Physician consultants are becoming increasingly prevalent and increasingly valuable in this day and age. They have an depth understanding of human physiology, electronic health records, clinical processes, including pertinent positives and negatives of medical devices, technology and patient care platforms.
“Physician consultants provide expert guidance on best medical practices and are also aware of the latest technologies and innovations that can improve patient care.”
Houston Chronicle, Chron.com, July 2020
Doctors have the clinical experience to understand what’s relevant, what’s safe, and how new technologies can improve patient outcomes. An experienced internal medicine physician is able to effectively assess the patient as a whole. This is especially valuable in primary care and preventative health. Conversely, specialists have depth of knowledge and can provide valuable insight in their field of practice. For example, gastroenterologists deal with the digestive tract, pancreas, and liver. They are specially trained in screening and diagnosis of colorectal cancer, removing colon polyps, and treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), heartburn, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). These are all common conditions that affect a large segment of the population globally. As a result, there is a large market for innovation in this field and many established companies and new entrepreneurs are looking to capitalize on the vast opportunity.
From the physician perspective, it is intriguing to become involved in consulting and advisory roles in order to diversify work-life balance and have a non-clinical option to supplement their clinical duties. Through these avenues, doctors can participate in the creation and proliferation of medical innovation that can help patients on a much larger level. There is certainly no substitute for intimately helping improve the lives of 100 patients a week in the clinical setting, and not many things more rewarding than the trusted patient-physician relationship. However, some doctors are intrigued by leveraging technology and innovation to potentially affecting 100,000 patients a week as well.
Doctors involved in the field of healthcare innovation, digital health, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, can help drive positive change on a larger scale. Through involvement in supporting innovation, physicians may indirectly be able to improve access to care, patient outcomes, and continue to advance the field of medicine.
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