Q: You’d like to see more physicians than MBAs in decision-making positions. Why? What real changes do you think that would effectuate?
A: Physicians and nurses were administrators for decades before insurance company penny-pinching and government regulations led hospitals to hire “bean counters” to replace them. It is a tremendous change for the worse, to have people making decisions for patients whose primary consideration is the bottom line.
Q: What’s next professionally?
A: Small-volume ERs, where I don’t have to do discharge planning while being harassed by insurance company reps.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A: Retired.
Q: If you weren’t a doctor, what would you be doing right now?
A: Law enforcement.
Q: Devices like iPhones and tablets can take away from patient face time. But they can also be valuable. How do you balance that? How do you encourage younger docs to do so, particularly when they’re much more used to having smartphones glued to their hands?
A: I use my iPhone when I’m with patients … but only when they can see the reason I need it to help them, such as looking up the side effects of a medication. Electronic health records can work on an iPad, but I hesitate to use them unless the patient knows just what I am doing, such as looking up results of a lab test that concerns them. Taking a computer on wheels into a patient’s room means that I spend part of the visit looking at a screen instead of at the patient, and I prefer to avoid it if at all possible.
Q: What’s the best book you’ve read recently? Why?
A: The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. Great continuation of the Holmes stories, with a seamless link to [Sir Arthur] Conan Doyle’s style.
Q: How many Apple products (phones, iPods, tablets, iTunes, etc.) do you interface with in a given week?
A: Three.
Q: What’s your favorite social network? Do you use it all for work or professional development?
A: Facebook. Heck no, it’s just fun.
Q: What’s next in your Netflix queue?
A: Last two episodes of Game of Thrones season 5.
Richard Quinn is a freelance writer in New Jersey.