Abraham Verghese: A Doctor's touch 3. What is the iPatient?

The iPatient is a term coined by Abraham Verghese to describe the shift in the doctor-patient relationship brought about by the increasing reliance on technology and electronic medical records. Verghese observes that with the widespread implementation of electronic health records, doctors often spend more time interacting with the computer screen than with their patients. This technology-driven approach often leads to a depersonalized and transactional interaction between doctors and patients, where the patient becomes reduced to a set of data points on the computer screen rather than a whole person with unique needs and concerns. Verghese argues for the need to incorporate a more humanistic and empathetic approach to medicine, emphasizing the importance of physical examination and direct patient interaction over an overreliance on technology.