New Health Trends Report

The Stanford Medicine 2020 Health Trends Report shows physicians and medical students preparing for a health care future improved by data science and technological advances.

Health Trends report cover

Stanford Medicine’s 2020 Health Trends Report released Jan. 9 showed that physicians and medical students embrace a health care future shaped and improved by technological advances, even as that same technology tests their readiness.

For the report, which focused on the rise of the data-driven physician amid a digital health care transformation, Stanford Medicine commissioned a national survey of more than 700 physicians, residents and medical students about the future of medicine and how they are preparing for it.

Nearly three-quarters of the medical students and almost half the physicians surveyed are pursuing opportunities to learn new skills.

“We found that current and future physicians are not only open to new technologies but are actively seeking training in subjects such as data science to enhance care for their patients,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine.

“We are encouraged by these findings and the opportunity they present to improve patient outcomes. At the same time, we must be clear-eyed about the challenges that may stymie progress.”

Such challenges include physicians and medical students feeling ill-prepared to integrate emerging technologies into their practices and being concerned about high student-debt levels and a poor work-life balance.

“There is no better time to have a discussion about how we can prepare and support tomorrow’s health care providers to rise to their fullest potential,” Minor said.

Read the report at http://stan.md/2020HealthTrends.