Health IT

The most valuable health care companies of tomorrow will be technology companies

Tech
November 29, 2022

I’ve always been curious about the top 0.1 percent.

Their mindsets, backgrounds, upbringing, perceptions, skills, and behavioral traits that got them there.

After living through the Dot-com bubble, 9/11, Enron-WorldCom, the 2008 financial crisis, the meteoric rise of technology (search, e-commerce, social media, sharing economy), and the rise of a new class of billionaires, I intuitively sensed that there was a disconnect between what was going on in the real world, and …

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Medical innovation: a serendipitous step toward gender equity

Tech
November 23, 2022

There has never been a better time to be a woman entrepreneur. With ever-growing numbers of venture funds specifically for women and nonprofits dedicated to advancing women in tech, the next Apple is ripe for the picking. However, there remains a wide chasm to cross. Currently, startups led by women command less than 3 percent of venture capital investment dollars.

Upon diving deeper into this disparity, a 2020 paper published by …

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Design thinking in health care: Physicians already have the training to be innovators

Tech
November 16, 2022

Compared to the Silicon Valley world of moving fast and breaking things, health care change often happens slowly. Some of the reasons for the inertia of our industry make sense. Change impacting patients requires a vetting process to ensure we are creating net benefit.

But this inertia also exists partly because many believe our field is so uniquely complicated that it cannot be improved using lessons from other industries. But the …

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How templates can make you a better doctor

Physician
November 12, 2022

“If it ain’t written down, it didn’t happen.”

We’ve heard that before. And it’s so true. Good medical documentation is essential because it reflects your clinical thought process. Your notes are crucial for continuing care, ensuring you are compliant with billing, and protecting you in case of a lawsuit. Your notes are the expression of your digital identity as a physician.

When I started using templates many years ago, the most obvious …

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How to write shorter clinical notes

Physician
November 8, 2022

Here are tips you can borrow to write concise notes. While keeping them clear and thorough. And spending less time on EMR documentation.

Don’t write paragraphs. You’re not writing a novel. Think bullet lists. They are easier to read.

Cut on pronouns. This is useful when using templates and dot phrases: You don’t need to replace all pronouns.

Use abbreviations. Medical …

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The evolving role of physicians in health care

Physician
November 1, 2022

Health care has changed dramatically in the last decades, from the introduction of electronic medical records to the COVID-19 pandemic serving as a catalyst for telehealth and virtual care options to the increased familiarity with digital therapeutics, etc. Just as the industry has transformed over time, the physician’s role has similarly evolved.

Traditionally, those of us who attended medical school have had just a handful of career options to choose from …

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The focus of the internet of things (IoT) must pivot to achieve health care potential

Tech
October 9, 2022

In many ways, internet of things (IoT) is a double-edged sword: connected devices are capturing huge volumes and varieties of data that can be mined for everything from potentially life-saving health care information to guidance toward peak athletic performance, but it is incredibly difficult to convert that raw data into truly meaningful and actionable insights.

IDC projects that, by 2025, IoT devices will generate more than 73 zettabytes of data globally …

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What to do when doctors develop “portal hypertension”

Tech
October 5, 2022

This article is satire.

Physicians today are confronting yet another epidemic, one that affects doctors directly and is not caused by a virus. It is the result of the “patient portal” through which patients send typed messages directly to their physicians. Though the portal has benefits, anecdotal experience suggests that high message volume is having a deleterious effect on doctors’ blood pressure.

I have dubbed this phenomenon “portal hypertension,” despite the objections …

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Is Elon Musk right about the future of medicine?

Tech
October 1, 2022

“Mark my words. AI (artificial intelligence) is more dangerous than the nukes.”
– Elon Musk

The other day, as soon as I walked in to work, already running my usual ten minutes late, I was hustling from my office to the clinic when I saw one of our physician assistants in the hallway. Otherwise known for her calm composure, it seemed odd that she was visibly distressed. She had forgotten her laptop …

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Why expand telemedicine for arthritis patients?

Tech
September 29, 2022

One in four Americans carry a diagnosis of arthritis, a significant cause of limitation from basic life activities to disability. One in ten adults has to limit their activities due to pain caused by this disease. Yet, a massive shortage of specialist physicians and geographical and licensure barriers restrict access to specialized medical care, especially in rheumatology offices. Also, the cost of arthritis is 303 billion dollars yearly …

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Amazon vs. Apple: Only one will rewrite the rules of health care

Tech
September 25, 2022

Big Tech has had a surprisingly small impact on U.S. health care, so far.

Artificial intelligence, for example, outperforms physicians in many complex tasks (like reading mammograms and analyzing chest X-rays), yet AI remains woefully underused. Meanwhile, many have tried to spur operational efficiency using big-data analytics, but care delivery remains as inconsistent and ineffective as ever. Perhaps the most telling example of Big Tech’s struggles in medicine: 9 in 10 …

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The recent closing of Amazon Care shows the magnitude of the challenge in changing health care

Tech
September 13, 2022

Amazon recently announced plans to shut down Amazon Care, an in-home and virtual health care service.

The reasons cited were attributed to a significant overlap of services with the One Medical chain of clinics, which Amazon purchased in July of this year for 3.9 billion, as well as Amazon Care not being a complete enough offering for large enterprise customers for which it was targeting.

This is the third health …

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Human touch and scientific veracity are missing in health care technology

Tech
September 8, 2022

Working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic has immersed physicians in technology, perhaps accelerating its integration with medical practice – but not necessarily its acceptance or authenticity.

I tend to doubt the veracity of much of what I read in electronic health care records. I also question reports based on data gleaned from large medical databases – for example, summaries about physician compensation and practice trends.

Many reports that profile physicians are generated …

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Innovation for all: Adapting patient-facing tools to promote digital health equity

Tech
September 7, 2022

More often than not, ground-breaking health care advancements are disproportionately accessible for those who already have favorable social determinants of health.

Improving cost, access, and quality, but for whom?

The boom of telehealth and digital health during the pandemic was a necessary shift to bridge the critical access gap while also supporting the public health measures implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 – but did this change …

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Why health care will never be the same after the COVID-19 pandemic

Policy
September 6, 2022

The health care industry will never be the same again following the COVID-19 pandemic. We can’t risk dying from a virus that had already killed so many people and disintegrated fruitful lives the world over. We need to use new protocols, technological advances, and safety measures to safeguard ourselves from other possible viruses.

Health care is a complex industry where one small change can have a whopping impact. Unfortunately, the last …

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Video visits as clinical touchpoints to improve older adult mental health

Tech
September 2, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a profound toll on older adults, isolating them physically and emotionally from their communities and families. Mental health has suffered across generations and, as a practicing geriatric psychiatrist, I have had a front-row seat to the unique conditions older adult populations are facing. Despite rising rates of depression and anxiety, infection control measures have accelerated the adoption of digital health, including telehealth, opening myriad new …

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How doctors can regain control of their software

Physician
August 14, 2022

I spent a year as a UCSF postdoc with the leaked tobacco documents. And this article is taken directly from the tobacco-control playbook. In the tobacco wars, we learned that: when a disease is caused by a for-profit industry, the only successful approach is regulation first, followed by treatment.

Here is exactly how and why doctors should regulate EHR and regain control of their cognitive …

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How physicians are mishandling technology

Tech
July 10, 2022

Physicians are getting their asses kicked by technology, but this is reversible if they integrate technology as they do laboratory science.

Medicine needs specialized doctors who only focus on technology. This will combat burnout and take control of a system that has no other incentive to adapt to clinical needs.

In 2013, I graduated medical school and went to Silicon Valley to acquire high-tech skills.

During med school, an investigation …

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NLP and AI technologies streamline tedious health care processes to enable faster care

Tech
July 9, 2022

Two years after the global pandemic totally rewrote the health care playbook, hospitals, health systems, facilities, and providers are still striving to find some semblance of normalcy. Challenges present before the pandemic weren’t solved during the all-hands-on-deck mentality during wave after wave of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Obstacles such as outmoded workflows remain to be solved—and the time is now. Federal funding proved a lifesaver for health systems during the worst …

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