Is it time we teach medical students about wearables?

Health Technology
April 5, 2015

The growing wearable sensor market is yielding ever-increasing amounts of consumer-derived digital data. These data can consistent of many different physiologic measures such as heart rate and rhythm, sleep quality, brain activity, and physical activity levels. As many consumers and commercial organizations look toward using wearables to monitor medical conditions, clinicians may begin to find themselves in the role of a digital data decoder.

This will be no easy task, as …

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Is it time we teach medical students about wearables?

How patients can be medical educators

Physician
January 30, 2015

Recently the Mayo Clinic named a patient as a visiting professor for 2015. The patient, Dave deBronkart (otherwise known as “e-Patient Dave”) was chosen by the internal medicine chief residents to fulfill this unique role, where he would have the opportunity to lead grand rounds, give educational talks to medical students, residents and faculty, and truly emphasize the message of patient engagement and empowerment.

So what is an …

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How patients can be medical educators

Shortening medical school: Is that a good idea?

Medical Education
December 20, 2014

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Why are we shortening medical degrees?

The four-year medical degree has been the mainstay of U.S. medical schools for more than a century, following the publication of the Flexner report in 1910. Prior to this, there was little standardization about what a medical degree could or should look like. Medical school education was subsequently standardized to two years of academic study, followed …

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Shortening medical school: Is that a good idea?

There is something very special about being a physician

Physician
October 2, 2014

Pretty much on a weekly basis I come across an article about how awful life is as a practicing physician. Articles focus on how unhappy physicians are with their jobs, with their hours, with their pay or with health care reform.

After almost a decade of practice, the fact is that I like my job.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not: quite far from it, in fact. There are certainly many times when …

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There is something very special about being a physician

Our health system doesn’t serve the developmentally challenged

Health Policy
July 17, 2014

I have made several observations as to why developmentally challenged people are losing out in our health care systems. Given that there are 11 million children in the United States with an emotional, developmental or behavioral condition, we really can’t afford to neglect this important issue.

My first observation is that primary care remains a chronically undervalued component of health care delivery in the U.S. Despite the 60 million Americans …

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Our health system doesn’t serve the developmentally challenged

4 reasons why patients may become angry

Physician
April 3, 2014

Hospitals are environments where emotions can run high. These emotions cross all boundaries and can affect physicians, hospital staff, patients and their families. Dealing with an “angry” patient is a common challenge that physicians face.

The first step for a physician encountering an angry patient is to remain calm and allow the patient to express his or her concerns. In my experience, “angry” patients can be viewed as falling into several …

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4 reasons why patients may become angry

Be more involved in how patients fill their prescriptions

Medications
March 29, 2014

As physicians, we often write prescriptions for our patients. Where, when, and how patients fill their prescriptions are usually outside of our realm of expertise. But should we be more involved?

On occasion, the cost of a medication and possible alternatives will be the subject of my conversation with a patient. I was surprised, however, when one of my patients complained about the price of an antidepressant that I had prescribed. …

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Be more involved in how patients fill their prescriptions