Keynote recap: ZDogg MD talks health 3.0
Day 2 of the 10th annual conference began with one of the most anticipated events of the conference: ZDogg MD. The level of excitement in the room was palpable as the room filled up to standing room only and attendees sought to make their way to the front to get a picture with ZDogg himself.
While there was a healthy amount of fun, games, and laughter throughout the session, ZDogg also shared the empowering story of his own disenfranchisement with the healthcare industry and his thought about how to make the future of healthcare better – what he calls “healthcare 3.0.”
Healthcare 1.0, according to ZDogg, was a paternalistic setting in which the attending physician ruled all and other opinions were largely discredited. Patient relationships and communication, however, soared at this stage.
With the advent of more and more technology and a shifting focus to evidence-based medicine, though, healthcare 2.0 arrived on the scene. Now, because of that focus on technology, the personal touch disappeared. ZDogg used the example of Winnie-the-Pooh who has a litany of obvious problems, (a honey addiction for one) yet the physician misses the underlying issues because they’re burned out and have ceased to see the patient as a person.
“I see him like zeros and ones because I basically live in the matrix now,” says Zubin Damania, MD.
In an effort to save the best of Healthcare 1.0 and 2.0, Damania suggested a move to healthcare 3.0. This model saves the patient interaction and relationship from 1.0, but retains the evidence-based medicine and technology of 2.0. One way to achieve this aim, according to Damania, is to take a collaborative approach to medicine and bring the patient into the process.
“It’s their chart. You are just a steward of that chart,” he said.
As many CDI specialists know accurate documentation is primarily about patient care and quality. Bringing the whole team into the process, as Damania said, helps foster better patient relationships and, more importantly, better patient outcomes. To demonstrate that such a practice can grow and thrive in America today, Damania created a new type of physician office and team-based primary care in his home town of Las Vegas, Turntable Health, which successfully decreased admissions by nearly half, improved a host of quality care initiatives, and—most importantly—helped people improve their lives through this approach.
Though his message was serious and carried significant weight, ZDogg also regaled attendees with renditions of “Low (An Outpatient Clinic Jam),” “Big Pharma,” and “Seven Years (A Life in Medicine).” Through all his antics, Damania reminded attendees that “it is a gift to do what we do.”
Editor’s note: To learn more about Damania vision of healthcare, or watch some of his parody videos, visit his website, http://zdoggmd.com/.