Every so often, there comes a time when it is necessary for new ideas to challenge the old. A time when the edifices of the past should be swept away to make room for new ways of thinking, new approaches to problems and new perspectives as has happened countless times in history.
They once said that the Earth was flat. Explorers and scientists proved that it was round.
They once said that man would never fly. Orville and Wilber I’m sure laughed heartily on that cool December afternoon.
They once said the sound barrier could never be broken. Chuck Yeager showed us all that he had other plans.
They once said that man would never walk on the moon…
Technology continually evolves around us but in some key areas, what do we continue to see? Decadence. Repetition.
Now I apply this reasoning to medicine. How many apps have we seen that look up lab values? Apps that display causes of hypercalcemia, apps that display a differential diagnosis for appendicitis, apps that go on at length about the most minute of details of cell signaling that translates into little useful clinical knowledge. The time has come for new perspective. These are not separate applications. As physiology feeds lab data so too can technology feed diagnosis. The knowledge is out there, the technology has been invented; right now, the puzzle pieces are merely out of place and the will toward new innovation to unseat old influence has been lacking. This sets up a battle between the new world of technology-driven decision and the old world of disparate threads of a tapestry, unwoven so that it’s splendor is just beyond view of the observer.
So I say now: Let the Battle Begin.
Filed under: Medicine, Technology | Tagged: innovation, Medicine, Technology |
The Voice of Reason 
Leave a Reply