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Can tech bring the country doctor to the city?

June 22, 2009

The New York Times this week has pointed out the growing popularity of “patient centered” practices in the city. These doctors make house calls, give their cell phone number to patients for after-hours consultations, and handle many patient issues without the help of a specialist. Doctors of the “patient centered” movement are redefining the doctor-patient relationship and recreating the personalized attention given by country doctors decades ago.

But how, in our age of overcrowded doctors’ offices and an overburdened healthcare system, are doctors able to give more attention to patients?

Or are they?

The New York Times this week has pointed out the growing popularity of “patient centered” practices in the city. These doctors make house calls, give their cell phone number to patients for after-hours consultations, and handle many patient issues without the help of a specialist. Doctors of the “patient centered” movement are redefining the doctor-patient relationship and recreating the personalized attention given by country doctors decades ago.

But how, in our age of overcrowded doctors’ offices and an overburdened healthcare system, are doctors able to give more attention to patients?

The answer, as it so often is, is technology. Doctors of the “patient centered” movement have invested thousands of dollars into the technology for online appointment setting, the possibility of virtual meetings with patients, and digital health records, allowing them to streamline administrative processes and spend more time with patients.

It’s not the first time technology has revolutionized the relationship between doctor and patient. In his new book TECHNOLOGICAL MEDICINE: The Changing World of Doctors and Patients, medical technology expert Stanley Reiser shows that technology has been dramatically changing the way doctors interact with patients since the invention of the stethoscope in 1816.

But the change hasn’t always been for the better.

We caught up with Dr. Reiser to ask him about his upcoming book and the influence of the stethoscope on modern medical practice, as well as his thoughts on the technology-savvy doctors of the “patient centered” movement and the future of technology in medicine.

Continue reading:
http://www.cambridgeblog.org/2009/06/country-doctor-city/