In this episode, Bruce is joined by Shirin Towfigh, MD, FACS, a renowned hernia specialist with a private practice in Beverly Hills, to discuss the complexities and nuances of healthcare data, gender disparities in medical diagnosis and treatment, and the importance of patient-centered care. Dr. Towfigh shares her extensive experience and insights on how data can transform medical practices and improve patient outcomes, particularly in hernia treatment.

Key Topics Discussed:

- Introduction to Shirin Towfigh, MD, FACS: Background in hernia surgery and her patient-centric approach.

- State of Healthcare Data: Differences in data management between personal databases, national quality collaboratives, and hospital databases.

- Gender Disparities in Medicine: How men and women present differently with conditions like heart attacks and hernias, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment for women.

- Importance of Data Granularity: The need for detailed and accurate data collection to improve medical outcomes.

- Challenges in Implementing Data Systems: The complexities of data science in healthcare and the importance of local environments in data accuracy.

- Personalized Patient Care: The significance of understanding and addressing individual patient needs and symptoms.

- Research and Machine Learning: Development of predictive tools for hernia diagnosis using machine learning algorithms.

Resources Mentioned:

Shirin Towfigh, MD, FACS -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirintowfigh/

Cedars Sinai Hospital -

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/home.html

Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) -

https://www.sages.org/

European Hernia Society -

https://europeanherniasociety.eu/

SmartSurgery blog link -

https://smartsurgerylp.caresyntax.com/blog-subscription

Comments and questions -

[email protected]

Thanks for listening to Data Nerds in the OR: A Surgeon’s Journey Toward Value-Based Care. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss any insightful conversations. And, if you want more content like this from Caresyntax, please sign up for our Smart Surgery blog using the link above.

#MedTech #SmartSurgery #SurgicalTech