Medicine since ages!

Medicine has been practiced since ages. It has metamorphosed to its present form through various stages. We all know that medicine involved treating symptoms in pre 19^th century and moved to treatment of diseases in 20^th century and as we move into 21^st century, it(medicine) is working its way towards Prevention, Prediction and hopefully Preempt disease & suffering.

This transition of medicine also involves a significant change in the relationship between the doctor and his patient.

Paternalism

Doctor knows the best – an age-old idiom is no longer acceptable. This attitude was arrived from the belief that doctor is a representative of god and is an instrument of the almighty which is represented in the symbol of Medicine – Caduceus. Added to this philosophy, is the expectation of the Doctor (and the medical associations through their of Code of Ethics) for a need of unquestioned trust in his knowledge and judgement.

Democratisation of Medicine:

Medicine and the knowledge of health has been in the hands of select few and has been closely guarded. This could be because of limited access to health information or the attitudes and social mores. The age of internet has flattened the world of medicine and is making accessing health information easier for everybody who is interested. And obviously the patient is the important vested party and such a access gives him immense power over his health and disease. Over and above this, the social networks crossing traditional boundaries and across continents allows patients come together, share notes and have become another source of information.

Democratisation means ability to access  information, Personal medical Equipment to study/monitor their body vitals and reach the doctor of choice at their convenient time and place of choice.

The biggest push for this democratisation of medicine has been the smartphone which in a span of few years reached the hands of billions. It just needs an internet connection to be a change-maker.

The smartphone revolutionised communication giving the individual a sense of freedom, access to information and in the healthcare, with the help of various apps and attachments, the smartphone can empower the patient to monitor his vitals, conduct tests and perform physical examination on himself, and most importantly he can generate, analyse and ‘own’ his own data.

Smartphone, as we discussed earlier is going to be the vehicle for democratisation of medicine and more importantly, a significant contributor for patient engagement. It through various adaptors and sensors can help patients manage themselves, monitor their physiological metrics enabling them to be co-managers of their health along with their physicians.

In this scenario, patient is no longer completely dependant on the doctor from simple to  complex issues. Internet and social media has given him access to information and the various apps and portable instruments have allowed gathering and montioring one’s own body and more importantly the proliferation of AI has allowed, computer to analyse this data and give suggestions. This has allowed the patient to understand his own body and take a call when to meet the doctor. And as a result, the doctor has to work along with the patient as a partner in his health.

So the smart phone has laid down the foundations for Collaborative Medicine between a knowledgable  and empowered patient and his Doctor. It is no more top down approach in information sharing in healthcare and thus medicine is truly flattened by the Technology.

The new age of medicine is on the anvil. The way medicine is practiced is for a upheaval and hence the relationship between the doctor and his patient is sure for a change, a change for the better!