By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    stress disorder
    5 Ways To Manage Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
    October 27, 2021
    Medical device classification and development strategies
    Medical device classification and development strategies
    January 19, 2022
    varicose veins
    Varicose Veins Prevention: 3 Lifestyle Changes to Make Right Now
    May 1, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Essential Strategies for Improving Your Medical Practice
    January 25, 2023
    Staying Positive While Living with Mesothelioma
    January 24, 2023
    The Many Health Benefits of Being Outdoors
    January 17, 2023
    How to Assess a Safe Placement of a Nasogastric or Nasoenteric Tube and Its Complications
    January 19, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    9 Great Resources For Your Medical Assistant Training
    August 16, 2018
    Waiting for HIPAA Clarity? Who Has Time?
    September 19, 2014
    Topics You Need To Study And Prepare For When Taking The NCLEX
    August 12, 2020
    Latest News
    Simplifying the Genetic Testing Process: How At-Home Kits are Changing the Game
    January 25, 2023
    9 Hospitals That Have Introduced Green Initiatives
    January 25, 2023
    Why a Health Retreat Can Be the Best Medicine
    January 12, 2023
    Best Money-Saving Tips for Health Managers
    January 12, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Five-Year Medical Degree
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Latest News
ABA therapist
Everything You Need to Know About Applied Behavior Analysis
Health
Small Lifestyle Changes That Can Have A Big Impact On Your Well-Being
lifestyle Wellness
The Future Of Medicine: How Immunotherapy Is Saving Lives
The Future Of Medicine: How Immunotherapy Is Saving Lives
Technology
medical practice and technology advancement
6 Essential Strategies for Improving Your Medical Practice
Technology
digital dental x-ray
How Does A Digital Dental X-Ray Work?
Dental health
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > The Five-Year Medical Degree
eHealthTechnology

The Five-Year Medical Degree

etwilson
Last updated: 2015/08/10 at 6:59 PM
etwilson
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Every five years, medical professionals are reinventing the wheel.

That is according to Krista Maddox, Assistant Dean for the University of Cincinnati’s Nursing program, who estimates that the half-life for what constitutes modern medical knowledge is only five years. Beyond that, assumptions, practices, and knowledge itself becomes obsolete.

Every five years, medical professionals are reinventing the wheel.

That is according to Krista Maddox, Assistant Dean for the University of Cincinnati’s Nursing program, who estimates that the half-life for what constitutes modern medical knowledge is only five years. Beyond that, assumptions, practices, and knowledge itself becomes obsolete.

More Read

AI helps healthcare providers with record keeping through the use of medical code extraction

Medical Code Extraction Using Artificial Intelligence

Maximizing Outcomes Through Effective Patient Engagement Strategies
Telemedicine App Development Cost & Key Features
Robotic Technologies Can Improve Hospital Working Conditions
Materials and Techniques for Taking Dental Impressions

Maddox brings up the issue to emphasize how important it is not just to engage medical students with the latest technology and training, but to paint a realistic picture from early on of just how challenging the field has become. It is not enough to survive med school or earn a nursing license; medicine, more than ever, entails a lifelong commitment to learning.

That kind of realism seems to be absent from much of the debate regarding ICD-10, the adoption of which looms on the calendars of many practitioners as the October 1 deadline approaches this year. After four years of delays to full implementation, CMS has finally put its foot down and refused to entertain any further postponements for switching to the updated (and hugely expanded) catalog of medical codes.

Except, of course, for the first year of implementation, during which time coding errors will not be penalized or lead to delayed or deferred reimbursement.

Taken together with the previous exemptions, that brings the total years of delay up to five—Maddox’s magic number for sea changes in healthcare.

Providing some learning curve forgiveness to an already overburdened class of professionals is understandable. ICD-10’s rollout coincides with a multitude of expensive, challenging initiatives, from the Affordable Care Act to Meaningful Use—to say nothing of the demographic shift in patients (more, older, chronic care demand from greying Boomers) threatening to stretch a limited supply of nurses and physicians to its limit.

But the tone of righteous indignation and outright rejection of such evolution is counterproductive, and misleading. ICD-10 did not evolve in a vacuum; the surge in codes grew from a need for greater precision in the documentation chain, for everything from treatment to insurance and research. Likewise, Meaningful Use was an imperfect attempt to get ahead of a necessary and inevitable shift to digital in medicine. That it obliges doctors and nurses to adjust deeply ingrained habits is disruptive, but also just another example of how knowledge decays, and change thrives.

Amid all this entropy, though, an important element of the healthcare equation goes largely overlooked.

Health literacy among patients is critically low. Now that care is being bound up in technology, patients have both their historically best opportunity to improve health literacy, or a compounded obstacle to becoming more engaged in their own treatment. Online health portals, wearable tech, mobile devices, and electronic records all stand to reward patients who seek to build their health literacy on a foundation of tech savvy.

For those to whom computers and smart tech is still just as foreign as the jargon of medicine, developing literacy in either field may seem equally insurmountable. And unlike doctors and nurses in training, these patients didn’t sign up for a lifetime of learning curves.

It should not be incumbent upon the healthcare professionals to remedy this situation.

On a national level, more can be done to integrate the basics of health knowledge into primary school curriculums. Insurers, through the combined power of the ACA’s tenets and the burgeoning capacity of big data to paint an ever-clearer picture of risk pools and liabilities, can provide greater incentives for patients to educate and engage themselves in prevention, and treatment.

Keeping doctors ahead of the curve is necessary to make modern medicine work; but so too must patients become more active in listening, understanding, and responding in more meaningful ways. This is the essence of what is to be the future of American medicine, known as accountable care. The idea that patients (and insurers) will only pay for treatment that works (as opposed to any treatment that is ordered or performed, with no accountability) requires that patients, not just doctors, take responsibility for outcomes.

Better technology makes education possible, for patients and professionals. The will to learn—perpetually—has yet to catch up, and take treatment with it.

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
etwilson August 10, 2015
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Patient-Lead-Generation-Physician-Marketing-Medical-Practice-Marketing Calculating the Lifetime Value of a New Patient for Your Medical Practice
Next Article You’re the Boss: Manage Your Disease

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

ABA therapist
Everything You Need to Know About Applied Behavior Analysis
Health January 26, 2023
Small Lifestyle Changes That Can Have A Big Impact On Your Well-Being
lifestyle Wellness January 26, 2023
The Future Of Medicine: How Immunotherapy Is Saving Lives
The Future Of Medicine: How Immunotherapy Is Saving Lives
Technology January 26, 2023
medical practice and technology advancement
6 Essential Strategies for Improving Your Medical Practice
Technology January 25, 2023

You Might also Like

The Future Of Medicine: How Immunotherapy Is Saving Lives
Technology

The Future Of Medicine: How Immunotherapy Is Saving Lives

January 26, 2023
medical practice and technology advancement
Technology

6 Essential Strategies for Improving Your Medical Practice

January 25, 2023
patient tracking systems for medical staff and innovation
Medical InnovationsTechnology

Patient Tracking Systems: Improving Facilities for Patients and Medical Staff

January 2, 2023
telemedicine business feature benefits
TechnologyTelemedicine

Building Telemedicine System: Features and Tips

December 28, 2022
Follow US

© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?