We benefit from the wonders of medical technology, however, medicine may be a victim of its own success.
More and more, physicians are becoming dependent on technology, resulting in less patient contact and in a loss (or atrophy) of physical examination skills. We treat the CT scan result and not the patient.
This last point is beautifully explored, in a New York Times commentary, by Abraham Verghese, infectious diseases physician and world renown author of books such as Cutting for Stone, The Tennis Partner and My Own Country.
Patients will sense if physicians are taking shortcuts, when history taking is minimized and when physical exams are done hastily and sloppily. These habits will undermine the establishment of a true doctor-patient relationship, one built on trust and confidence.
Technology is meant to supplement and not supplant the patient-physician encounter.
