Celine Gounder, MD

Health Technology

July 30, 2014

We’ve all come to expect our doctors to run late for appointments. I’m a doctor, and when I go to see my doctor, I expect the same. I bring my laptop or something to read to bide the time. Waiting makes us feel like we or our time isn’t valued, and doctors know this. So why is it so hard for doctors, including myself, to stay on time?

Most doctors have …

Digital health may no longer be a slow sell

Jesse Slade Shantz, MD, MBA

Health Technology

July 30, 2014

Though there have been notable exceptions, digital health has often proved a slow sell to the medical establishment. The failures of Google Health and HealthVault to gain traction, for example, underscore the challenges of breaking into the workflow of doctors.

Yet over the past month, three technology giants have, in the form of a series of launches, given an endorsement that digital health will be one of the next important technological …

5 ways health care IT must improve

Suneel Dhand, MD

Health Technology

July 29, 2014

Health care information technology has of course grown exponentially over the last decade, as electronic medical records (EMRs) and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems have become ubiquitous. It’s funny to think that not so long ago, physicians and nurses had to trawl through piles and piles of paper charts to search for the information we needed — whether it was lab results or patients’ notes.

However, the road to this …

Read more…

5 ways health care IT must improve

Fitbit in health care: Is more data better?

Kevin R. Campbell, MD

Health Technology

July 21, 2014

For scientists and researchers who are developing new treatments for disease, Data is power. For patients, Data can mean empowerment. Devices that track health indicators are readily available. These devices can track heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and even respiratory rate and body temperature.

In the Wall Street Journal, the medical applications of the Fitbit device are explored. The Fitbit is a basic pedometer that tracks movement, steps taken, calories consumed …

Personal health data: 5 key lessons for better health

Patricia Flatley Brennan, PhD, RN and Steve Downs

Health Technology

July 20, 2014

Like many, we followed Apple’s recent announcement about its Health app and HealthKit development platform with interest. In many ways, it echoed a vision — of an ecosystem where personal health data formed a platform upon which many could develop apps that help people live healthy lives — that we have supported for many years through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Project HealthDesign. We were particularly interested to …

Are we relying too much on gadgetry to improve ourselves?

James Aw, MD

Health Technology

July 12, 2014

Apple announced the company is working on a new app, called Health, that allows a user to store in one place all aspects of their health data, from heart rate to blood sugar levels, cholesterol measures and calories burned. The Health app, Apple says, will enable an exercise app to determine the number of calories you consume a day — and, in turn, how hard you have to exercise to burn …

A wish list for Apple’s HealthKit

Joseph Kvedar, MD

Health Technology

July 7, 2014

Apple has been making headlines again, which is not unusual for a company that sets trends and moves markets. Recently, they announced that iOS 8 would have a built-in app to collect all of your health info in one place. Then there was the announcement of the partnership with Mayo Clinic and Epic Systems. This generated even more headlines. I saw all …

Read more…

A wish list for Apple’s HealthKit

The VA waitlist debacle: Don’t blame the VistA EHR system

Edmund Billings, MD

Health Technology

July 6, 2014

Without a doubt, the death of American veterans as a result of the VA waitlist debacle is tragic and unacceptable. The Obama administration must move quickly and deliberately to fix the underlying problems and restore faith in the agency.

If these issues were common throughout the VA network of hospitals and clinics, it might make sense to consider dramatic, earth-shaking alternatives like moving veterans to private providers and shuttering the …

Google Glass is the tip of the iceberg for wearable technologies

Selene Parekh, MD

Health Technology

July 5, 2014

As an early Google Glass explorer, I see many ways this and other wearable technologies will soon enhance patient care.

Google Glass is “smart” eyewear that offers features similar to a “smart” phone: It can take photographs, video, make phone calls, display Internet-based information. The data is transposed onto the glass lens in the wearer’s field of vision. The device is activated by voice command or a touch to the tiny …

Technology and the doctor-patient relationship

Suzanne Steinbaum, DO

Health Technology

July 1, 2014

I often hear people talking about their doctors. I overhear it restaurants, nail salons, while walking down the street. I hear what people think of their doctors, what their doctors said or what they didn’t say, why people were disappointed by or validated by their doctors. I hear people analyzing, criticizing, and surmising about this relationship quite a bit, and I don’t blame them. The relationship you have with your …

4 ways EMR companies can stay competitive

Brian Manning

Health Technology

June 29, 2014

The health care IT space is possibly the most exciting and dynamic industry in the United States right now. Health care is going through a total transformation driven by massive regulatory change, the consumerization of health care and the important shift from a system that manages sickness to a system that manages health.

Underlying all of this change is the software that runs large health care organizations: specifically, the big EMR …

Physicians must embrace EMRs on their terms

Michael Chen, MD

Health Technology

June 28, 2014

A pivotal moment in the U.S. health care system is taking shape. Physicians across the U.S. are wondering what their role will be in this new health care landscape that is being shaped by legislation (from the Affordable Care Act and from meaningful use), by social media, and by technology advancements.

It’s an existential moment. Physicians are wondering if we are knaves, pawns, or knights in this chess game called the …

HealthKit and the Health app: A game-changer for doctors?

Iltifat Husain, MD

Health Technology

June 27, 2014

Several months ago I wrote about how Apple’s upcoming health app had the potential to change public health and could force physicians to adopt mobile.

Recently at WWDC Apple affirmed the rumors when announcing iOS 8, stating the new operating system would have a Health app, and a cloud platform HealthKit.

HealthKit is the developer platform and will be able to collect/aggregate information …

Momentum for telehealth is accelerating

Joseph Kvedar, MD

Health Technology

June 24, 2014

The nation’s ongoing battle to strike a delicate balance between increasing access to quality health care for all Americans and reducing overall health care spending just scored one of its most substantial victories. In late April, after several months of thoughtful and robust collaboration, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) ratified a new model national policy: the Appropriate Use of Telemedicine in the Practice of Medicine. This marks the first …

Read more…

Momentum for telehealth is accelerating

A doctor is skeptical about Apple’s HealthKit. Here’s why.

Mike Sevilla, MD

Health Technology

June 20, 2014

Apple recently previewed a new framework called HealthKit that will be included in their next mobile operating system called iOS 8.

Features mentioned in the video above:

One central app to integrate data from wearable technology like NikeFuel, the Withings blood pressure monitor, and Fitbit.

Working with the Mayo Clinic (for an app to launch in September) to integrate incoming and outgoing health information into HealthKit so that if there is a really high blood pressure, the Mayo Clinic …

Technology should enhance connections and improve relationships

Rob Lamberts, MD

Health Technology

June 20, 2014

My 87-year-old father broke his hip this past weekend. He was in Michigan for a party for his 101-year-old sister, and fell as he tried to put away her wheelchair. The good news is that he’s otherwise pretty healthy, so he should do fine.

Still, getting old sucks.

During the whole situation around his injury, surgery, and upcoming recovery, one thing became very clear: Technology can really make things much easier: