Technology and innovation
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, FAAD, July 1, 2022
Without intention, but very apropos of the theme of the upcoming AAD Innovation Academy, almost all our articles in this month’s DermWorld are bound by a common thread: technology and the innovative thinking that fuels it. The explosion of technology over the past few decades has dramatically impacted the devices we use, the therapies we offer, and even the ways in which we deliver our care. The benefits are unquestionable, but is there a potential downside?
Technologic advances have certainly enhanced the care we offer our patients. Our feature article this month on the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers exemplifies the huge advances being made in our quest to cure cancer. Every day, novel therapies are becoming available to help manage difficult-to-treat or even previously untreatable conditions. Technologic advances benefit medical research, as our colleague Dr. Kelly Nelson shares with us in our discussion about her intriguing research on the role of dietary fiber and probiotics on the microbiome and melanoma immunotherapy response. Technologic advances help us make better and, hopefully, more certain diagnoses. In her feature article this month, Assistant Editor Emily Margosian explores the role of artificial and augmented intelligence in dermatology, looking at where we are today and what the future might hold. Can a computer do a better job than a dermatologist diagnosing skin diseases? At present time, no; however, we are just setting the stage for what promise to be interesting and hopefully productive relationships between man and machine in the future. Judging from how quickly things have grown over the past few decades, I can only imagine what is yet to come.
What about the possible downsides of technology? There certainly have been unforeseen and unanticipated consequences of some of our technologic advances, even to the point of creating previously undiagnosed medical conditions. I probably should have predicted this years ago when my mother, an avid Doctor Mario fan, developed one of the original cases of “Nintendonitis” from too many hours of play. But I would never have thought that videoconferencing, which all of us have participated in since the onset of COVID, might trigger a novel form of body dysmorphic syndrome. Hours spent online seeing oneself in a front-facing camera can trigger “Zoom dysmorphia” in a small percentage of individuals who are unable to distinguish between reality and the distorted images of their own faces that may result. Affected patients may suffer from anxiety and other mental health issues, and like other patients with body dysmorphic syndrome, may seek our care for cosmetic services. It is important to recognize this condition so you can best provide these patients with the care they need. Hopefully, this insightful article by Assistant Managing Editor Allison Evans will help.
And how could we consider the impact of technology on our practices without mentioning electronic health records? This month, we have useful articles on managing your patient portal (whether you love or hate it!), legal considerations when switching EHRs (which many of us will do), and even an infographic on ransomware in medicine.
But fear not, technology has, for good or bad, not yet pervaded all aspects of medicine. There is still syphilis which, our colleague and DermWorld Editorial Advisor Dr. Ken Katz reminds us, is again on the rise. With this, unfortunately, we are seeing a rise in the incidence of congenital syphilis, a disease I had hoped never to see. My iPhone recently alerted me to a possible COVID exposure. Perhaps there is room for technology even with one of our oldest diseases?
