Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from an article published in The Wall Street Journal. It exemplifies the importance of technology in doctor-patient interaction.
When Emily Monato went to see her neurosurgeon in October, she learned she had a potentially fatal lesion in her brain and needed surgery.
After receiving disturbing news, many patients retain little of what they were told, doctors say. But Ms. Monato was able to take advantage of an unusual new tool her physician gave her: a six-minute video from her office visit comprising a series of screen captures of her brain MRI transmitted from her doctor’s computer along with his assessment. Using an app on her iPhone, Ms. Monato watched and listened as the surgeon explored images of her brain, using his cursor to outline a walnut-size mass of vascular tissue he said needed quickly to be removed.
Then she watched the video again and again. At least five times. Replaying the video helped her “grasp these big chunks of information” and allay at least some fears, such as, “Am I going to for get how to count to 10?,” she says.