Just a few months ago, I was privileged to speak on a panel at the American College of Cardiology conference in Orlando, FL. My panel, devoted to the benefits of plant-based diets, included prominent champions of plant-exclusive (vegan) diets.
I guess it all converges on one point: the customer. From the dry cleaners to the operating room, the goal now seems to be customer-centricity. Yes, thumbs up, four stars, and likes are today's currency of success. In a recent survey by Kaufman Hall, that examined 200 hospitals and healthcare systems, the headline was loud and clear.
Digital health should not be inspired by technology but by great people like Wendy Mitchell. When listening to health tech or innovation presentations they often use quotes by the likes of Steve Jobs, Reed Hastings who started Netflix, Joe Gebbia & Brian Chesky who started Airbnb or some other disruptive technology entrepreneur. However, we must never forget to have great people like Wendy Mitchell as our driving force, understand their lives, their hopes and fears and their everyday problems. Unsurprisingly this goes well beyond taking their medicine.
“Sorry, I’m running late… sorry, to keep you waiting…” How many times a day do I say that? Sometimes it is every time I walk into a patient’s room, as if it is a normal greeting. Sometimes patients respond with “oh, you aren’t late” or “I haven’t been waiting long.” I can be so obsessed with not being late that I don’t realize I’m actually running on time!
Without a doubt, the hardest part of practicing any type of pediatric medicine is delivering bad news to the parents. It is very common for me to inform parents that their child has renal failure, needs dialysis, and a kidney transplant. There are a lot of tears, but with reassurance, there is comfort in hope for the future.
I am privileged to serve as a (uncompensated) science advisor to a young company named InsideTracker, positioned in the vanguard of the “personalized medicine” movement. With some help from my friends at the company (special thanks to Gil Blander, PhD), here’s an introductory overview.
Don't make these 2 common mistakes when deciding if an antidepressant is effective. Many people have inadequate trials on antidepressant medication due to dosing that is too low or taking the medication for too short of a time. Without accurate expectations of treatment, people assume the medicine isn't effective and discontinue it. So how long does it take for antidepressants to work?