Archive
Why I think that Google Glass is Not a failure
The interaction between medical providers and patients has been really compromised over the last few years.
According to Dr. Eric Topol ( as in his new book The Patient Will See You Now ), in the US, the average return visit to the doctors office lasts seven minutes and a new consultation twelve minutes”. Administrative requirements, reimbursement rules, government regulations and the inadequate use of technology, are among the factors to blame for this decline in the quality of medical care, at least in respect to the HUMAN quality of healthcare.
We have allowed technology to sequester what it meant to be a doctor, a healer-person connecting with the one seeking our help, our advice, our touch; a direct eye-to-eye link that could comfort and bring relief just by the mere act of taking the time to do it.
The SMART use of the RIGHT technology, can indeed improve the process, enhance the time and the interaction, paradoxically making us more, better HUMAN healers.
That’s one of the things that Google Glass can do in medicine.
Wearable devices, and specifically GoogleGlass, has started a tide of change and innovation, a true awakening of the minds, that only can be viewed as a major success, at least in that respect.
As a surgeon and innovator, the FIRST one to ever use Glass in the operating room, and NOT the only surgeon excited about this technology, I see this trend as the beginning of a new way to do medicine.
Thanks for Sharing it.
@ZGJR
Is GoogleGlass immortal?
Well, I do think so! In a way.
Would you say that the Ford Model T is dead?
Or did it actually represent the beginning of a revolution, the evolution of transportation?
You see, lately, there has been a lot of press regarding the demise of GoogleGlass. A few articles have explained that the time of Glass has passed, that developers are not interested anymore, that units are for sale in eBay.
Some have called it “the Segway of this era!”. I have read most of those editorials and releases. I have to say that I don’t agree with the basic premise of GoogleGlass being a failure.
As any new step, the first one is always shy and careful…Glass represents the next generation, the beginning of the future for the wearable device. Again, the beginning of a revolution, the evolution of the computing and communication platform. It was not invented in a day!
As a “pioneer” device, a “pseudo-beta” product ( a ready-product, not ready for the general public but instead for a very select group of skilled individuals in specific disciplines), Glass has awaken the imagination and creativity of the technologic community, the industry and the geeks out there.
I think that we all like he idea of having a “wearable” device in our forehead, as part of us, almost integrated with our selves, able to allow us to stay connected in the ways that we need or like, to perform our specific tasks more efficiently.
Glass has done that. It has shown that it is possible, and that the road to an ideal and trouble-free device is still being travelled.
Yes, we all agree that GoogleGlass is not perfect, in fact, it is far from it.
But we all remember the amazement of the first time when we saw the screen projected in front of our eye, and the awesomeness of navigating a menu with our voice, or listening to it without a headphone.
We all concur that the battery is poor, the connectivity slow, the voice recognition fair to good, the heating issues feel wrong and that for the day-to-day routine, is definitively not ready…but that’s not the point.
Glass represents the leap to something better, to a way of not texting with our fat fingers, bending our neck down to a screen or bringing a hand up to our ears. A way to look up and tap into vast human knowledge, available in the internet, just by talking aloud.
Glass will allow us to stand up again (like humans do), to speak our commands, to look directly at the eyes of our patients, not turning our backs to them looking at the other screen, or typing orders in.
If anything, it will allow us to connect in a more direct, personal and human way, in those times when we have to use technology.
In a recent article, Noor Siddiqui, COO and co-founder of Remedy ( http://remedyonglass.com ) quoted:
“Google Glass broke through that mental block, and got doctors to rethink the big clunky computers in our offices… that maybe it would make for a better bedside relationship if we turned away from those computers and got close to our patients again,” Siddiqui said. “…And what’s great is, now that doctors are thinking that way, it’s not about Google Glass anymore.”
I trust that Google is working in the next generation of Glass, and I know that it will be better, and that the feedback and outcries of those with and without faith will be addressed in that next device.We will be surprised.
Let’s wait and see what the future is going to be like.
Embracing Technology for a Healthier Future
Once again, I really want to send a public note of appreciation to Maine Magazine (@Themainemag), for their recent article about my work. I think that Sophie Nelson (writer) and Nicole Wolf (photography) are amazing professionals that really represent some of the incredible talents that Maine has to offer.
I humbly want to thank them for their comments and views, and for helping spread some of my vision and passion regarding the potential for innovation technology in healthcare and education.
This is the link to the article:
Be Scared of Telemedicine, Really Scared!
I had been thinking of this title for a long time. Actually, I had been thinking about writing this post, for even longer.
The idea to get people’s attention to the reality and the future of virtual presence medicine has been going around, inside my head for many months.
I admit it and I apologize, the title was only meant to catch your attention. No matter in which “team” you are right now, patient or healthcare provider (by the way, there should be only one team !), know you have a real potential to switch sides in a “sneeze”, literally.
You should NOT be afraid, UNLESS you are a healthcare system or a hospital that haven’t realized that telemedicine or e-medicine, is already becoming a very popular way in which YOUR patients are doing healthcare transactions, or at least getting the initial medical advice; I don’t mean in a distant future, I mean today, I mean yesterday, I mean in the years to come!…And their options and choices are multiplying quickly, morphing, improving, adapting to their needs, like the free-market economy does.
You see, I’m a medical doctor, a full-time surgeon.I love technology and its potential to help us take better care of people, when used in a smart manner.
After giving a few TEDx talks in the subject ( “OK Glass: I need a surgeon http://youtu.be/fo3RsealvGI
“OK Glass”:Disrupt Healthcare Now”
http://youtu.be/DVzkw7y4_u4 ), attending ExponentialMedicine (a Singularity University program that injects its participants with the knowledge and the passion for how exponential technology can impact the future of healthcare delivery. http://exponential.singularityu.org/medicine/ ) and soon after that, performing the first ever documented surgical procedure with Google Glass
( http://t.co/W0EJQy9U8s ), I have become some sort of an “evangelist”, traveling the world as a keynote speaker, sharing the vision for e-medicine, of “how much better it could be” (or IT SHOULD BE!).
Preparing for the talks, I try to keep up with the most up-to-date information in the subject, curating the internet and healthcare social media, seeking inspiration and following brilliant colleagues and blogs like the ones of Bertalan Meskó/ @Berci, Christian Assad/ @Christianassad, John Nosta/@JohnNosta, Lucien Engelen/ @LucienEngelen, Daniel Kraft/ @Daniel_Kraft, Kevin MD, 33Charts, the 3GDoctor, etc.
Over the last year, one common trend has been the amount of new developments regarding the availability and variety of telemedicine options. I not only mean that hospitals are slowly adapting to the reality of e-visits, but that it seems that every couple of weeks there are news of a direct mobile option for a patient to get health advice in a very efficient way, over the internet; quickly, inexpensively, reliably and in most instances covered by insurance.
Who doesn’t want that? Why would you choose the less attractive option of making the appointment, waiting for the date, driving to the doctor’s office, waiting to be seen, being seen, getting a prescription (maybe), getting a follow-up appointment date, filling the prescription and then going back home (or back to work or school, which, by the way, you missed because all of the above routine) ?
This is just a brief, partial list of some of the available stand-alone telemedicine options that offer what I just described:
Curely (@CurelyMD -see http://medbonsai.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/the-future-of-healthcare-is-here-and-it-is-a-telehealth-marketplace/ ), Teledoc (Teladoc.com), Healthtap (www.healthtap.com), Memd ( http://www.memd.me ), ZocDoc (www.zocdoc.com), DoctorSpring (www.doctorspring.com) , DoctorOnDemand ( http://www.Doctorondemand.com), Better (http://recode.net/2014/04/16/better-puts-healthcare-in-your-pocket/ ) and even Google, who is rumored to be getting ready to offer a service in the Helpout platform, for patients to get medical advice in a mobile fashion thru the internet (http://www.zdnet.com/the-google-doctor-will-see-you-now-search-giant-trials-online-medical-consultations-7000034705/ ).
Imagine that you are a patient living in a rural area (or not so rural, even metropolitan), suffering from a non-emergent medical problem that does not merit a 911 call or a visit to the ED, and you are thinking about calling your primary care provider (PCP) to get some advice on what to do. How easy would that be? How soon will you be seen? How much of a hassle will be involved? And what about if the office is really far away, or if you are home-bound because of disability or just because you don’t own a vehicle? I know you can get the picture!
The “legality of these interactions is becoming not an issue anymore, and HIPAA compliance is being addressed in all of these services, so…the argument of “privacy” concerns, is not such any more.
I truly believe, that health organizations that don’t confront this issue right now, will definitely suffer the consequences.
I think that it is imperative for them to make this modality, Telemedicine, a main pillar of their “survival” strategy (along with Finance, Community, Employees, Patients, etc.), in order to be able to keep their market share, to even increase it, but most importantly, to provide better, overall care to their patient population.
If they don’t do it NOW, they will for sure do it in a few years, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, right behind their competition!
So What I’m really telling them is: IF you want to survive,
DON’T BE SCARED OF TELEMEDICINE….EMBRACE IT!
PS. This link just came out, minutes after I published my post:
PlushCare launches telemedicine service with Stanford, UCSF doctors on call
These services will virally multiply!
Stats
Blogs I Follow
@ZGJR Blog 