Health IT
From punitive measures to radical compassion for late charting
A few years into my faculty career, my division chief met with me to discuss late charts. “Britt, charts,” she said. “You just have to make it happen.” I don’t remember much about the specifics of what was said in that meeting, but I know exactly how I felt: a flood of shame overlying simmering anger. This someone that I respected, someone who had carved a way for the department …
Can AI truly improve hospital staffing?
By now, you have probably heard of AI and tools like ChatGPT. But you still may be wondering how these tools apply to your clinical practice.
Let me share an experience I recently had that completely changed how I think about AI (artificial intelligence) in health care.
In one of the MBA classes I am taking at NYU, we write code to help analyze large datasets. …
Harnessing the power of AI and personalized videos: a new era in patient education and clinical care
As a physician and digital health practitioner, I have seen firsthand the challenges of ineffective patient education and the immense potential for technology to revolutionize how we inform, engage, and empower patients in their health journeys. Imagine a future where every patient, regardless of their language, cultural background, or health literacy level, can receive tailored, engaging, and easily understandable video content that empowers them to manage their health effectively. This …
What if AI focused on respecting the craft of medicine?
Health care technology has a long history of getting it wrong. The electronic health record (EHR) boom of the late 2000s was a remarkable transformation — taking our sector from paper charts to computers in a matter of just a few years. Unfortunately, most of the technology that was so feverishly adopted was developed without clinical input and with a focus on medical reimbursement and policy-compliance checklists over medical care. …
Paper vs. electronic records: Why a blend is essential for modern health care
It is time to consider a blend of paper and electronic records. Paper records will not remain relevant forever, nor will electronic records remain infallible. The purpose of any record is to ensure that the past is preserved. If the past is lost, the present feels weakened. However, this sense of weakness arises only when the present constantly relies on the past. What if there were no past to refer …
Improving equity and population health through social determinants of health
Social determinants of health (SDoH) have a strong potential to positively and negatively affect health outcomes, but providers have traditionally faced substantial roadblocks in identifying patients who need SDoH interventions.
The result of this gap is often missed opportunities to improve patient health at the individual and population levels.
SDoH factors are responsible for up to 80% of health outcomes, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, yet patients and providers …
The rise of the machines: Doctors need to engage with AI now
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has been around since the mid-20th century, but in the last two years, it has gone from science fiction to science fact at an incredible pace. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have dominated headlines in this space. LLMs are essentially AI systems that can understand, generate, and manipulate human language in various domains. LLMs represent a once-in-a-generation technological advance that holds incredible promise …
The secret to clear EMR notes
Are you tired of spending hours deciphering your colleagues’ EMR notes or struggling to understand your own? Excessive details in documentation can lead to confusion and decreased productivity. Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” It’s time to declutter your documentation and unlock the benefits of clear, structured clinical notes.
Why you should write clearer notes
Bloated notes clutter up space on your screen and in your thought process, …
The growing abuse of ChatGPT in medical education
“Ms. Lupo is a 39-year-old female presenting to the ED with a chief complaint of unilateral dead arm.” So read a hypothetical patient scenario during my class one day. As a team of first-year medical students, our job was to review the patient’s case, including history of present illness, past medical history, family history, and symptoms, to diagnose and formulate a care plan to treat Ms. Lupo’s arm. Within seconds, …
Why saving interstate telehealth should matter to you
As cancer clinical trialists with sub-specialized practices, we treat patients from across the country. But while they must travel for treatment, there are clear occasions where we recognize that advice and consultation by telephone, video, and patient messaging are perfectly safe and far more convenient and cost-effective.
Telemedicine across state lines was the legal norm during COVID-19. Patients and practitioners quickly recognized that Americans deserved access to physicians unencumbered by …
AI, the physician shortage, and other health care trends [PODCAST]
The cost of ineffective technology: Why your practice’s tech stack may be contributing to employee burnout and high turnover rates
A recent survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) revealed that 75 percent of medical group owners report that work-related stress levels have increased this year. A previous MGMA poll found that nearly 30 percent of medical groups had a physician leave the practice or retire early because of burnout.
When asked what factors were contributing to burnout in a Harris Poll online survey conducted by HealthDay, 58 percent of …
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AI-powered surveillance in China and the U.S.
Today, in China, if you walk across the street where you are not supposed to, expect a ticket to arrive in the mail. Somehow. Out of all the faces in China. An AI-monitored camera will see you and report your crime to the authorities. Lately, these fines have been coming almost instantly by text message. This is not just about pedestrian safety, though that will be the …
Can AI save the medical profession?
I was working in a busy GP clinic when I finished seeing my last patient for the day, and I felt a sense of relief that the day was over; however, that relief was quickly overshadowed by the daunting mountain of paperwork I needed to complete before I could go home. In general practice, this work pattern is becoming expected practice throughout the profession. GPs routinely spend 1 to 3 …
How AI became my medical tutor
“The patient is a 59-year-old male presenting with fatigue on exertion, pallor, and mild numbness and tingling in both feet. No family history of anemia or diabetes, but I still want to rule them out with a blood test. Does that sound reasonable?”
This is the 6th or 7th question I’ve asked in today’s session, but my tutor doesn’t mind the repetitiveness.
“Yes, performing blood work is a reasonable approach to help …
How the Apple Vision Pro can improve patient outcomes [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
Join us for an engaging discussion on the future of health care diagnostics with physician, health care consultant, and serial entrepreneur Harvey Castro. In this episode, we delve into the transformative potential of …
Outdated technology is hurting patients [PODCAST]
Apple’s new accessibility features: a game changer in health care
Apple’s new accessibility features—eye tracking, music haptics, and vocal shortcuts—mark a major technological leap to enhance life quality for individuals with disabilities. These innovations promise to revolutionize health care by boosting patient autonomy, care quality, and inclusive design. Here’s a comprehensive look at their transformative potential.
Eye tracking on iPad and iPhone for enhanced patient communication
Eye-tracking technology is a groundbreaking development for individuals with physical disabilities, enabling users to control their …
Exploring the potential of Apple’s biosensing earbuds in health care
Apple’s recent patent application for a biosensing device integrated into their earbuds opens up numerous possibilities for health care. This innovative technology aims to measure various biological signals from users, including EEG, EMG, EOG, ECG, GSR, and BVP. Here’s how each of these technologies can be harnessed to improve health care:
1. Electroencephalography (EEG). Recording brain waves, EEG sensors in earbuds can monitor brain activity in real time. This capability can …
Past Week
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Patient modesty in health care matters
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A lesson in empathy from a young patient
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Medical statistics errors: How bad data hurts clinicians
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A pediatrician explains the real danger of food perfectionism [PODCAST]
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Past Week
-
Patient modesty in health care matters
-
A lesson in empathy from a young patient
-
Medical statistics errors: How bad data hurts clinicians
-
The myth of no frivolous medical lawsuits
-
A pediatrician explains the real danger of food perfectionism [PODCAST]
-
The physician’s change cycle: Why doctors stay stuck
-
Past 6 Months
Recent Posts
-
The physician’s change cycle: Why doctors stay stuck
-
A psychiatrist explains the new frontier of prescribed software treatments [PODCAST]
-
How stigma in psychiatry affects patients
-
Developmental-behavioral pediatrics: the lost identity
-
The haunting trauma of nursing
-
Physician emotional fatigue: When burnout becomes a blind spot
-
