I'm hoping that more focus will be placed on the use of technology to improve the overall health care system. We need better ways to diagnose and treat diseases. We also need better ways to educate patients and improve communication among health care professionals. Advances in health IT ought to improve patient care by reducing medical errors and improving the way patient data gets accessed. Plus, technology is making it easier for physicians to practice evidence-based medicine if they're using the right types of clinical decision support tools in their daily practice.
So, although we live in a country where we have access to some of the greatest advances in technology, we need to make sure that we're not misusing these resources. There's a fine line between empowering the patient vs. giving them resources so they can self-diagnose and self-treat serious conditions. I get nervous when people tell me that they're self-diagnosing all these conditions by researching things on the Internet.
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