The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands

Cardiologist Topol argues for taking down the boundaries separating the medical and digital worlds, boldly exploring how patients can shape the medicine of the future. He uses actress Angelina Jolie's prophylactic double mastectomy as an illustration of the power of the individual to change public perception about genetic testing and claiming that every patient now has the opportunity to have their "medical essence" available to them through their "little wireless devices." We are not there yet, but he maps out an ambitious path to hurry us along, calling for patients to be able to access their complete medical record as well as using current "digital strategies" for promoting adherence to all the medications one might be prescribed. The outpatient visit of the future will be equally revolutionized, Topol suggests, with "virtual visits" that he claims will not marginalize doctors and nurses, but rather make them more efficient. The digital age is already saving cancer victims' lives, he says, citing one project in which patients' clinical data and treatment is being shared by doctors to see what works best. Skeptics will have their guard up, though Topol enthusiastically declares that ours is a brave new digital world doctors and patients must fully embrace. Agent: Katinka Matson, Brockman Inc. (Jan.)