Mesothelioma Patients May Not Get the Full Attention of Their High-Tech Doctors
Just as some doctors are encouraging their peers to get plugged in and start using Twitter, Facebook and smartphone apps to help in the treatment of their mesothelioma patients, others are saying too much technology is distracting to doctors. According to a New York Times article, all this technology leaves doctors and nurses focusing on their newest gadget and not the patient.
Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers, and is often treated by specialists. However, in this age of ubiquitous technology, mesothelioma information is just a click away from doctors through a text, a Twitter or through perusing a medical journal on their phone.
Many hospitals have “invested heavily” in the newest technology, but now that doctors have 24-hour access to surfing the internet or simply texting their family members, “distracted doctoring” has now become problematic.
The NY Times article cited a survey where 55 percent of the 439 medical technicians surveyed admitted to talking on their cellphones or texting while monitoring heart bypass machines or during surgery. These same technicians, however, admitted that talking or texting during surgery is “always an unsafe practice.”
Dr. Peter J. Papadakos, an anesthesiologist and director of critical care at the University of Rochester Medical Center and author of an article on distracted doctoring in Anesthesiology News told the NY Times, “My gut feeling is lives are in danger. We’re not educating people about the problem [of electronic distractions], and it’s getting worse.”
In fact, at least one lawyer has handled cases where distracted doctors have left their patients permanently injured. In one case, a patient was paralyzed during surgery while the doctor talked on a cellphone.
In this new high-tech world where doctors use on-line checklists to ensure proper protocol, patients’ medical records are maintained on-line and prescriptions are routed electronically directly from the doctor’s office to the pharmacy, it is nearly impossible for hospitals and patients to interact without technology. However, Dr. Peter W. Carmel, president of the American Medical Association, a physicians group, said while technology “offers great potential in health care,” doctors’ first priority should be with the patient.
Determining the appropriate mesothelioma treatment for a patient is a difficult and complex decision for patients and their oncologists. Doctors must focus fully on the patient to understand their symptoms, side effects and any subtle changes that may have occurred since their last visit. While technology is a welcome advance in medicine, it is important to use it to help patients and not harm them.
