April 29th, 2011 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in Opinion
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Last month on match day, fourth year medical students from around the country — myself included — found out where we’ll be doing our residencies.
I was extremely excited to find out I matched at my home institution, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, to do my Emergency Medicine residency, a program rich in EM culture and innovation.
Almost immediately after “The Match”, iMedicalApps received emails from fourth year medical students questioning what type of mobile device they should purchase for residency — almost all asking between an iPhone or Android.
We even found out some residency directors were already making suggestions for the incoming residents, choosing the iPhone. Below is an excerpt from one such e-mail:
If you are considering a change in mobile companies, please look carefully at an iphone. There are many apps that we will be using in the near future and it would be a significant benefit to have one.
After much debate between the editors at iMedicalApps, we have came to the conclusion that the choice of smartphone for not only a resident, but for physicians and others in healthcare has now become abundantly clear — the iPhone.
Here’s why. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
April 21st, 2011 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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The future direction of American health care is unclear. Certainly the cost trend as it exists is unsustainable with health care costs being a major concern of the private sector, the government, and individuals. How does the nation manage costs while ensuring high quality medical care, access, and service? Proposals include increasing competition among insurers, providers, and hospitals to drive down prices or giving more financial responsibility to patients via higher deductibles and co-pays with the belief that they will demand price transparency, shop around for the best price, and as a result slow health care costs.
What if both ideas are wrong?
While it is possible these plans might work, I cannot help but notice the similarities in the challenges for patients in navigating the health care system and consumers figuring out how to purchase and use technology. Walk into your neighborhood electronics store. Individuals are overwhelmed with the number of product choices, manufacturers, differences in technical specifications and features. In the majority of situations, consumers are unsure of what they are purchasing. They want something that just works, whether surfing the internet, making home movies, or being connected with loved ones. The gap in knowledge between an expert and a consumer is great and often unintentional and unapparent. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
Last month on match day, fourth year medical students from around the country — myself included — found out where we’ll be doing our residencies.
