Google and HCA Partner to Develop Healthcare Algorithms

[GatorCHOMPions]

WSJ News Exclusive | Google Strikes Deal With Hospital Chain to Develop Healthcare Algorithms

Google and national hospital chain HCA will work to develop algorithms to help improve operating efficiency, monitor patients and guide doctors’ decisions.

www.wsj.com

What could go wrong? Add this to the list of reasons to avoid private equity backed jobs, hospital-based specialties, and ideally both. I remember interviewing for an HCA-based job a few years ago where they had the physicians wear dog tag devices to track your every movement. It knew how long you were in the the patient’s room, at the desk, and even in bathroom. It was no surprise they had 6 openings at the time for a 50k volume ED. In the upcoming job market, though, will people have the option to turn this down?

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[namethatsmell]

This will make the future whistleblower cases all the more juicy...

 

[AlmostAnMD]

I'm pumped

I want my advanced AI to listen in on a drunk schizoaffective patient's rambling HPI, crunch some numbers and tell me to treat him for ehrlichiosis. And I'll tell the court, "hey, the computer my company bought told me to do it"

 

[emergentmd]

Just more widgeting medicine and physicians. They are much smarter and weaponized than docs. They know our grandfather's generation would not put up backtalk from nurses, our father's generation would not put up with metrics, our generation would not put up with trackers, but the next generation would be grateful with tracking in the name of pt care.

In a few generation, the docs/nurses/techs will walk into the hospital hand in hand indistinguishably. I can see a tech going to the doctor and telling him/her to get pt in room 100 a blanket b/c they are busy.

 

[GeneralVeers]

Just more widgeting medicine and physicians. They are much smarter and weaponized than docs. They know our grandfather's generation would not put up backtalk from nurses, our father's generation would not put up with metrics, our generation would not put up with trackers, but the next generation would be grateful with tracking in the name of pt care.

In a few generation, the docs/nurses/techs will walk into the hospital hand in hand indistinguishably. I can see a tech going to the doctor and telling him/her to get pt in room 100 a blanket b/c they are busy.

I'm so glad to be done with full time clinical medicine soon. It's going to get worse and worse. I'd never wear a tracker. It would be like one of those movies where they put the tracking device on a car or animal. Whoever was monitoring my tracker would get very confused by the results.

 

[emergentmd]

I remember when I left the hospital and admin brought up tracking. They would be all over my A$$ b/c I go to the doc lounge/cafeteria 4-6 times a shift on top of my bathroom breaks. They would prob have fired me for leaving the department so often and forget to see that I have the best pph, best throughput, and all the nurses loved me for treating pts appropriately.

 

[Birdstrike]

Just imagine if AI makes clinical medicine like radiology, where we can sit behind a screen, never walk in the same room as a patient or even touch them, yet still do our jobs.

 

[pkwraith]

Most of the early stages is going to be the garbage in, garbage out problem. For 70% of normal patients, algorithymic decision making will probably be fine.
But, your average patient with 10 different unrelated 10/10 somatic complaints of equally weighted importance, in which most of us have learn to just ignore, is likely to trigger a million dollar workup for every visit.

 

[NurWollen]

Is corporate medicine infiltrating other countries' healthcare systems like it is here? I'm not sure corporate medical decision making is actually an improvement over pick-your-favorite socialized healthcare scheme like in Europe. I mean it's fine right now, but if they start making me wear a tracker....

I mean, if I wanted to be questioned about how long I spent in the bathroom, I could have skipped med school and stayed working in a call center.

 

[GeneralVeers]

I remember when I left the hospital and admin brought up tracking. They would be all over my A$$ b/c I go to the doc lounge/cafeteria 4-6 times a shift on top of my bathroom breaks. They would prob have fired me for leaving the department so often and forget to see that I have the best pph, best throughput, and all the nurses loved me for treating pts appropriately.

You know as well as I do that hospital admin (and medical directors) don't value efficiency, clinical competency, common sense, or intelligence. They just want "friendly doctors" who hand out business cards to everyone in the room.

 

[emergentmd]

Yeah I remember being asked being asked to go to outlying doc offices and FSERs drumming up referrals. I went once and they never asked me again. I suspect they figured that I dreaded going.

 

[hundreddaysoff]

Most of the early stages is going to be the garbage in, garbage out problem. For 70% of normal patients, algorithymic decision making will probably be fine.
But, your average patient with 10 different unrelated 10/10 somatic complaints of equally weighted importance, in which most of us have learn to just ignore, is likely to trigger a million dollar workup for every visit.

After dealing with HCA's 1-hour sepsis BS for 2 years, I think HCA knows that and that's exactly what HCA wants.

I am afraid that Google could become the tail that wags the dog here.

GIGO brain of Google + cold little heart of HCA = no bueno for patients

 

[Birdstrike]

Data and AI are the new ways to control us.

 

[Old_Mil]

Veers, I'm done as of last week. Its glorious. No more nights or weekends, and the amount of time and brain space you have to look into other interesting things in this world after you once CME is no longer part of your life is great.

My last patient was someone who had done a bunch of shots in the morning, had been seen earlier, and bounced back in the middle of the night with N/V after failing to fill their Zofran Rd from earlier in the day. A fitting end to this career.

 

[Birdstrike]

Veers, I'm done as of last week. Its glorious. No more nights or weekends, and the amount of time and brain space you have to look into other interesting things in this world after you once CME is no longer part of your life is great.

My last patient was someone who had done a bunch of shots in the morning, had been seen earlier, and bounced back in the middle of the night with N/V after failing to fill their Zofran Rd from earlier in the day. A fitting end to this career.

Congrats! It felt glorious my last day of EM, also.

Are you completely retiring, or off to something else?

 

[GeneralVeers]

Veers, I'm done as of last week. Its glorious. No more nights or weekends, and the amount of time and brain space you have to look into other interesting things in this world after you once CME is no longer part of your life is great.

My last patient was someone who had done a bunch of shots in the morning, had been seen earlier, and bounced back in the middle of the night with N/V after failing to fill their Zofran Rd from earlier in the day. A fitting end to this career.

Congrats! I'm sure you won't even look back. Parts of me think I'll miss it, then I get another email about patient satisfaction metrics, or some other BS nursing protocols that we are expected to follow and I realize I will be happy to be done.

 

[emergentmd]

Veers, I'm done as of last week. Its glorious. No more nights or weekends, and the amount of time and brain space you have to look into other interesting things in this world after you once CME is no longer part of your life is great.

My last patient was someone who had done a bunch of shots in the morning, had been seen earlier, and bounced back in the middle of the night with N/V after failing to fill their Zofran Rd from earlier in the day. A fitting end to this career.

From the bottom of my heart, CONGRATS. I did my last hospital ER shift about 2 yrs ago and never truly had the going away feeling you must have. I always thought I would keep my feet working in the hospital but it never was meant to be. Now, I would never step foot back into the hospital again knowing how it has changed in 2 yrs.

To all of my old partners, I wish them all well and can step out as you have. The lifestyle out of the ER is amazing and I feel my current gig will allow me to work for another 20 yrs if I want.

I came off a 24 hr shift at 7am, saw 18 pts nice/educated pts, last pt left at 11pm, slept from midnight to 630am. My kids were able to drop by the ER for a few hrs to have dinner with me. Was able to go home by 715am, biked 12 miles with my brother, did a 3 mile run, played ping pong with the kids, ate lunch with my kids, about to take a 1 hr nap, then wake up to play basketball then jump into the swimming pool with them. Then Dinner and hopefully a movie with the family.

This was never possible when I came off a hospital shift.

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

If I had to work at another HCA hospital I would probably just leave EM

 

[Birdstrike]

If I had to work at another HCA hospital I would probably just leave EM

Birdstrike's career path in a nutshell.

Residency >> EM at HCA hospitals >> left EM.