The announcement that the next iteration of the Apple Watch can both monitor the wearer’s heart rhythm and, if a suspicious reading emerges, perform an electrocardiogram, could be a boon for users and their doctors. Or it could be a massive headache for the health care system. The new watch continuously monitors the wearer’s heart rate. It […]
Increasingly, we see functions executed by machines that were formerly performed by living breathing human beings. Examples range from the mundane to the preternatural. Order food and drink from an iPad. No server needed. Driverless auto travel. This may lead to a resurgence in prayer. Pilotless air travel. Hard times ahead for the Airline Pilots […]
Ironically, the same electronic health records (EHRs) initially designed as a tool to help physicians diagnose diseases have largely evaded diagnostic scrutiny. Talk to physicians who utilize them on a daily basis, however, and it becomes abundantly clear that today’s EHRs are ailing. They are adding hours to the physicians’ workday, siphoning attention from patient […]
I’d be willing to bet most of you have heard of, or previously used, telemedicine in some shape, form or fashion. Stated simply, telemedicine is the process of seeking care from a medical provider using your phone or laptop. This field is exploding, and I have no doubt popularity will continue to grow as large […]
We all have that one patient. That one patient who can always find a way to turn a good day bad, who just knows how to push your buttons in all the wrong ways. Who’s that patient for me? Let’s just call him Elton Reed. Oh, Mr. Reed … where to begin with him? When […]
We all have that one patient. That one patient who can always find a way to turn a good day bad, who just knows how to push your buttons in all the wrong ways. Who’s that patient for me? Let’s just call him Elton Reed. Oh, Mr. Reed … where to begin with him? When […]
Last year, a cardiologist at my institution presented the story of a patient he had cared for and correctly diagnosed with a not uncommon condition after several other physicians had failed to do so. The patient was a 72-year-old man with near syncope after exercise for several months, with no other symptoms or clues to […]
July was an interesting month for artificial intelligence in medicine. A study from MIT found when human doctors order tests on patients, they factor in something that artificial intelligence is not currently aware of. The authors analyzed charts of about 60,000 ICU patients admitted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. By looking at […]
The trouble began when I needed to open the electronic health record (EHR) system for the tenth time that day. EHRs have significantly changed the way we practice medicine. They have completely eliminated the need for storage and transport of paper charts, reduced prescription errors secondary to illegible handwritings of physicians and provided an excellent […]
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. I recently saw a new patient who came to our practice following a lengthy hospitalization. He is in his 80s with a fairly complex medical history typical of many in this age range. Yet, after carefully sifting through my first introduction to this […]
