For better or worse technology is changing medicine.
From the President
Dr. Olbricht served as Academy president from March 2018 to March 2019.
By Suzanne Olbricht, MD, September 3, 2018
When is the last time you looked at a paper map or met with a travel agent to book your next adventure? Advances in technology have undeniably altered how we conduct our personal lives, and the practice of medicine is not exempt from this shift. It seems that it was just a few years ago when we were utilizing paper charts and having our patients fill out paper forms. Now, medicine is almost unrecognizable, with our iPads, patient portals, and electronic health record systems.
Many technologies have improved medicine and the patient care experience. Telemedicine, for example, has been a game changer for patients in rural areas or cared for in the Veterans Health Administration. If you want to increase patient engagement, there is no shortage of options — from Instagram to smartphone apps. On the clinical side of things, many dermatologists are adopting the latest technologies, from picosecond lasers for tattoo removal, to microwave thermolysis for treating hyperhidrosis. The explosion of technologic options in our daily lives and in medicine is staggering and can be overwhelming. However, from health IT to DataDerm™ to telemedicine, the Academy has developed numerous resources to help you navigate your options. Visit the AADA’s Practice Management Center at staging.aad.org/practicecenter to learn more.
While technology may be able to help simplify our administrative burdens and improve the patient experience, it needs to be harnessed carefully in order to ensure quality and safety of care. Apps and other programs allow patients to get information about their skin problems and to diagnose themselves at home — sometimes correctly, often incorrectly. A recent study has shown that a type of artificial intelligence known as a convolutional neural network (deep learning) is capable of identifying images of individual lesions as skin cancer as well or better than some dermatologists and learns as it is given more information. We can utilize these artificial intelligence tools to assist us in continuing to provide high-quality, comprehensive care. While we, the board-certified dermatologists, may not own knowledge in the same sense that we did 10 years ago, we do have experience and judgment that allow us to assess the full context of a patient’s individual case, including consideration of the patient’s history and risk factors, but also a determination of which lesions warrant evaluation.
As a specialty, we need to continue to position ourselves as the experts in skin, hair, and nails. Rest assured that your Academy is monitoring these issues and will work to protect access to our specialty’s care. I think we can all agree that technology can help us continue to deliver the best possible patient care, but there is no technologic substitute for our extensive medical experience and expertise.
