(Snippets from the frontline)
Conveyor-belt medicine
Can business convert medicine into an assembly line model without sacrificing quality?
I can see it manufacturing a car, but can it be applied to patients?
Are there similarities? Maybe. Getting patients into and out of a hospital can be streamlined. Computerize the data, get medical studies done quickly, make a diagnosis, start treatment, and then ship them out. Easy.
But medical professionals (including doctors and nurses) are involved in every aspect of this conveyor-belt and can be a source for errors. From inputting data, obtaining a history and physical, reading a CT scan, or providing medication.
With haste, mistakes can be made.
The difference between a car and a patient is the consequence of making an error. Having a loose door handle is mostly insignificant. Making a wrong diagnosis or giving incorrect treatment could be fatal.
Quality is essential in healthcare, and assembly line medicine exposes patients to a myriad of consequences.
Fast does not mean efficient, especially when patients are on the conveyor-belt.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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