onyeije's posterous

I found this image while reading "What Matters Now" by Seth Godin.

Seth Godin writes about marketing, the spread of ideas and managing both customers and employees with respect. "What Matters Now" is a collaborative effort by a number of social media and marketing experts. The e-book and the above image represent a fascinating perspective on marketing but I think it is an even more appropriate metaphor for how to view medical communication in the information age. I also recently had the opportunity to review an article in the British Medical Journal in which C.O. Hawthorne takes issue with a plea by another physician ( Dr. Hempson) to conform to accepted practices. In his correspondence to the journal, Dr. Hawthorne states:

The suggestion implied in these warnings (by Dr. Hempson) plainly is that somewhere within the province of medicine there exists a recognized and authoritative standard of " orthodoxy " - that is, a body of doctrine and practice presented by authority and received and adopted as true and valid on the word of authority, with, as a corollary, and for the contumacious, the penialty of exclusion from the ranks and communion of the faithful. Possibly there are professions to which these propositions apply. But most certainly they do not apply to the profession of medicine.

This was written in 1926; but I completely agree with Dr. Hawthorne as we enter 2010. Many of the discussions on this blog have detailed the dangers that can result when we in the medical field accept things "as they are" and do not question how we can improve them or make them work better for patients.

This is true for reform efforts, specific procedures live VBAC, communication technology and the participation of patients in their own care. Given the drastic changes in technology and the ability these provide us to radically change what we do for the best; we owe it to ourselves to question everything and seek to optimize patient care rather than do what we have done in the past.