In the not-so-distant future, patients bearing imaging-capable smartphones will put doctors’ offices out of business. Oh, the docs themselves will still have jobs. But many will be working from home.
So says the cardiologist and healthcare futurist Eric Topol, MD, author of the influential bestseller The Creative Destruction of Medicine.
Speaking at a gathering of the Healthcare Financial Management Association in Las Vegas this week, Topol displayed diagnostic-quality images of himself acquired by ultrasound at his home.
“130 million ultrasounds are done in the U.S. per year,” he said. “Why shouldn't they be done during the physical exam with modern digital equipment, saving a $100 billion a year?”
Healthcare Finance covered the session:
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.