Joel R. Cooper is a family physician who blogs at his self-titled site, Dr. Joel Cooper and on Twitter @joelrcooper.

Replace doctors with robots now, please

Physician
August 13, 2019

It’s a widely held belief that eventually all living human doctors will be replaced by robots. Some say as soon as 2035.

I say, “Why wait? Replace me now!”

If the idea of a robot diagnosing and treating — and examining — you and your loved ones seems objectionable, please reconsider.

There are actually several advantages of robots over so-called “human” doctors:

Doctors are prone to burnout. If a robot burns out, just replace …

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Replace doctors with robots now, please

Music is better than medicine. This physician-musician gives you 10 reasons why.

Physician
July 3, 2015

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1. You don’t have to make an appointment with your doctor, or sit in a crowded waiting room for hours, to get music — you can just download it instantly from iTunes or pick up an instrument and play it.

2. Music costs far less than a medical office co-pay or out-of-pocket fee-for-service charge. And for many acute conditions, outcomes are probably pretty …

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Music is better than medicine. This physician-musician gives you 10 reasons why.

Patients: Accept your fate as a hamburger

Physician
November 15, 2014

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Most of the doctors I know went into medicine because they really truly wanted to help people. But medicine, long honored as a calling as well as a profession, is facing some tough new challenges. Many doctors are disillusioned or simply burnt out. Others have accepted their fates as interchangeable provider units.

The name of the game today is efficiency — i.e., …

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Patients: Accept your fate as a hamburger