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.

5 ways to engage your patients in the office

David Lee Scher, MD

Health Technology

March 5, 2014

There are over 58 million references to “patient engagement” if one conducts a Google search. The term has been diluted and changed in the past couple of years and has become a buzz phrase, used more from a business than clinical benefit perspective.

The Center for Advancing Health defines patient engagement as “actions individuals must take to obtain the greatest benefit from the health care services available to them.” …

How mHealth will change the doctor-patient culture

Margalit Gur-Arie

Health Technology

March 4, 2014

Your coffeemaker went dead on you this morning, and while lamenting your drowsiness at work, your friend Denise mentions that she just bought a new coffeemaker at Target and she absolutely loves it. You take your coffee the same way Denise does, black, strong, and all day long, so you decide to buy one for yourself.

You are a busy professional and you don’t have time to go to Target, search …

Incorporate patient-generated health data into the EMR

Israel Green-Hopkins, MD

Health Technology

March 2, 2014

A few months ago, I spent 15 minutes filling out a detailed health data form at the doctor’s office. The paper form contained multiple questions about my health, family history, medications and basic demographic information. I assumed that an administrative specialist would code it into the practice’s electronic medical record (EMR) to be put to use. So it came as a surprise when I spent another 5 minutes reviewing the …

Why hospitals should be scared of cyberattacks

Joe Flower

Health Technology

February 18, 2014

If you are a CEO or COO of a health care organization, and your IT people have been trying to get your attention, it’s time to have a serious sit-down with them.

If they haven’t been trying to get your attention, it’s time to have an more serious sit-down with them, complete with charts and graphs and arrows on fip charts.

Here’s why.

Remember in November it was revealed that the Target retail …

What Uber can teach health care delivery

Ali Khan, MD, Tasce Bongiovanni, MD, and Ali Ansary

Health Technology

February 16, 2014

Let’s get the disclaimer out of the way: We love Uber.

As physicians with roots in the Bay Area, we use Uber all the time. The service is convenient, (usually) swift and consistently pleasant. With a few taps of a smartphone, we know where and when we’ll be picked up — and we can see the Uber driver coming to get us in real time. When the vagaries of San Francisco …

Use emerging digital technology to improve communication with patients

Anita Gupta, DO, PharmD and Reem N. Sheikh, DPM

Health Technology

February 9, 2014

With the growing demand of patient demands, change in healthcare delivery with Affordable Care Act, physicians are asked to adapt to these changes rapidly. In order to be efficient and provide this level of care to patients, the use of digital technology in medicine has grown dramatically. New platforms for integrating medical care and digital technology have been developed to enhance doctor patient communication.

Digital technology encompasses a broad range of …

5 ways to improve the adoption of medical apps

David Lee Scher, MD

Health Technology

February 3, 2014

Before the adoption of new technologies which will undoubtedly improve health care (as it has the retail and finance sectors), it must be introduced in ways which are digestible, scalable, and subject to rapid iteration.

Is mobile technology different from the adoption of any other change in health care delivery? I think not. The culture of care certainly requires change as care models are changing. The point of care is shifting to the home, professionals …

Primary care has to go multimedia

Jorge Stanham, MD

Health Technology

January 31, 2014

I passed the 60 mark more than a year ago and since then have been more aware of my limitations: some joint aches, getting tired easier, more need to rest and longing for a slower pace in my everyday routine. Meanwhile, general medical practice is speeding up and increasingly shedding its limitations.

As information expands exponentially, doctors need not only to keep up with the information that reaches them directly, but …

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Primary care has to go multimedia

Mobile applications can revolutionize preventative care

Kevin R. Campbell, MD

Health Technology

January 31, 2014

Applications for mobile devices are commonplace. These small but often sophisticated programs are quite varied and allow for anything from vehicle GPS navigation, taxicab or car pickups in New York City or rating wines and restaurants. As with most new gadgets and technologies, medicine and healthcare provide many opportunities for expansion and use. When we examine the available applications found at Apple’s App Store, it is evident that medical mobile …

Should hospitals regulate medical apps?

Tom Lewis

Health Technology

January 22, 2014

The medical and health app market is growing rapidly, there’s no question about it. One as yet unanswered question though is how to regulate this emerging industry. This is something we’ve talked about before in a viewpoint published in JAMA Dermatology as well as on iMedicalApps. While it is still early on and we will in many ways have to see which approach is most suitable, its clear that some way …

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Should hospitals regulate medical apps?

Patient portals for hospitalized patients: Do they make sense?

Suneel Dhand, MD

Health Technology

January 20, 2014

Patient portals are very much the future of health care. Having easy access to ones’ medical history, diagnoses, and test results, seems like such a natural thing that it’s hard to imagine that only a couple of decades ago medical information was regarded as private for the physician’s eyes only.

Of course, the Internet and technology revolution has taken this concept to a whole new level. Health care organizations across the …

Make the EHR a safe harbor from criminal prosecution

Adrian Gropper, MD

Health Technology

January 16, 2014

The governor of Vermont, Peter Shumlin, devoted all of his annual speech to the problem of drug addiction. On the national news, Shumlin points out the link between prescription painkillers and death, and he calls for treating opiate addiction as a medical problem no different than cancer. The White House praised the governor’s position.

Meanwhile in another part of Washington, I’m involved in the federal effort to link the law enforcement Prescription Drug …

What I’m looking for in a personal health record system

Leslie Kernisan, MD, MPH

Health Technology

January 15, 2014

When it comes to the health care of a frail older person, families really need a good personal health record (PHR) system. So I am once again preparing to take a look at what’s available, in hopes of finding something that I can more confidently recommend to the families I work with. (To see what medical info I urge families to track, see this Geriatrics for Caregivers post.)

I have …

Why I will never take EMRs for granted again

James C. Salwitz, MD

Health Technology

January 10, 2014

One of the spinoffs of being an oncologist is that you do not to take the world for granted. Each morning, I walk around the yard and smell the morning breeze. I am thankful for my children, my wife and my own health. I am thrilled, if occasionally skeptical, to have the opportunity to pay taxes in a country that I love. So, who would believe I would take our …

How EHR design can affect patient safety

Michael Chen, MD

Health Technology

January 7, 2014

Besides the importance of physician happiness when using an EHR, using design principles that maximize user intuition and presentation of relevant information, there is one aspect of health care information systems that should never be overlooked: patient safety.

Scot Silverstein, MD, blogging at Health Care Renewal as InformaticsMD, frequently brings to light issues surrounding health care IT implementations that compromise patient safety. Reading his posts should be sobering and concerning to both …

Fixing EHRs requires changing the way we pay for care

Ira Nash, MD

Health Technology

December 30, 2013

I was talking to a colleague recently about his practice, and remarked that he was still keeping a paper medical record. Without hesitation, he made it clear that he not only liked the paper record, but he positively dreaded switching to an electronic record. He said sadly that he thought it was inevitable that he would be forced to switch, but hoped that the day would be far into the …

The gamification of medical training

Vincent Stevenson

Health Technology

December 26, 2013

Video games evoke several connotations. They are regarded as childish, escapist, and time wasters that prompt isolation and bad habits. Video games are even blamed for violence and other ills of society. In actuality, many serious scientists have convincingly argued that video games not only have acquired an undeserved reputation, but they are actually potent and effective tools for science education.

Features of video games inherently support scientific learning

While it may …

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The gamification of medical training

ICD-10 will lead to the perfect storm in health care

Edmund Billings, MD

Health Technology

December 22, 2013

Let me concede from the outset that I lean toward the negative — dire predictions, worst-case scenarios, a bit of doom and gloom, etc.

But I ask you, oh gentle, patient reader, how could I not?

Let’s go to the satellite. You can see warm air from a low-pressure system (meaningful use stage 2, not changed dramatically by the one-year extension) collide with cool, dry air from a high-pressure area (the turmoil …

Genetic counseling: The missing piece for 23andMe

Joyce Ho, MD

Health Technology

December 13, 2013

On November 22, the FDA sent Silicon Valley’s leading personalized genetics company 23andMe a warning letter after six months of radio silence and recent increased efforts in marketing.

Excerpts from the chastising letter read: “As part of our interactions with you, including more than 14 face-to-face and teleconference meetings, hundreds of email exchanges, and dozens of written communications, we provided you with specific feedback on study protocols and clinical and analytical validation requirements …

Technology and baby monitors: Why this pediatrician worries

Claire McCarthy, MD

Health Technology

December 11, 2013

withings smart baby monitor hero IIHIH

It’s scary being a parent, especially a first-time parent. I mean, talk about the responsibility: an actual human being is relying on you for survival. And basically, you have no idea what you are doing. Sometimes, it seems amazing that our species has made it this far.

So why not turn to technology? Why not wire your …