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    Three Critical Ways that COVID-19 May Have Changed Medicine for Good

Three Critical Ways that COVID-19 May Have Changed Medicine for Good

Shortly after the New Year, it was revealed that COVID deaths in the U.S. had topped 400,000. This pandemic that caused so much chaos in 2020 is, hopefully, nearing its end as vaccines continue to roll out. Regardless of the ray of hope that guides us, we cannot deny that the novel coronavirus has left its mark on society in more ways than one. Here, we discuss three ways in which COVID-19 may have changed medicine for good (and for the better.)
The Acceleration of Telemedicine
The concept of telehealth has existed for years and health care providers have been steadily inching toward the provision of more virtual services for their patients. In 2020, telemedicine became such an urgent necessity that the inching we’d been doing turned into leaps and bounds. Several leaders in the medical field have agreed that this revolution has accelerated by a decade, if not more. Before the pandemic became a serious threat to society, the assumption was that patients’ needs could not be adequately met without in-person contact. We have come to see this is not true in every situation. A patient with a quick question may be helped quickly and easily without having to enter the office. This acceleration in telemedicine has expanded from routine primary care questions to dermatology, podiatry, and even addiction medicine services thanks to the availability of video conferencing.
The Stark Awareness of Racial Disparities in Medicine
A large aspect of this past year has been coming face-to-face with history in a way many were not prepared. In the field of medicine, it became undeniably apparent that black Americans were dying at a much higher rate than their white counterparts. In Chicago alone, black Americans constitute just one-third […]

February 14th, 2021|Live Streaming Training|Comments Off on Three Critical Ways that COVID-19 May Have Changed Medicine for Good

Is Livestreaming the Future of Medical Training?

Many aspects of our daily lives have evolved as a result of the novel coronavirus. This is true on a personal level as well as a professional level. At Med Ed Labs, we’ve transitioned as necessary to make sure we continue to provide the services that doctors, first-responders, and other providers rely on to maintain their professional objectives. One way we’ve done that is to pivot towards live streaming as a teaching model. A medical live stream means that we can host surgical training in ways that colleagues and staff can enhance their skills safely without compromising course content. We are proud to head into 2021 with offerings that take us to hometowns, offices, and mobile labs across the country.  

How Live Streams Work
At Med Ed Labs, we customize training scenarios based on each client’s needs. Our clients choose the setting that is best suited to them, be it a local training lab, a Med Ed Lab facility, or their office. We then host a small surgical lab that includes only a few surgeons. As surgical or medical procedures are performed, they are live-streamed out to an entire team.
Live stream medical training is not a substitute for in-person interactions. They are, however, the best we’ve got at the moment, so we make them as sophisticated as possible. Live streaming is not without its benefits. While sending content out to a live audience, our team also records the training so participants who cannot attend live can watch a replay. While we look forward to a time when in-person trainings can resume, we also understand that many participants remain uncomfortable with live attendance. Using innovative technology, we’ve made it so that participants can receive the same level […]

January 15th, 2021|Live Streaming Training|Comments Off on Is Livestreaming the Future of Medical Training?
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    First Responders are Facing More than Ever and This Indicates a Need for Advanced Training

First Responders are Facing More than Ever and This Indicates a Need for Advanced Training

Paramedics fill a crucial role in a safe and healthy society. The people who commit to the service of others face a whole new set of expectations today than existed just a few decades ago. Years ago, we didn’t have a pandemic posing an invisible threat to humanity. We generally had a basic arena in which emergency calls involved relatively clear-cut injuries and medical problems. Even in those “normal and usual” situations, a first responder had to have the ability to react quickly and appropriately.

The reaction that a first responder has been expected to demonstrate in the field has expanded significantly. Paramedics do much more than administer CPR and extricate patients from precarious situations. Today, the average day in the life of a first responder may involve a procedure like surgical cricothyroidotomy, needle thoracentesis, tube thoracostomy, or endotracheal intubation. The successful treatment of the patient requires critical thinking, bio-skills, and confidence. While confidence can be built on the job, there is a better way; a safer way.

Historically, paramedic training has relied on mannequin models for various bioskills techniques. This is a fine base but does not mimic what the first responder will encounter outside of their controlled clinical environment. What is most beneficial is exposure to human tissue. We provide this in state-of-the-art cadaver labs.

Cadaver lab training is not only for surgeons and other medical providers. Those who provide critical emergency services can significantly improve their clinical practice by working with cadaver tissue. Engaging in a comprehensive training course, the first responder expands their familiarity with physical landmarks on the body, internal structures, and other vital human characteristics. Such training makes a paramedic better at the procedures they may at some point be required […]

December 15th, 2020|Medical Training|Comments Off on First Responders are Facing More than Ever and This Indicates a Need for Advanced Training
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    Developments in Spinal Surgeries Provide an Opportunity for Professional Expansion

Developments in Spinal Surgeries Provide an Opportunity for Professional Expansion

Advances in surgical technologies have been occurring at an increasing rate. This means patients may be asking about innovative procedures more, which begs to question, what does that mean for the spinal surgeon?

The purpose of surgical advancement is to improve patient outcomes. In the area of spinal surgery, this means:

Developing minimally-invasive approaches to spinal conditions
Expediting patient recovery
Reducing the duration and severity of post-operative pain
Minimizing surgical risks
Improving the integrity of spinal fusions
Preserving optimal spinal motion in treated segments

These goals are achieved more easily with high-tech approaches. The use of robotics is a prime example. Robotic surgeries are minimally-invasive and very precise due to the use of 3D cameras and computer-assisted navigation. Robotic surgery may also reduce exposure to radiation during certain procedures.

Some of the recent advances that have elevated spinal surgeries include:
Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement
This procedure has begun to emerge as an alternative to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery for various pathologies. Studies suggest that the insertion of an artificial cervical disc achieves 4 to 7 years of clinical results. As clinical results have been established, surgeons have begun performing this technique as a two-level procedure.
Spinal Fusion
Over the past decades, spinal fusion surgeries have achieved better outcomes that include fewer complications and less post-operative pain. In addition to less invasive techniques, spinal fusion has improved with the development of innovative implants and cages that provide better fixation. Finally, surgeons have more bone graft options today than were available years ago.
Vertebral Augmentation
An injury such as a vertebral fracture has historically been a painful and challenging problem due to a lack of surgical repair options. Today, we have multiple surgical techniques to address this condition. Examples include kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty, […]

November 15th, 2020|Spinal Surgery Training|Comments Off on Developments in Spinal Surgeries Provide an Opportunity for Professional Expansion

Why Cadavers are Integral to Quality Medical Training

Human cadaver training has provided meaningful service to medical students for many years. The approach to educating new physicians, as well as those with many years under their belts, may have changed over time thanks to new technologies, but this does not diminish the value of the occasional cadaver lab. Here, we discuss the reasons that cadaver training continues to be the gold standard and why this may never change.

Hands-on experience is vital to good medicine. Yes, discussion and nomenclature are necessary. However, practicing medicine requires touch. It requires knowledge of the variations in human anatomy from one person to another. This is especially vital for surgeons and is also necessary for those developing or using medical devices. Cadaver labs coupled with lecture brings learning full-circle.
No two bodies are the same. Of course, every medical student and physician knows this. But sometimes it is forgotten in the day to day realities of medical practice. Cadaver labs remind medical professionals that every body looks different and responds differently to medical therapies and that these nuances must be considered to accomplish the best patient outcomes.
Cadavers put clinicians face-to-face with a wide variety of pathologies in an educational setting. It isn’t enough to know the natural, normal anatomy of the body, medical providers must also know pathology and how it can look different in each patient.
Appreciation for the human body. Interestingly, cadaver training has been said to increase medical students’ appreciation for donations made to science. Moreover, clinical practice utilizing cadavers reminds practitioners that the human body deserves respect and gentleness at all times, perhaps especially when dealing with disease. In this sense, cadavers can enhance compassionate care.

Where Cadavers Come From
Students understand that […]

October 15th, 2020|Cadavers in Medical Training|Comments Off on Why Cadavers are Integral to Quality Medical Training

Continued Education is Critical During Times of Crisis

It’s safe to say that the emergence of COVID-19 has created a worldwide crisis. Doctors and researchers all around the world have massively shifted gears, and it does not seem as though we will go back to what has been normal for most of our lives. We can look at a crisis like this as unfortunate, which they are on some level, or we can look for the opportunity within them. The COVID-19 crisis is presenting the medical profession with the opportunity to use technology in entirely new ways, and we’re here for it.

Technology has played an increasingly important role in medicine in recent years. However, as we have stated many times, there is no substitute for in-person didactic lectures and hands-on training. These educational models have always been and will continue to be a cornerstone of medical education for the foreseeable future. Given the recent changes brought about by the novel coronavirus, large in-person conferences have gone to the wayside. Not forever, but for now. Fortunately, new modalities have emerged to fill in the gaps.

In a relatively short time, educators have found ways to circumvent our current challenges. E-learning platforms have been developed, patient videoconferencing has been established in practices around the world, and web meetings and live streams have been scheduled to maintain the high standards of medicine. We are proud to participate in this new wave of educational technology to continue empowering physicians and first responders with the tools they need to serve their patients well.
What the Pandemic is Teaching Us All
Pandemics are not the norm. The current virus is not an event we were prepared to face. Still, we have seen medical residents, seasoned physicians, and other healthcare personnel come […]

September 15th, 2020|Live Streaming Training|Comments Off on Continued Education is Critical During Times of Crisis
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    We’re Staying Current in This Changing Face of Healthcare Training

We’re Staying Current in This Changing Face of Healthcare Training

Historically, healthcare has been performed in person. Doctors established practices that devoted time to face-to-face contact. They also maintained their skills by attending in-person, live medical trainings. We have been proud to engage with physicians, medical professionals, and first-responders all around the country as a leading medical lab facility. In our current global situation, we see no reason for the importance of diverse medical training to end. This is why we have quickly shifted to a new area of training at Med Ed Labs: live streaming.
What Can Live Streaming Accomplish?
There is not a physician in practice today who has experienced such an unprecedented health crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to rethink medical training, and we believe we’ve done it well. Live streaming is a creative approach to necessary continued education that prevents the spread of illness among our valued medical community. Rather than building mobile facilities for attendees to enter in person, our live streams allow physicians to host various trainings in your office, your hometown, in one of our affiliated facilities, or a hotel setting. Based out of one of these labs, the course is then streamed to trainees watching from their independent offices or from home.
Live Streaming Offers Several Benefits
We understand that there is no substitute for face-to-face interactions. The associations with larger groups can enhance the learning experience for many professionals. However, even a pandemic cannot override the necessity that physicians have the most up-to-date skills. At some point, practice will return to normal. We are committed to helping you be ready. Regardless of the restrictions on large gatherings, physicians must have access to medical education. Live streaming provides for that need without the associated risks.

While the feel of […]

August 15th, 2020|Live Streaming Training|Comments Off on We’re Staying Current in This Changing Face of Healthcare Training
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    Live Streaming is Now Available! Here’s why More Doctors are Engaging.

Live Streaming is Now Available! Here’s why More Doctors are Engaging.

Life is much different today than it was a few months ago. Doctors are having to navigate new ways of providing the highest-possible standard of care while minimizing face-to-face patient contact. Additionally, doctors and other medical personnel must continue to advance their skills in whatever way possible. At this time, the live streaming is the way. We are proud to offer live streaming that includes one doctor, one assistant, and all of the planning done for continued learning. Here, we discuss why more doctors are engaging in this model.

Live streaming allows attendees to consume content “live” or as a recording, creating more accessibility for more professionals. Greater accessibility to medical content on one’s own schedule opens the door for more attendees and a wider reach for necessary training.
Live streaming may incur lower costs than in-person trainings that require facility fees as well as equipment fees. Software platforms are currently an affordable alternative to on-site options.
Attendees of live stream labs and courses can engage in real-time when participating at the time of the event. Communication and comprehension need not diminish in the absence of face-to-face interaction.
The content of the live stream may be repurposed. Just like all video content, live stream medical labs may be repurposed for additional usage. Examples include transforming the live video into an infographic or YouTube video.

Live streaming was becoming a powerful channel for content delivery before it became necessary to social distance. Now that we must work together to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, doctors and training organizations are rethinking their models of practice. Just like doctors are transforming their practices to facilitate care without unnecessary physical contact, so are we. We have put […]

July 15th, 2020|Live Streaming Training, Medical Training|Comments Off on Live Streaming is Now Available! Here’s why More Doctors are Engaging.
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    How Do Healthcare Providers Build and Retain Patient Trust in The Time of Technology?

How Do Healthcare Providers Build and Retain Patient Trust in The Time of Technology?

The doctor-patient relationship is one that we don’t hear about at dinner parties or on the news. It may not be a topic that is discussed nearly often enough even in professional circles. It should be. Patients rely on their physicians to help them make important, sometimes life-saving decisions about their health. To provide the highest quality advice and treatment, patients must be honest with their physicians. In recent years, research has indicated erosion in the trust that patients have in their doctors. There may be several reasons for this that are outside of the control of the medical system. However, there are steps that healthcare providers can take to ensure they are mindfully building trust in their patients. There may be no time in our lives when this may be more important.
Expectations are Everything
According to recent research, approximately 65 percent of patients appreciate the option to interact with their healthcare providers through smartphones and other devices. This is beneficial, seeing that telemedicine may be the future of healthcare. While the majority of patients do not mind skipping their trip to the doctor’s office, they do expect the same customer service they would receive from other service providers, such as their bank or a hotel. When discussing health, this expectation of service is even more vital to optimal outcomes.

What patients want from their doctors includes:

Authenticity and transparency. If you do not have a clear answer for a patient, they want to know that. It is okay to be uncertain, as long as patients are told the truth. Patients understand their doctors are humans, too, and that they may not have all the answers.
Active listening. With the emergence of immediate reporting and digital […]

June 15th, 2020|Medical Education, Medical Training|Comments Off on How Do Healthcare Providers Build and Retain Patient Trust in The Time of Technology?
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    Telemedicine: How Can We Thrive in The New Face of Medicine?

Telemedicine: How Can We Thrive in The New Face of Medicine?

Medicine has changed quite a lot throughout history. These changes have resulted in better health and more longevity for most people. Where, in the 1800s, the life expectancy was only 36, most adults today are expected to live about 80 years. This is a testament to the innovation of the 20th century. Now, we’re in the midst of change once again. This time, one of the major advances is the use of telemedicine. With many doctors transitioning, it is important that we discuss matters beyond the technical aspects of the new face of medicine, such as how doctors and their patients can connect well in the absence of face-to-face contact that exhibits intuition and compassion.

The medical profession is undoubtedly one of the most highly regarded in history. Becoming a physician or nurse takes immense intelligence, not to mention grit to complete rigorous studies. These characteristics are foundational to a career in medicine, yes, but there’s more. There are soft skills that doctors also need, especially when in-person contact is blunted.
What Characteristics Do Doctors Need in the Possible New Model of Medicine?
There are three factors that determine the overall efficacy of telemedicine. These include trust, honesty, and technology.

Trust can be established by relaying credentials, philosophy, and experience. The more a patient trusts their doctor, the more honest they will be about their symptoms.
Honesty is vital to reaching an appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan. Patients may be reluctant to discuss the extent of their symptoms, which puts the burden of discernment on the physician. Good observational and communication skills can facilitate better interaction in person as well as through technology.
Technology facilitates efficacy in telemedicine by allowing physicians to see their patients on video […]

May 15th, 2020|Wellness and Health|Comments Off on Telemedicine: How Can We Thrive in The New Face of Medicine?