But in many areas, the shift required is as much philosophical as technological. Recognizing that today's approach to office care is fundamentally flawed is a crucial first step, Dr. Kilo says. We need to see a deeper sense among clinicians of discomfort with the current system. We have to stop justifying it. In the Idealized Design project, even the core idea of the traditional office visit is up for grabs.
Many participants see it as an antiquated design that's hindering advances in patient care.
Today, everything is designed to get the patient in front of the doctor. We need a system that acknowledges there are other ways besides an office visit to keep patients healthy. The whole idea of this project is to throw out all those old assumptions and start from scratch. Participants have worked together to find and refine alternatives to that traditional visit. They're experimenting with using e-mail and mailings to communicate with patients and planning group visits for subsets of patients with chronic diseases.