To steal a phrase from a well-known movie title, we may need to go “Back to the Future” to capitalize on patient engagement initiatives. It seems to me that on the one hand we become more concerned about patient-centered care, and on the other hand we behave in manners that belie our intention to focus on the patient.
In this edition of the ASA Monitor, Drs. Bader and Urman have written “Putting Patients First: Treat the Patient, Not the Technology.” They discuss multiple aspects surrounding the dilemma of using technology while still attempting to maintain patient-centered care. One of the issues they discuss is that our use of electronic technology may actually be disrespectful to our patients. Consider their presentation of the experience of Dr. Abraham Verghese.1 While a patient, Dr. Verghese recalls that his nurse would visit him, facing the screen of her computer monitor, all the...
