Suneel Dhand, MD

Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician, author, and co-founder, DocsDox. He can be reached at his self-titled site, Suneel Dhand, and on YouTube.

5 ways doctors don’t give patients what they really want

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

January 5, 2017

The mantra of striving for excellent customer service is a very American concept. I’m reminded whenever I travel around the world and experience general service expectations elsewhere — even in some very advanced nations in Europe — how far ahead we are in the United States. We totally take it for granted that we can expect high levels of customer care almost everywhere we go, and any complaints and feedback …

Corporate health care is doomed. Here’s why.

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

January 1, 2017

As health care increasingly propels itself into the world of corporations and big business, it may seem like the practice of medicine has entered an irreversible new era. Gone are the days of good old Dr. Wilson in his solo private practice around the corner, loved and respected by all his patients and the community. Nowadays, it’s all about mega multi-specialty groups, health care mergers and hostile corporate takeovers.

Being someone …

Physicians take note: Get personal with your patients

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

December 23, 2016

Customer service is all the rage these days in most facets of our lives. America leads the world in this area (however much of the public here take it for granted). I’ve traveled all over the world, and the concept of customer service in many other parts of the globe, including highly advanced and prosperous other Western nations, still leaves a lot to be desired. It’s always reassuring to know …

Will technology destroy the art of medicine?

Suneel Dhand, MD

Tech

December 13, 2016

One of the topics that I write most about is the interaction of health care information technology with frontline clinical medicine, which I believe to be among the most critical issues facing the practice of medicine at the moment. With statistics now suggesting that doctors (and nurses) are spending an absolute minimal amount of their day engaging in direct patient care — some research suggesting as little as …

I never want to be a government-employed physician. Here’s why.

Suneel Dhand, MD

Policy

December 6, 2016

Every health care system in the world is facing its fair share of challenges. Aging populations, the exponential increase in chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, expensive new treatments—all at a time when most countries desperately need to curtail rising health care costs to save their economies. At the two extremes, we have fully public-funded (socialized) medicine versus entirely free-market (private) health care delivery systems. I’ve written previously …

Can a Trump revolution happen in health care?

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

November 27, 2016

The election result shook the world. As the vote counts started to come in, most of the country descended into a state of collective shock and disbelief — even Mr. Trump’s own supporters. Nobody seemed more surprised than the political pundits on all the cable news channels, who had for months incorrectly predicted the opposite result.

Let me take a step back for a moment before I sound like somebody who …

For those who want to be doctors: Follow this piece of advice

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

November 15, 2016

I recently had the privilege of speaking to a group of high school students who were interested in becoming doctors. A large number of them were volunteering in my hospital, and their coordinator asked me if I could spare some time to chat with them about life as a doctor and what they should be doing to get into medicine.

I remember as if it were yesterday when I was their …

5 things physicians realize when they’re patients

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

November 7, 2016

There are so many insightful stories out there about what happens when physicians experience life as a patient or family member. They always make sobering reading for everyone in health care. Over the years I’ve heard dozens of these stories from fellow physicians, describing experiences when they’ve unfortunately been sick themselves. It’s an inevitable fact of life for everyone that they will be the patient one day, but it’s often …

A letter to health care technologists

Suneel Dhand, MD

Tech

October 31, 2016

Dear health care technologist or regulator,

The world of health care is changing exponentially. Speaking as one the nation’s over 800,000 physicians, I can confidently say that most of us understand the fact that the current health care system is unsustainable, and can’t carry on as is. There are many potential solutions to explore, and everyone in health care needs to try to come together in an attempt to address these …

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A letter to health care technologists

One device slows down health care. Get rid of it.

Suneel Dhand, MD

Tech

October 25, 2016

The mouse is a piece of technology that we’ve all got very used to working with over the last couple of decades. They actually go back longer than we might expect — the British Royal Navy first used a version of the mouse in the 1940s. With the personal computing revolution of the 1990s, they entered almost every single American household. Go back ten years, and nobody could have imagined …

The day when MBAs no longer have to answer to physicians

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

October 23, 2016

A few months ago I wrote an article about a 28-year-old MBA who attempted to tell an experienced physician where to round first. The article was widely circulated and went a bit viral. Clearly, the scenario resonated with thousands of physicians across the country.

It was interesting that afterward, I received many messages from various people who had read it. The majority of these were messages of support and …

The time doctors and nurses spend with EHRs is a national disgrace

Suneel Dhand, MD

Tech

October 10, 2016

I enjoy being a physician. I really enjoy being a physician. Although much of my blog is focused on areas where we need to improve health care, with a particular recent focus on the burdens of information technology, that does not take away from the fact that I do really love my job as a doctor.

I’ve received a lot of supportive correspondence regarding my views on how electronic medical records …

Captain Sully and the human factor in health care

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

September 25, 2016

I recently watched the movie Sully. It was the first time I’d ever watched a movie on its actual release date. Knowing what a legendary actor Tom Hanks is, and what a fascinating and near-tragic story unfolded on January 15, 2009, I felt confident that my choice to venture out to the cinema on a beautiful Boston September evening, would be a good one.

The movie sure didn’t disappoint. Brilliantly directed …

Fee-for-service isn’t always a bad thing

Suneel Dhand, MD

Policy

September 18, 2016

One of the biggest shifts in American health care over the last several years (and we’ve only just seen the tip of the iceberg so far) is the shift of the system away from the traditional fee-for-service model, and towards a system based more on quality, outcomes, and yes, a degree of rationing.

By all measures, we know that the pure fee-for-service model — at least mostly funded by Medicare — …

A piece of advice to those who want to disrupt health care

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

August 23, 2016

Living in the fine city of Boston, I am fortunate enough to be located right in the middle of a medical hub. A place that’s full of exciting new research, developments, and ideas. Working at the front line of hospital care, also with a keen interest in quality improvement, patient experience, and technology, I frequently attend social and professional healthcare networking events around the city.

While doing this, I’ve gotten to …

The part of your day that will be most remembered by patients

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

August 14, 2016

Being a doctor is often more about talking to people and communicating than it is about the scientific practice of medicine. This is something that is unfortunately not taught in medical school, and it’s left to newly qualified doctors to realize very quickly as they start their careers.

Throughout the busy and hectic day of any hospital-based physician — no matter what their specialty — one of the most common requests …

What we can learn from old school physicians

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

July 23, 2016

The term “old school” in many facets of life has negative connotations. We live in a modern, technologically advanced and fast-paced world — and there’s no room for certain people who appear to hold us back.

Last year I wrote an article about an experience I had with an “old school” physician. That experience really caused me to reflect on the situation the medical profession finds itself in, and …

Somewhere between the extremes: The ideal health system for America

Suneel Dhand, MD

Policy

July 7, 2016

This is my 12th year as a physician in the United States. I was born in London, grew up in Berkshire, and decided to become a doctor when I was a teenager. I remember being asked what I thought about the National Health Service (or NHS, the UK’s government-run health system) during my medical school interview. That question is almost a rite of passage for anyone applying to medical school in …

What went wrong with health care IT

Suneel Dhand, MD

Tech

June 24, 2016

One of the topics’s that I’ve written most about, and also do a considerable amount of non-clinical consulting work on, is how we can improve health care information technology and electronic medical records. As they currently exist, there are unfortunately many drawbacks to health care IT systems, and they have as yet failed to fulfill their immense promise.

I’m not a technophobe by any stretch of the imagination. I embrace technologies and …

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What went wrong with health care IT

Human beings are not cookies. Why are they being treated as if they are?

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

June 14, 2016

A couple of weeks ago I visited the island of Cyprus with family. Having seen a lot of mainland Europe over the last several years, I was keen for something a bit off the beaten track and away from a major city. We thought about a few possible destinations, but opted in the end for Cyprus (partly because of the desperate need for some warmer weather).

Booking the trip quite rapidly, …

Suneel Dhand, MD

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