From emerging AI to rising consolidation, numerous trends continue to shape the future of healthcare.
Three physicians joined Becker’s to discuss what gives them hope in medicine.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Ed Corbett, MD. Former Deputy CMO of Health Catalyst (Highland, Utah): The future of medicine is a little brighter as we seem to be on the cusp of a technology cycle with real potential to significantly change how medical care is delivered to the patient. We are seeing progress in reducing the administrative burden on physicians. We are on the verge of AI tools that reduce the cognitive burden and provide trusted, data- driven insights. It’s a potential future where physicians will be empowered to focus more on the patient, build relationships of trust, and continuously improve the care that they provide.
Frederick Hoenke, MD. Family Medicine Physician and Geriatrician at Marquette (Mich.) General Health System: Medicine, despite all of the pressures and problems, remains the greatest profession. No one else has the ability and the opportunity to so greatly impact the lives of people [for the better], one patient at a time. We have the supreme privilege of people confiding in us and trusting us in their most vulnerable, difficult times, with the most intimate of problems. The need for doctors continues to increase, patients express their desire to see a doctor as the highest trained health professional at an increasing rate. We must respond by continuing to improve the practical training and professional qualities of our physicians, and it starts in medical school.
Brandon Ortega, MD. Orthopedic Surgeon at Long Beach (Calif.) Lakewood Orthopaedic Institute: One thing I’m hopeful about in medicine, especially with the rise of AI, is that it has the potential to bring us back to the human side of healthcare. AI can handle a lot of the time-consuming, administrative grunt work that burns doctors out: charting, documentation, prior [authorizations], data mining. If we leverage it right, we could spend less time behind a screen and more time actually being with our patients. Imagine having the bandwidth to listen, explain, and connect because AI took care of the tedious tasks that don’t require our expertise or empathy. In spine surgery, AI is helping with pre-op planning, intra-op navigation and predicting outcomes, which makes surgeries safer, more efficient and tailored to the individual patient. It frees up mental space for us to focus on the judgment calls — the part of medicine that only a human can do well.