Recently, it seems like AI-driven chat services are everywhere and as a doctor, I wanted to see what all the hype was about, specifically ChatGPT. The release of ChatGPT took the world by storm and has sparked an AI arms race as Microsoft and Google are now entering the market, hoping to capitalize on the newest technology. ChatGPT has been put through its paces since it was first introduced. It has taken, and passed, several rigorous exams for law and business schools. It has written essays and even earned passing grades from college professors. Incredibly, there doesn’t seem to be much that it can’t do. Of course, as with any new technology, there is a dark side to ChatGPT as ...

As we all get ready to watch the Super Bowl this weekend, the sports pundits are focusing a lot on defense.  Will either defense be able to contain Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts? How many points will each surrender? How much pressure will the defense put on either quarterback? In the medical field, we also play defense.  Doctors and other healthcare workers, especially those in primary care, seek to keep their patients from developing chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes or congestive heart failure.  They also perform vital screening exams, such as colonoscopies and pap smears, to detect cancers early when they are much more easily treated. As players and coaches make their final preparations, I think it’s worth ...

What do you think of when you think about going to the doctor’s office? You probably think of a clean room, a bed with a white sheet on it, and a man or woman wearing a white coat talking to you. Does an iPad screen enter your thoughts? Probably not but perhaps it should.  Telehealth is one of the fastest-growing sectors of healthcare; according to the American Medical Association, it was already outpacing other sectors pre-COVID.  The onset of the pandemic saw an explosion in telehealth services, as offices and clinics had to rapidly adjust to a locked-down world. As an emergency medicine physician, I never imagined that I’d be a part of the telehealth wave.  After all, you need ...

Doctors are upset! Doctors across the country, especially those in primary care, have been up in arms about Medicare’s proposed cuts in reimbursement that are scheduled to go into effect on January 1. They are concerned — rightfully so — that these cuts will be ruinous to their practices and compromise the care they can provide to their patients. As an emergency physician, I worry about the cuts for a different reason: emergency departments might soon be filled with more and more people who can’t access primary care. In a recent commentary in the Washington Post, Shirlene Obuobi, a physician in Chicago, wrote about why patients no longer feel cared for by their physicians. Among other things, she described how Medicare and private ...