Hey Doc, We Live in the Future

We live in the future. And you know it's true. This past weekend I was watching some reruns of shows from my childhood. I saw the Jetsons. I saw Star Trek. And that's when it occurred to me, we live in the future.

I watched as Mr. Spacely called George Jetson on his television. Well that's what we thought it was at the time. Little did we know that there would be Skype, Google Hangouts and FaceTime that would allow us to talk to someone face-to-face miles away or just around the corner. We can now see and converse with others without leaving our homes. Without leaving our offices. At the convenience of the caller and at the convenience of the one we called.

I saw Star Trek. And I'm sure it's occurred to you before now, that the “communicator” in the hand of Mr. Spock or Captain Kirk was actually a lot like a smartphone. Spock’s ability to turn that handheld device into something that would read the environment or Dr. McCoy’s ability to use it or something like it to scan a body was beyond belief. Now we have apps that power our iPhones and Android devices to do similarly futuristic things.

Look, it's easy to get bogged down in the rules and regulations of an industry. They're there to protect us all. Comply. But what if we allow our imaginations to lead for a minute as relates to the part of doctoring that really matters to us most, patient engagement.

We'd find ways to connect with those who can't get from their homes and to our offices.

What if we find ways to empower patients to tend to themselves, to know more about the environment that they're in and how it affects their health?

We'd have smarter patients and better health outcomes.

Okay enough of the hyperbole it's time to get real. We live in the future. But we practice too much in the past.

So here's what a savvy doctors going to do this year: tap into that Jetsons television thing and enable patients or colleagues to communicate via Skype or Apple’s FaceTime to explore what needs to be explored. 

My twitter-friend Dr. Howard Luks (@HJLuks on Twitter) says that he finds this approach to telemedicine useful in consulting with his patients and would invite conversation, by FaceTime no doubt, with doctors who might be trying to find their way toward the future.

Speaking of exploration, savvy doctors will learn how to use mobile devices and apps that run on them to help patients communicate with their doctor and to help the patient and doctor know more about the environment that they are in and how such circumstances affect their well-being.

Last March I met Dr. Daniel Kraft, MD (@daniel_kraft on Twitter) at SXSWi (South by Southwest Innovation conference). He was there to speak on health care innovation powered by smartphones. It was cool. And it would have seemed like “future talk” were it not for the number of people in the room already using one or more of the diet, exercise, sleep monitoring, cardio, diabetes and anxiety management apps he spoke of there.

Look, George Jetson would get out on the now ever so commonplace treadmill to exercise his dog. Maybe this is the year to exercise your medical practice. Maybe this is the time to rethink patient engagement so that we can get off this crazy thing called the status quo and into the future. Some of us are already there.

Hey Doc, Your Year to Connect

This year you’ll have 1000s of additional codes to choose from when you’re commenting on a patient file. You’ll have the challenge of meeting somewhat subjective patient performance expectations to maximize insurance reimbursements. And you’ll have more checkboxes to click in the EHR on your way to proving meaningful use. Sounds awful.

So, how will you make this a great year? You’ll connect.

Oh, not to technology though it’ll be there to facilitate the connections. But to people in ways that have proven challenging for some but profitable for others. And by ways, I mean social media, smartphone apps, and iPads. Still it’s not about the ways, it’s about the connection. It’s about the patient.

So, I thought you might enjoy three ideas that could help you achieve your purpose – the best health for your patients – and frankly help you suffer the codes, surveys and systems. Choose any one of them and you’ll be back to medicine.

First, use Social Media.

By now you’re aware that the tools we call social media have permeated our culture. They’ve raised expectations for openness. And they created expectations of connectedness. Here, however, are three specific platforms and ways to improve connections.

Facebook – yeah, the growth of teens has slowed but they’re not your patient. Make Facebook a place to share information that is helpful to others but not about others. Do this one thing, find a trusted content source and wrap your brand around it.

Pinterest – women are the primary decision makers when it comes to healthcare. Start a Pinterest account and make three boards. One should be the role of diet on those who have health issues related to your specialty. The second, a board the features exercise tips that benefit your patient community. And the third board, inspiration. Offer encouraging quotes, images of famous survivors or champions, and images that rest the soul.

Instagram – yeah, you’re right it’s for pictures. It’s the fastest growing and most popular app among the next generation of decision makers. Know how to take a picture of anything from equipment, to your staff, to things that give others a glimpse into what you find relevant.

Second, find an app. Don’t make one. Find one.

Sure you could make one but that’s really not necessary. There are hundreds of health apps that can make a difference in the wellbeing of your patient and might even prove helpful to you. We’ve written about them in Memphis Medical News. Click here to learn more in less than 700 words.

Third, tell a story.

iPads and fancy e-readers are the top of a lot of Christmas lists this year.  And you can put them to work for your practice. This idea is especially useful if your patients have chronic illness (i.e. diabetes), potentially life threatening diseases (i.e. cancer) or are expecting children (i.e. obstetrics, gynecology or pediatrics). It starts by imagining that you’re sitting with a patient to tell them what you do, what they might expect through the time you spend together, who your referring specialties are, what technologies you’ll use, resources that others find helpful and are willing to do so in a manner that deepens relationship instead of sending them around the web finding these things on their own.

Hey Doc, 

Don’t do these things because everyone else is doing them.

Do them because it will help improve the connection between you and your patient community. It will improve the nature of the dialogue that occurs when you’re with a patient or trying to explain an issue to the patient’s family.

Do it because it creates a deeper connection between you and the patient. A connection that new codes and checkbox-rich EHR systems don’t understand but that you know will lead to better health outcomes.

Do it because you’re a care giver; a healer. You’re all about the patient.

Do it because in this age of systems and policy changes, the one thing that can always change for the better is your relationship with those who count on you; the patient.

Yep, this year you’ll be asked (heck required) to do a lot of things. So, why not do at least one thing you like?