Lately I’ve been posting a number of tweets in a sort of Sunday Tweet roundup. I think it’s been fun to highlight some short Healthcare IT and EMR related tweets that people might find interesting. With a little bit of commentary of my own (let me know if you disagree).
Today, I decided I’d just go with a small quote from a comment that Chris Paton made over on Neil Versel’s Meaningful Healthcare IT News. Here it is:
We’re a long way from getting rid of doctors but they might find their role changes from being repository of all knowledge to being a trusted communicator and carer.
I’d been trying to summarize this position in a coherent way and I think Chris hit it on the head. Not only the part about being a long way from getting rid of doctors, but his description of doctors not being the repository of all knowledge, but instead a trusted communicator and caregiver is interesting to consider. Not to mention it’s a much better way to describe the transition than I did in my previous post about the subject.
If the role of doctors are indeed changing, does it still make sense to have such a excruciating length of study requirement for physician?
A lot of very smart people I know in tech would love to be a physician if not for the exorbitant amount of education and debt it takes to get there.
Offensive…Are we to assume doctors currently are not what they will become “trusted communicator and caregiver”?
It seems such statements are made regularly these days, I guess to convince us EMR’s will transform our healthcare and doctors into what we’ve been paying for all along…effective! Really?
plin,
It’s an interesting question. I can’t say I could comment on it since I don’t know the pedagogical value of the length and type of education doctors receive. Although, I’m sure that adjustments could be made to improve the changing healthcare environment. Not sure if duration is one of those things or not.
packets,
I guess one response is to be offended, although your twisting words to what they are not. I wouldn’t make the assumption that you suggest. In fact, I’d say that they are trusted communicators and caregivers today. The emphasis is on the change from doctors being the “repository of information.” This isn’t a new change. It’s been gradually happening over time. First they referred to reference books (thanks printing press). Then, they referred to websites (thanks internet). Then, they started with PDA applications (thanks Palm). Then, they started doing the web on their smart phones (thanks iPhone). It’s just a matter of time before there’s the integration of this and much other knowledge that’s delivered through an EMR in the process of care.
This doesn’t diminish the value of the doctor, but enhances it.
Ah, change; implement technology by choice or by force, regardless of risk or cost because it’s been decided…so there!
Wait for it…………..now here comes the value, but to whom?