Is there a way we should look or behave as physicians? The question gets to the core of professionalism. It’s an important question since so many doctors feel they are being judged because of their appearance, dress or language - both IRL and online. We are who we are. I am who I am. This is the real us. We don’t live by someone else’s standard. While ... Continue Reading about Medical Professionalism in an Age of Transparency
Telemedicine Hype Cycle and the Future of Remote Care
A recent STATNews First Opinion piece suggested that we’re seeing the abandonment of telemedicine by physicians after a strong start in 2020. Data from Phreesia shows early adoption in March 2020 with a fall off in May - This pattern reflects the earliest phases of the telemedicine hype cycle. Distracted and disillusioned maybe. Abandoned, no. So what ... Continue Reading about Telemedicine Hype Cycle and the Future of Remote Care
Percussion – An Obsolete Physician Skill?
Not long ago the internet was captivated by the video clip of a physician using a wine glass to teach percussion. The display elicited a sense of nostalgia and long-lost wisdom. The clip put 20th and 21st century medicine into stark contrast. But when was the last time you used percussion to make a diagnosis? Predictably, every smartypants in the audience has ... Continue Reading about Percussion – An Obsolete Physician Skill?
How Doctors Learn About Social Media
Recently a contentious public exchange over the diagnosis and management of surgical condition lead a young physician to leave Twitter. For some, watching this doctor virtually vaporize was the equivalent of losing a colleague. This is because our social networks have become important sources of support, information, inspiration and fellowship. The situation raises ... Continue Reading about How Doctors Learn About Social Media
Doctors Need a Webspace to Call Home
For years I have argued that doctors need webspace to park their ideas. A place that is relatively permanent. A place with an address where ideas can live and people can go. A place to call your own. This should be the home base of your digital map. But in 2020 few doctors maintain sites that are their own. Ideas have taken the shape of Twitter threads — long ... Continue Reading about Doctors Need a Webspace to Call Home
Telemedicine Fatigue and the Stress of Remote Care
The first thing I heard from my team after starting full time telehealth was the exhaustion that seemed to set in at the end of the day. I have noticed this myself. After 8 hours of back-to-back virtual engagement with parents I found myself with a kind of telemedicine fatigue that’s hard to describe. Then I started hearing the same sentiment from doctors on ... Continue Reading about Telemedicine Fatigue and the Stress of Remote Care