How willing are dermatologists to embrace new technologies and incorporate them into their practice?
"As in all areas, there are individuals that are comfortable in their ways and don’t feel the need to add ‘complexity’ to their practice since they have a system that ‘already works,’ " said Dr. Ashish Bhatia of the department of clinical dermatology at Northwestern University, Chicago.
Courtesy The Dermatology Institute, Naperville
Dr. Ashish C. Bhatia
But dermatologists are a "creative group, often seeking out new ways to utilize technology to improve their patient care," said Dr. Bhatia in an interview. Interestingly, it’s not just the "younger, tech-savvy, recent graduates" who embrace new technologies.
As for which technologies are most popular, he noted that tablet computers have become ubiquitous.
"If you are not using one to share information with your patients, you are missing out on a great opportunity. Even elderly patients love flipping through before and after pictures that help them understand an upcoming procedure. Most patients find it easy to use, and it often sparks conversation about other procedures," Dr. Bhatia said.
He was a guest editor of the September issue of Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, which focused on "Information Technology in Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery." He and his colleagues delved into technologies that can help modernize today’s practice.
YouTube
"If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a video is worth 100,000 or more," wrote Dr. Bhatia and his colleagues. YouTube and other video resources provide an invaluable and revolutionary tool for educating students.
"Thousands of videos scattered on the Internet depict everything from drawing blood to performing an appendectomy, and students can access these videos to better prepare themselves for reality, that is, standing at a patient’s bedside or performing in the operating room," they noted.
Online videos, along with textbook reviews and discussions of procedural steps, have become a "routine and important tool in preparing a student," and studies have demonstrated the value of online learning (Sem. Cut. Med. Surg. 2012;31:163-7).
Advantages of this type of online learning include convenience, freedom of navigation, the option of repeated practice or viewing, and access to high-quality videos and images. This Internet resource, which allows for storage and retrieval of vast amounts of information, can greatly enhance the learning experience of both students and medical professionals if used properly.
The use of video-based online learning is increasing in dermatologic surgery, but the field remains "behind the times," – compared with gynecology and plastic surgery – in terms of the volume of high-quality videos and associated blog posts found online, they noted.
Nonetheless, there are a number of available video resources, in addition to YouTube. Keep in mind that there is a link between quality and price, they warned.
"Sites that are free to users are unregulated, content is posted in a haphazard and disorganized fashion, and [the sites] leave it up to the user to search for desired information," wrote Dr. Bhatia and his colleagues, noting that paid sites tend to have a clear focus on education, while the goal of free user-generated sites tends to be unclear.
Still, YouTube is the leading source of videographic information, including surgical videos. Surgery posts from physicians, patients, surgical equipment manufacturers, and dermatologic societies such as the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and the American College of Mohs Surgery, can be found there.
And while YouTube serves as a new medium for education and awareness, it appears that its primary use by physicians is for advertising. "Several individual and/or group practices are leveraging the new channel to reach customers and educate them about their services. Marketing-savvy physicians are also posting patient testimonials and videos of patients discussing procedures they have undergone, such as surgical excision and Mohs surgery/reconstruction," the authors noted. Comment threads for videos indicate that patients are also using YouTube as a forum to discuss fears about upcoming procedures and to share experiences and obtain information.
"The Internet serves as a paradigm shift in how we access and share information in written form. YouTube has the potential to add to this paradigm shift in terms of visual information. However academic institutions, especially in the field of medicine and surgery, have not yet harnessed this potential," they wrote, adding that organizations with readily available educational videos, and thought leaders in dermatologic surgery could be making material available online to help self-learning physicians enhance their skill set.
Surgical Video Sources
• YouTube (Google)
• Virtual Dermsurg (Derm Education Foundation)
• Procedures Consult (Elsevier)
• MedClip (Medical Videos)