What’s Up Doc... in
the Year 2000?
|
I |
n the next twelve years, we will see the effects of a generation that experienced the advantages of all we have learned as a society.
“How are you feeling today?” asks the computer.
“Please give me the following coded information. You say you have a cold. The doctor will be with you soon."
Please walk into the
diagnostic center; it is a single unit connected to a thermometer, blood
pressure monitor, scale, body composition analyzer and a pulse meter ...the
computerized readout automatically files your medical records and is, of course,
connected to the billing department. Just
check off the magnetic screen in front of you with this electronic pen; we will
define and analyze your medical problem.”
|
I |
n the future, doctors will have greater
capabilities in diagnostic modalities, but will continue to use sophisticated
scanners and scopes, and laboratory tests for a more specific determination of
complex and simple problems. The positive effects of proper nutrition and the
dissemination of health
information in the media will continue to feed the drive for a public more
responsible for its own physical and mental health.
|
T |
he ‘basic’ doctor will work with the improved support systems of trauma networks backed up by computerized intensive care, coupled with the ongoing evolution of sophisticated medical centers that specialize in genetic engineering, advanced fertility, surgery and diagnostics.
You will be able to get what you want: multiple births, a boy or a girl – essentially whatever you wish to pay for. Transplant and reconstructive technology will be advanced and easily procured through third party payment systems of insurance.
New problems will continue to arise in the areas of radiation exposure, pollutants, slow viruses, chronic and infectious diseases.
Increased public awareness and utilization of home diagnostics, such as home pregnancy tests, will force the doctor to become more of a health information provider as well as a sophisticated technologist.
Yes, we will
still have the stethoscope, the tongue blade, and the blood pressure cuff, but
our perceptions of common ailments - colds, coughs, ulcers and chest pain, may
change as more of us come to understand the nature of healing and the
inflammatory process, the effects of nutrition, genetics, and the environment on
our well being.
We shall find more medications which affect the inflammatory reaction, the mechanisms for the activation of cancer and the hybridization of viruses within human genes.
Emphasis on aging and research will
advance considerably, and we will be the guinea pigs.
Looking back, we have witnessed an increased awareness of the value of exercise and nutrition, and have seen the effects of drugs (both good and bad), contraception, potential social devastation by the HTLV-3 virus (AIDS), and other illnesses on society.
In
the next twelve years, we will see the effects of a generation that experienced
increased breastfeeding, was affected by the development of sports medicine,
optimal health maintenance, modalities to contain costs, and the advantages of
all we have learned as a society.
|
B |
ut will the world of health really be so different by the year 2000?
I suspect the focus of medicine will change. With AIDS and its social consequences, the numbers of sexually transmitted diseases have appeared to diminish significantly.
Behavior affects diseases, and by
applying
our understanding of these illnesses, behavioral changes become useful; the same
applies to the effects of cholesterol on coronary disease and smoking on
respiratory disease.
|
S |
ome
things, though, will never change
... hey, wait! One of my patients fell while riding her bike ... oh, no, Mr.
Jones had chest pain, and ... put some pressure on the bleeding and come right
in ...
Eh, what’s up, doc?