Questões de Inglês

What are the key trends in digital medicine?

By Barry O'Dowd

Technology is promoting changes in the provision of healthcare and medicine on a global basis. What changes can we expect to see in the coming years?

Gone are the days when healthcare was confined to a doctor’s office or a hospital. Information technology has introduced the age of digital medicine, and a growing number of traditional and non-traditional IT (information technology) companies are stepping into the fray, offering a variety of new healthcare tools and services.

Advances in sensor technology, widespread wireless capabilities and exponential increases in electronic data and digital analytics – these are just a few of the developments already revolutionizing health care and digital medicine, from disease prevention and detection, to treatment and monitoring.

The digital revolution is changing the very nature of medical practice.

Technologies such as telemedicine are redefining how doctors and patients interact, while new and plentiful sources of personalized health information and advice are, to some extent, replacing physicians.

Google, Apple and Microsoft have invested heavily in platforms that offer consumers the ability to track and capture data on their own health. These platforms and others like them are enabled by sensor-equipped, wearable devices that register movement, heart and muscle activity, as well as record an abundance of data points, such as body temperature, hydration, glucose and oxygen levels, respiration, ingestion and sleep cycles.

Governments are also playing a role.

In the United States, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is increasing readmission penalties on hospitals to improve the quality of care and reduce the high cost of repeat hospitalizations. This move has prompted hospitals to adopt telehealth solutions to remotely monitor patients after they have been discharged.

On the information-analysis front, the potential power of "big data" aggregation and cognitive computing is manifested in a very compelling way by IBM’s Medical Sieve project.

The name is based on the goal: to create a digital sieve that filters clinical and diagnostic-imaging data to help physicians diagnose and treat patients with more precision. The system relies on cognitive computing to analyze multimodal sources of data – such as pharmacy records, EMR, labs and ADT – combined with advanced clinical knowledge.

When proven, this technology will revolutionize the field of radiology, just as x-rays, ultrasound, PET scans and MRI have in the past. All these trends and developments foretell an increase in the growth and the prosperity of a fast emerging digital medicine industry sector.

Ultimately, digital medicine is promoting a major shift from the old, "one size fits all" approach to a much more cost effective, customized approach.

Adapted from . Access 25 Aug. 2017.

Glossary:

fray: batalha; widespread: altamente difundido; to be discharged: ter alta; sieve: ferramenta de filtragem; ultimately: em última instância.

What are the key trends in digital medicine?

By Barry O'Dowd

Technology is promoting changes in the provision of healthcare and medicine on a global basis. What changes can we expect to see in the coming years?

Gone are the days when healthcare was confined to a doctor’s office or a hospital. Information technology has introduced the age of digital medicine, and a growing number of traditional and non-traditional IT (information technology) companies are stepping into the fray, offering a variety of new healthcare tools and services.

Advances in sensor technology, widespread wireless capabilities and exponential increases in electronic data and digital analytics – these are just a few of the developments already revolutionizing health care and digital medicine, from disease prevention and detection, to treatment and monitoring.

The digital revolution is changing the very nature of medical practice.

Technologies such as telemedicine are redefining how doctors and patients interact, while new and plentiful sources of personalized health information and advice are, to some extent, replacing physicians.

Google, Apple and Microsoft have invested heavily in platforms that offer consumers the ability to track and capture data on their own health. These platforms and others like them are enabled by sensor-equipped, wearable devices that register movement, heart and muscle activity, as well as record an abundance of data points, such as body temperature, hydration, glucose and oxygen levels, respiration, ingestion and sleep cycles.

Governments are also playing a role.

In the United States, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is increasing readmission penalties on hospitals to improve the quality of care and reduce the high cost of repeat hospitalizations. This move has prompted hospitals to adopt telehealth solutions to remotely monitor patients after they have been discharged.

On the information-analysis front, the potential power of "big data" aggregation and cognitive computing is manifested in a very compelling way by IBM’s Medical Sieve project.

The name is based on the goal: to create a digital sieve that filters clinical and diagnostic-imaging data to help physicians diagnose and treat patients with more precision. The system relies on cognitive computing to analyze multimodal sources of data – such as pharmacy records, EMR, labs and ADT – combined with advanced clinical knowledge.

When proven, this technology will revolutionize the field of radiology, just as x-rays, ultrasound, PET scans and MRI have in the past. All these trends and developments foretell an increase in the growth and the prosperity of a fast emerging digital medicine industry sector.

Ultimately, digital medicine is promoting a major shift from the old, "one size fits all" approach to a much more cost effective, customized approach.

Adapted from . Access 25 Aug. 2017.

Glossary:

fray: batalha; widespread: altamente difundido; to be discharged: ter alta; sieve: ferramenta de filtragem; ultimately: em última instância.

What are the key trends in digital medicine?

By Barry O'Dowd

Technology is promoting changes in the provision of healthcare and medicine on a global basis. What changes can we expect to see in the coming years?

Gone are the days when healthcare was confined to a doctor’s office or a hospital. Information technology has introduced the age of digital medicine, and a growing number of traditional and non-traditional IT (information technology) companies are stepping into the fray, offering a variety of new healthcare tools and services.

Advances in sensor technology, widespread wireless capabilities and exponential increases in electronic data and digital analytics – these are just a few of the developments already revolutionizing health care and digital medicine, from disease prevention and detection, to treatment and monitoring.

The digital revolution is changing the very nature of medical practice.

Technologies such as telemedicine are redefining how doctors and patients interact, while new and plentiful sources of personalized health information and advice are, to some extent, replacing physicians.

Google, Apple and Microsoft have invested heavily in platforms that offer consumers the ability to track and capture data on their own health. These platforms and others like them are enabled by sensor-equipped, wearable devices that register movement, heart and muscle activity, as well as record an abundance of data points, such as body temperature, hydration, glucose and oxygen levels, respiration, ingestion and sleep cycles.

Governments are also playing a role.

In the United States, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is increasing readmission penalties on hospitals to improve the quality of care and reduce the high cost of repeat hospitalizations. This move has prompted hospitals to adopt telehealth solutions to remotely monitor patients after they have been discharged.

On the information-analysis front, the potential power of "big data" aggregation and cognitive computing is manifested in a very compelling way by IBM’s Medical Sieve project.

The name is based on the goal: to create a digital sieve that filters clinical and diagnostic-imaging data to help physicians diagnose and treat patients with more precision. The system relies on cognitive computing to analyze multimodal sources of data – such as pharmacy records, EMR, labs and ADT – combined with advanced clinical knowledge.

When proven, this technology will revolutionize the field of radiology, just as x-rays, ultrasound, PET scans and MRI have in the past. All these trends and developments foretell an increase in the growth and the prosperity of a fast emerging digital medicine industry sector.

Ultimately, digital medicine is promoting a major shift from the old, "one size fits all" approach to a much more cost effective, customized approach.

Adapted from . Access 25 Aug. 2017.

Glossary:

fray: batalha; widespread: altamente difundido; to be discharged: ter alta; sieve: ferramenta de filtragem; ultimately: em última instância.

What are the key trends in digital medicine?

By Barry O'Dowd

Technology is promoting changes in the provision of healthcare and medicine on a global basis. What changes can we expect to see in the coming years?

Gone are the days when healthcare was confined to a doctor’s office or a hospital. Information technology has introduced the age of digital medicine, and a growing number of traditional and non-traditional IT (information technology) companies are stepping into the fray, offering a variety of new healthcare tools and services.

Advances in sensor technology, widespread wireless capabilities and exponential increases in electronic data and digital analytics – these are just a few of the developments already revolutionizing health care and digital medicine, from disease prevention and detection, to treatment and monitoring.

The digital revolution is changing the very nature of medical practice.

Technologies such as telemedicine are redefining how doctors and patients interact, while new and plentiful sources of personalized health information and advice are, to some extent, replacing physicians.

Google, Apple and Microsoft have invested heavily in platforms that offer consumers the ability to track and capture data on their own health. These platforms and others like them are enabled by sensor-equipped, wearable devices that register movement, heart and muscle activity, as well as record an abundance of data points, such as body temperature, hydration, glucose and oxygen levels, respiration, ingestion and sleep cycles.

Governments are also playing a role.

In the United States, for example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is increasing readmission penalties on hospitals to improve the quality of care and reduce the high cost of repeat hospitalizations. This move has prompted hospitals to adopt telehealth solutions to remotely monitor patients after they have been discharged.

On the information-analysis front, the potential power of "big data" aggregation and cognitive computing is manifested in a very compelling way by IBM’s Medical Sieve project.

The name is based on the goal: to create a digital sieve that filters clinical and diagnostic-imaging data to help physicians diagnose and treat patients with more precision. The system relies on cognitive computing to analyze multimodal sources of data – such as pharmacy records, EMR, labs and ADT – combined with advanced clinical knowledge.

When proven, this technology will revolutionize the field of radiology, just as x-rays, ultrasound, PET scans and MRI have in the past. All these trends and developments foretell an increase in the growth and the prosperity of a fast emerging digital medicine industry sector.

Ultimately, digital medicine is promoting a major shift from the old, "one size fits all" approach to a much more cost effective, customized approach.

Adapted from . Access 25 Aug. 2017.

Glossary:

fray: batalha; widespread: altamente difundido; to be discharged: ter alta; sieve: ferramenta de filtragem; ultimately: em última instância.

Instant messaging in the workplace is no substitute for a professional conversation

By: Sadie Mullin

November 14, 2017

¹ Instant messaging poses a significant threat to effective communication in the workplace. NHS’s view on use of instant messaging by medical professionals to discuss patients is clear. Due to the potential risk to confidential data, it is currently banned. However, recent research shows that it is widely used amongst professionals.

² Most medical and surgical firms now communicate through a communal instant messaging group. Throughout the day, questions are asked predominantly by junior members and answered by seniors. Places to meet and ward rounds are also discussed. How do we train ourselves to consistently separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of information received?

³ Detailed conversations among medical professionals are paramount to patient safety. They always have been. They are how we have been trained to communicate with each other. They represent core values of our profession and yet they are becoming obsolete. An instant message is no substitute; it does not possess the communicative vigor to keep patients safe. Furthermore, all opportunity for tone of voice, body language and a platform for prudent questions to be asked is lost. We underestimate how the dynamism in our exchange has the potential to directly enhance or hinder patient care.

⁴ Finally, instant messaging regarding, for example, an unwell patient is inappropriate. In reality, we open our devices at an opportune moment and are faced with a selection of messages, some from family and friends, some from the workplace, most largely unimportant. We are desensitized by the volume and speed at which we are contactable. But a patient’s clinical state is of vital importance. We cannot expect ourselves to be able to sift for clinical gold amongst the barrage of communication from our smartphones.

⁵ Psychiatrists have demonstrated that we aren’t even aware of the vast extent of time we spend using our smartphones. Cognitive bias results in an average 40% underestimate of self-reported vs. real usage time.

⁶ It would be wrong to imply advancement in Information Technology hasn’t enhanced patient safety—it has. But we need to be mindful of what patients stand to lose if the way we communicate with each other continues to shift so rapidly.

Sadie Mullin is an ST1 in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Bristol.

Adapted from: http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/11/14/sadie-mullininstant-messaging-in-the-workplace-is-no-substitute-for-aprofessional-conversation/. Access: 17 March 2018.

Glossary: threat: ameaça; NHS: National Health Service (o servico público de saúde do Reino Unido); ward rounds: turnos hospitalares; the wheat from the chaff: joio do trigo; enhance: melhorar; bias: tendência subjetiva; hinder: prejudicar; understimate: subestimar; sift: peneirar; mindful: alertas

Instant messaging in the workplace is no substitute for a professional conversation

By: Sadie Mullin

November 14, 2017

¹ Instant messaging poses a significant threat to effective communication in the workplace. NHS’s view on use of instant messaging by medical professionals to discuss patients is clear. Due to the potential risk to confidential data, it is currently banned. However, recent research shows that it is widely used amongst professionals.

² Most medical and surgical firms now communicate through a communal instant messaging group. Throughout the day, questions are asked predominantly by junior members and answered by seniors. Places to meet and ward rounds are also discussed. How do we train ourselves to consistently separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of information received?

³ Detailed conversations among medical professionals are paramount to patient safety. They always have been. They are how we have been trained to communicate with each other. They represent core values of our profession and yet they are becoming obsolete. An instant message is no substitute; it does not possess the communicative vigor to keep patients safe. Furthermore, all opportunity for tone of voice, body language and a platform for prudent questions to be asked is lost. We underestimate how the dynamism in our exchange has the potential to directly enhance or hinder patient care.

⁴ Finally, instant messaging regarding, for example, an unwell patient is inappropriate. In reality, we open our devices at an opportune moment and are faced with a selection of messages, some from family and friends, some from the workplace, most largely unimportant. We are desensitized by the volume and speed at which we are contactable. But a patient’s clinical state is of vital importance. We cannot expect ourselves to be able to sift for clinical gold amongst the barrage of communication from our smartphones.

⁵ Psychiatrists have demonstrated that we aren’t even aware of the vast extent of time we spend using our smartphones. Cognitive bias results in an average 40% underestimate of self-reported vs. real usage time.

⁶ It would be wrong to imply advancement in Information Technology hasn’t enhanced patient safety—it has. But we need to be mindful of what patients stand to lose if the way we communicate with each other continues to shift so rapidly.

Sadie Mullin is an ST1 in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Bristol.

Adapted from: http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/11/14/sadie-mullininstant-messaging-in-the-workplace-is-no-substitute-for-aprofessional-conversation/. Access: 17 March 2018.

Glossary: threat: ameaça; NHS: National Health Service (o servico público de saúde do Reino Unido); ward rounds: turnos hospitalares; the wheat from the chaff: joio do trigo; enhance: melhorar; bias: tendência subjetiva; hinder: prejudicar; understimate: subestimar; sift: peneirar; mindful: alertas