Excerpts from The Future of Medicine

Genomics—We have entered into a new era in medical care, the era of genomic medicine. We will see an improved ability to diagnose and even to predict diseases. Read More.

Vaccines—Back in the 1700s smallpox was a serious, debilitating disease that often led to death. But Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids rarely, if ever, got smallpox. Read More.

Imaging: It's Not Just X-Rays Anymore—A radical change for radiology is the development of functional or physiologic imaging instead of just anatomic imaging. Read More.

Devices of the Future—Let’s consider some other devices that can be helpful for patients with heart problems. I will illustrate with the story of Ron Caspian... Read More.

The Operating Room of the Future—It’s the year 2020, and you need surgery; today is the day. You are the sole occupant in a large operating theater. Nurses and doctors are nowhere in sight. Read More.

Sugical Simulation—Residents who warmed up with some video game time were found, in a simulated environment, to have 32 percent fewer errors. Read More.

Preventable Medical Errors: A National Disgrace—Doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and pharmacists are all endowed with a common human characteristic, namely, they all make mistakes. Read More.

Robotics—The concept of robots in surgery is actually quite different than the autonomous or semiautonomous R2D2 of science fiction and the movies. Read More.

Complementary Medicine—Until recently these techniques were not accepted since they lacked a scientific basis, but in the last decade high-quality research is beginning to evaluate them.Read More.

Nanotechnology—Nanotechnology could change the way almost everything is designed and made, from automobile tires to vaccines. Read More.

The Cost of Medicine—Are the costs too high? Maybe, but to me the real culprit is using a device or a drug that is not needed or indicated. Read More.