Med Students Need More Emphasis on Analytics
By Admin | October 16, 2017
With a higher focus on using technology to keep up with patient records, many doctors complain that they’re simply data entry clerks and not doctors. But the truth is, doctors aren’t being taught what their data entry makes possible--saving even more lives than before.
Ziad Obermeyer, M.D., and Thomas H. Lee, M.D., two health policy researchers from Harvard Medical School, say clinicians need to place more emphasis on data science, allowing computers to use algorithms in order to detect deadly illnesses like stroke and heart attack.
They also point out that even the brightest human minds are no match for the algorithms of today’s machines.
“Undergraduate premedical requirements are absurdly outdated,” the doctors said. “Medical education does little to train doctors in the data science, statistics, or behavioral science required to develop, evaluate, and apply algorithms in clinical practice.”
Interpreting data should become a core function of a clinician’s job, according to a Health Trends Report released by Stanford Medicine. They advocate for physicians getting more training on data interpretation.
For more on what data is available and how it can help patients, read “Harvard researchers: ‘Absurdly outdated’ medical education needs more emphasis on analytics” by Fierce Healthcare.
