We’re entering an age of individual responsibility in medicine. It used to be that our role as physician was well-defined. But medicine and the context of care are changing fast. As physicians…
- We need to teach ourselves. Technology and our defined roles are changing faster than med school curricula and CME can keep up. No one will do this for us.
- We need to adapt. Last year at Baylor College of Medicine Eric Topol was asked about important physician skills for the digital age. He responded, “flexibility.”
- We need to apply technology. No one will do it for us. 21st century disruption will emerge from the private sector, not the ivory tower. The application of innovative technology needs forward thinking physicians to put it all to good use.
- We need to be responsible for our own voices. It used to be that someone spoke for us. Now we speak for ourselves, individually and as a profession.
Call the last couple of generations the industrial age of medicine. Everything was figured out for us. We just showed up. Individual responsibility in medicine was not even on anyone’s radar.
As the world changes, participation and individual responsibility are optional. And so is relevance.
If you like this post you might check out the 33 charts Freerange MD Archives. These posts cover the edgy evolving role of the physician in the digital age. This collection will bring you the rogue elements of medicine – the stuff pushing the margin of traditional lockstep medicine.