Sometimes patients tell me things that are out of the realm of possibility. Crazy stories, some of them. Not symptoms that are odd, but events that defy human physiology. She got half-way through her bowel prep and became paralyzed on the left side for one hour. Some would suggest that I'm not listening to their complaint. To the contrary. The less experienced ... Continue Reading about Crazy Stories and the Patients Who Tell Them
Big Shot Doctors – Patients Don’t Talk About Your Title
So many doctors are desperate to claim a title. Some want to be big shot doctors. I know a pediatrician who owns his own practice. Every 18 months or so a medical student follows him around for an afternoon. He bills himself a clinical assistant professor at the local medical school. This label is at the root of his professional identity. Everybody wants to be a ... Continue Reading about Big Shot Doctors – Patients Don’t Talk About Your Title
Forward and Messy Humans
The latest iteration of health care is Forward. The spawn of Google and Uber executives, Forward wants to make the doctor’s office look like the Apple Store. Offices come fully furnished with ambient lighting, a genius bar and an orgasmitron-like contraption for vitals. You can get the details here on Forbes. While the space pictured above may play well to the ... Continue Reading about Forward and Messy Humans
How Do We Make Evidence Care?
Medicine is increasingly about outcomes, data and numbers. But while evidence helps us provide care, how does it apply to individual patients? Victor Montori from The Mayo Clinic addresses this question in a beautiful 19 minute talk from Oxford University. I’ve watched it over an over. What stuck with me: Evidence creates work for patients. Education and ... Continue Reading about How Do We Make Evidence Care?
One Button Medicine
Everyone's looking for the Uber of healthcare. The ideal is a button that makes everything right. Most aspiring health care Ubers amount to a convenience for the worried well positioned as brilliant disruption. Attention and social dialog surrounding such 'innovations' are fueled almost exclusively by fantasy. Sensational solutions are less about real problems ... Continue Reading about One Button Medicine
My AVS Dilemma
I'm always looking to improve how I use technology. My latest move is to clean up the AVS . The AVS is the after visit summary created by our EHR - it’s an aggregated mashup of meds, recommendations, and clinical goodness. The power of the AVS is in the hands of the provider who shapes smart phrases and customized text for an patient experience that extends beyond the ... Continue Reading about My AVS Dilemma