Digitizing Medicine?

We live in an increasingly digital world. And sometimes, it seems like there is no end to what can be dissolved physically in favor of its digital equivalent. Books, bank accounts, and newspapers are not dead physically, but are largely being dumped by the masses in favor of more efficient and convenient virtual versions.

But there are some things that seem to be resisting this trend, no? Like medicine, for one. Though medicinal technology has certainly progressed lightyears in the 20th century, it remains for the most part outside of the trending fad of moving everything into virtual spaces. Surgery, though now conducted with more refined tools, is still done in private rooms away from the public. You are still diagnosed and watched over by physical doctors and nurses, in tangible hospitals and clinics.

Though this may be true, there seems to be mounting pressure to the contrary. We've had robotic surgery for over a decade now, and it has proven very effective in certain fields at helping surgeons keep a steady hand or perform tricky operations that could endanger the patient if done incorrectly. But what about taking things a step further?

Eric Topol, and American cardiologist and medical researcher, recently wrote a book entitled The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Healthcare. In his book, he argues that the medicinal field desperately needs to come out of the "cocoon" that may be leaving it in danger of becoming obsolete and, he says, even harmful to the public.

But are his concerns relevant? His past exploits have shown that there is a market for his ideas. At CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2010 in Las Vegas, Topol presented several consumer medical devices, including a handheld ultrasound scanner. For those of you that are unaware, CES is not a place where doctors normally present. Topol also recently sat down with Wired magazine in for an interview to discuss some more of his ideas.

So what does this mean for us as sociologists or just students who want to stay informed with what is going on in our culture? Is this pressure for increasing digitization in the medicinal field just another step towards you being viewed as a consumer and nothing more, or is this a beneficial side effect of our digital age? Though there may be a dehumanizing effect to having your x-rays namelessly reviewed by a doctor in India and sent back, there is something nifty about being able to ultrasound yourself without having to pay to go to a doctor.

For example, what do you make of a man's open-heart surgery being live-tweeted by the doctors performing it, including video and pictures? Is this an educational experience, or does it reduce the man being operated on to a mere slab of meat to learn something from? This is a tricky situation, but I like to believe that there is a happy medium somewhere in there.

Also, I would sincerely like to apologize for the absurd number of links in this post.