Health IT

The impact of outdated communications technologies in healthcare

Tech
May 23, 2013

As a physician, I experience first-hand the impact that internal communication at a hospital—both good and bad—has on patient care.

If I am able to quickly access clinical systems, analyze patient information and collaborate with colleagues, I can diagnose and interact with the patient much more efficiently and effectively. Conversely, breakdowns and inefficiencies in the communications process can inhibit the delivery of quality patient care by bogging down workflows, creating delays …

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5 critical elements of patient-centric care

Tech
May 7, 2013

I would like now to delve into what I consider critical elements of patient-centric care. They all involve technology to various extents.

1. There must be buy-in from providers. I am including payers, healthcare systems as well as clinical providers in this category.  While I realize that much of healthcare is devoted to satisfying legal and regulatory mandates, there is great opportunity to improve the care experience (and dare I say …

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My experience with a scribe in the emergency department

Physician
December 6, 2012

I have a lovely pen. It’s a Mont Blanc Meisterstück fountain pen. My group bought it for me on my tenth anniversary as a partner in our emergency medicine practice.

It’s a luxury I would never have paid for myself, though I have loved and used fountain pens since I was in college. Ironically, about the time I got it, the window …

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What are the biggest issues with EMR today?

Tech
November 19, 2012

As medicine moves forward in its most technologically advanced era yet, we continue to struggle with basic concepts such as record keeping.  The medical record is vital to the care of the patient.  It tells the story of each patient’s journey through the medical system.  The idea of centralizing all pertinent medical information is, in theory, a step in the right direction.  In utopia, there would be one medical record …

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Striking the balance between the public good and patient privacy

Tech
September 6, 2012

Everybody has a shadow. Although as a small child you may have tried, you cannot separate yourself from your shadow no matter what you do. Electronic medical records may be the first tiny step on the road to attaching yet another indivisible part to your persona, a “panoramic, high-definition, relatively comprehensive view of a patient that doctors can use to assess and manage disease”, and this, in the words of …

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Computers in the exam room: Good and bad setups

Tech
August 10, 2012

Does your doctor use a computer in the exam room? Some people think that computers are a great way to keep track of patient information.   Others see some advantage, but problems in the implementation.  There are also a few Luddites who oppose this change simply on principle.   I’ve had good experiences, and bad experiences, and believe we have a long way to go before computers are as helpful as they could be.

There …

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A guide for entrepreneurs to get a doctor’s attention

Tech
January 12, 2012

I’ve had the luck to attend medical school in the city of San Francisco during what will be looked back on as the start of transformational change in our health care system. My growing interest in technology and new business models as the disruptive forces behind this change, as well as marriage to a technology entrepreneur, has me frequently rubbing elbows with movers and shakers in the digital health space. …

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How a medical student uses an iPad for patient care and education

Tech
October 23, 2011

iPads have been introduced into medical education mostly during the pre-clinical years. I’d like to share my experience using an iPad during my clinical year. I’ve found it to be exceedingly useful and versatile.

I have an entire medical library in my pocket. With the touch of a button I can pull up essential texts such as Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine or William’s Endocrinology. I get these books and …

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Properly delete electronic medical records, or face fines

Tech
August 30, 2011

Could a complete stranger receive your echocardiogram results in the mail?

Could a homeless guy in Boston end up with your labs in his shopping cart?

Is it possible that your medical records were sold on eBay?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

On February 24, 2011, Massachusetts General Hospital  was fined $1 million dollars by the federal government when an employee inadvertently left a stack of papers on the subway. These documents contained the …

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Practices have failed to analyze the clinical content of their EHR

Tech
August 20, 2011

Clinical content refers to the various checklists, documents, and forms that address an area of medicine when using an EHR.  For example, a pediatric practice would be interested in documentation tools for a newborn visit. Not all EHRs have clinical content for all areas of medicine.  For example, some EHRs have clinical content for internal medicine, but lack the details needed for dermatology or cardiology.

A disturbing number of practices …

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What medicine will be like 20 years from now

Tech
August 13, 2011

I was asked recently to predict the practice of medicine in 20 years. After stating that any such prediction is massively speculative, I indulged because it is massively fun.

I am persuaded by Clayton Christensen’s arguments in The Innovator’s Prescription that healthcare will go the way of other massively disrupted industries, wherein healthcare will follow the arc of decentralization.

Using the music industry as an example, the arc begins …

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How to use an iPad in the OR during surgery

Tech
May 9, 2011

by Felasfa Wodajo, MD

The iPad has received a significant amount of attention in the health care arena since its introduction last year.

The attraction is fairly obvious; it is a portable, lightweight, powerful computing device with an intui-tive interface and a large library of built-in applications. In fact, major medical schools such as Read more…

Using Google Translate in medicine

Tech
April 21, 2011

by Graham Walker, MD

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Babel Fish was a fish you stuck in your ear that allowed you to understand any language spoken to you. We’re not far off.

Google recently released a new version of their (free!) Google Translate app for Android phones, featuring conversation mode, which allows you to have a back and forth …

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