Using Tech to Bring Humanity Back to Medicine

In modern-day medicine, doctors have little time to spend with patients because rote tasks, like taking notes and performing medical scans, use up their precious time. Eric Topol, a prominent cardiologist, says there has been a steady degradation of the human side of health care – ever since medicine became big business. “We have de-humanized health care. We have gutted the care of health care. This is our only shot to get it back.” He believes artificial intelligence can help free time for doctors so they can listen more closely to patients about their medical concerns. He speaks with David Brooks, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, about Topol's latest book, “Deep Medicine.” Topol is executive vice president of Scripps Research. Brooks is executive director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute.