Video Conferencing, Cell Phones And Novel Medical Apps — How Technology Is Changing Medical Practice
A range of news stories detail how new technology is touching medicine in positive and negative ways.
PBS NewsHour:
Telemedicine Puts A Doctor Virtually At Your Bedside
Video conferencing technology can now connect patients and physicians almost instantaneously, offering convenience, efficiency and savings. But what happens to the doctor-patient relationship if you're never in the same room? (7/13)
Kaiser Health News:
Do Cell Phones Belong In The Operating Room?
Next time you’re on the operating table and you have one last look around as the anesthesiologist approaches, don’t be too sure that that person in scrubs looking at a smartphone is pulling up vital health data. He or she might be texting a friend, or ordering a new carpet. Cellphone use is not generally restricted in the operating room, but some experts say the time for rules has come. In interviews, many described co-workers’ texting friends and relatives from the surgical suite. Some spoke of colleagues who hide a phone in a drawer and check it when they think no one is watching. (Luthra, 7/14)
The Sacramento Bee:
What’s That? Figure 1 Lets Health Care Professionals Crowdsource Patient Cases
It’s been dubbed “Instagram for doctors.” With a tap on their smartphones, medical professionals are using a novel app, called Figure 1, to upload photos, X-rays and other images of their patients’ maladies. Like Facebook for health care, Figure 1 lets colleagues chime in with comments, questions and potential diagnoses. The mobile app, one of thousands populating the health care industry, gives physicians and other health care providers instant, pull-it-from-their-pocket access to unusual clinical cases seen by colleagues around the world. It’s part of a wave of social media and technology tools that are continually changing the way doctors interact with patients – and each other. (Buck, 7/13)
