�鶹Ů��

Video conferencing technology can now connect patients and physicians almost instantaneously, offering convenience, efficiency and savings. But what happens to the doctor-patient relationship if you're never in the same room? (7/13)

Next time you’re on the operating table and you have one last look around as the anesthesiologist approaches, don’t be too sure that that person in scrubs looking at a smartphone is pulling up vital health data. He or she might be texting a friend, or ordering a new carpet. Cellphone use is not generally restricted in the operating room, but some experts say the time for rules has come. In interviews, many described co-workers’ texting friends and relatives from the surgical suite. Some spoke of colleagues who hide a phone in a drawer and check it when they think no one is watching. (Luthra, 7/14)

It’s been dubbed “Instagram for doctors.” With a tap on their smartphones, medical professionals are using a novel app, called Figure 1, to upload photos, X-rays and other images of their patients’ maladies. Like Facebook for health care, Figure 1 lets colleagues chime in with comments, questions and potential diagnoses. The mobile app, one of thousands populating the health care industry, gives physicians and other health care providers instant, pull-it-from-their-pocket access to unusual clinical cases seen by colleagues around the world. It’s part of a wave of social media and technology tools that are continually changing the way doctors interact with patients – and each other. (Buck, 7/13)