The Doctor of the Future
The Right Combination of Old-fashioned Medicine and Modern Tech
In America, health care has been notoriously difficult to acquire and navigate. There are so many backwards reasons for how things got this way, but suffice it to say, enough is enough. We live in the modern age, one with self-landing rockets and self-driving cars. The world's combined knowledge is one finger swipe away. An app can book you a hotel and plane ticket to almost anywhere on this planet. We have more access to information and an audience at our fingertips than the leaders of the world in 2000.
Yet, despite all this technology, health care has been slow to adapt, bordering on slothful. The technology in health care isn't designed to innovate; it's designed to be a bloated billing platform that distracts us from what matters. That stagnation comes at the expense of patient care, and I think we've all felt this in some way.
Let's say, for example, you have a rash. It's new, and you're concerned.
In the typical fee-for-service primary care office, it goes something like this:
You try sending a message to your doctor about the rash.
A nurse asks you to call and schedule an appointment.
You call the office, and, oh look, the next appointment is 20 days from now. And you're not even seeing your doctor.
You sigh, check your schedule, and arrange the appointment. You then have to ask your employer for time off work.
(Let's pause for a moment: why exactly did this even require an office visit?)
You drive to the office, wait in line, and finally check in while the staff runs your insurance information. You pay the copay or office visit charge, and sit for 30 minutes (or more) in a crowded waiting room.
The nurse calls you back, where he takes your vitals and asks you what one thing you'd like to focus on (because this is a 15-minute visit and you are allowed to have only one problem).
Turns out, the doctor is double booked, and running behind, so you continue to wait in the exam room, or what Jerry Seinfeld calls "the littler waiting room." Another 30+ minutes go by.
The doctor you've never met comes in and immediately turns to face the computer.
You try to tell the story of your rash, but are interrupted every 10 seconds with another question.
Before you know it, the doctor quickly throws in a prescription before walking out of the room.
You try to ask about another issue that's concerning you, but the doctor says it will have to wait until the next appointment in a month.
Time off work = 3-4 hours, or half a day of work. (The frustration is free, though).
Okay, let's compare that with Direct Primary Care:
You text your doctor about your rash.
The doctor sends you a quick form with some questions and asks you to take a picture of it.
Doctor says "Ah, yes" and sends a steroid cream directly to your pharmacy for your newly-diagnosed eczema, with some information about self-care and how to prevent flares.
You go to the pharmacy, and pick up the prescription.
The doctor texts you a few days later to see how you're doing.
There is no step 6.
Time spent = 10 minutes.
No time off work. No having to corral the kids or find a babysitter. No waiting room, office visit charges, or insurance nightmares. This is the way health care should be: simple and effective care, from your doctor. Surprisingly, most things don't actually require an office visit. But when you need one, it should be easy to arrange. Life is complicated enough already.
Patients are not diseases, or numbers, or something to grind through. We're all humans, we all get sick, and we all need care. When it comes to making care easier, anything that can be done, should be done. Virtual + Direct Primary Care—the ability to text, call, video chat, and see your doctor in person when you need—is a complete step function above the current model. The future is here. We have the technology, and we shouldn't be afraid to use it.
Let's welcome health care into the modern world, and put the focus back on what matters: making patients feel better.
