Are Doctors Becoming Too Reliant on Technology?

April 02, 2011 (Press-News.org) Are Doctors Becoming Too Reliant on Technology?

Stanford Medical Professor Argues for Renewed Doctor-Patient Interaction

No one can argue modern medical technology can help to save lives. However, it is possible that doctors can become too dependent on technological devices and lose practice at physically diagnosing a patient.

That was a point recently made in The New York Times by Doctor Abraham Verghese, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Doctor Verghese points to a growing reliance on technology like CT Scans and computer records of patients that takes some of the human element out of practicing medicine, to the detriment of patients.

A common complaint by both patients and doctors is needless body scans. Currently, various body scans account for half of all radiation exposure in a person's life, up dramatically from 1980. Simple examination skills could prevent unnecessary exposure to radiation and reduce the risk of cancer. Radiation exposure was the number one medical technology threat according to the ECRI Institute, a nonprofit patient safety advocate group.

Additionally, doctors can miss simple things by not first seeing the patient or listening to his or her medical problems. Doctor Verghese recalled a patient with breast cancer discovered by a CT scan of her lungs. Her doctors were unaware of the cancer and were looking for blood clots in the lungs because the patient was having respiratory trouble. Had the patient had a simple breast examination at any point they would have discovered the tumors months before the CT scan took place, something Dr. Verghese attributed to a lack of basic examination skills.

Medical Device Hazards

Some dangers come from the medical devices themselves. Fires during surgery, data loss or confusion in computer records, and failure for alarms to go off when needed can all affect patient care, leading to injuries and in some cases death.

Yet the medical errors do not have to be so obvious as the above examples. Dr. Verghese believes even simple medical errors are increasing nationwide because a lack of focus on basic examining and listening skills.

If doctor or hospital negligence has caused you injury, contact a personal injury attorney to discuss your rights.

Article provided by Harper, Evans, Wade & Netemeyer
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