Health IT, Startups

Is technology ‘dehumanizing’ medicine? Dr. Eric Topol and Dr. Verghese discuss

Dr. Eric Topol, the well-known editor-in-chief of Medscape and expert on genomics and digital health, […]

Dr. Eric Topol, the well-known editor-in-chief of Medscape and expert on genomics and digital health, recently conducted an interview with physician-turned author Dr. Abraham Verghese, who is also a professor of medicine at Stanford University.

Among other topics, the two physician touch on some themes that are central to the evolving landscape of healthcare, and how technology can and should be applied. For instance, Dr. Verghese, who practices internal medicine,  says technology is “dehumanizing” medicine, specifically EHRs. Fear not, though – he’s no Luddite.

In response to a broad question about his philosophy on medicine, Dr. Verghese says, among other things:

… “With all the wonderful advances we have seen, there is a slight danger that our attention is subtly shifting from the human being in front of us to the representation of the human being on the screen – the lab. I call that entity the iPatient, like the iPhone or iPad.”

He continues: “The iPatient gets wonderful care, but the human being often is in desperate need of a human connection. This is a way of reminding myself that all our tremendous science has to be delivered through the mechanism of one individual to another.”

There’s lots of great exchanges between the two on the appropriate intersection of medicine, humanity and technology. The interivew is worth a read or watch. Here’s one.

Dr Topol: You are right in the midst of Silicon Valley; you are in the tech world. Some people call it “Start-up U” here, but it isn’t exactly the capital of humanistic medicine. Do you feel like you are somewhat of an antiforce in this environment?

Dr Verghese: No, I feel very well supported. A nice thing about Stanford is that for all its emphasis on the cutting edge and technology, there is a great consciousness that is reflected in their hiring me. They also very much need the values that I espouse and that we all share. These are not my values; these are our values, and I am perhaps better known for espousing them and repeating them and championing them in print, but they are certainly not my values. They are our values, and it has been great fun to be here.

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