Excerpt featuring Dr. Abramson from the article “Self-Tracking May Become Key Element of Personalized Medicine: Medicine X 2012” from ucsf.edu News Center, 10/5/2012.
Paul Abramson MD, a UCSF clinical instructor who described himself as a longtime self-tracker, started off in engineering but switched to medicine because he was more drawn toward hearing people’s individual stories than toward doing research in a conventional way, he said.
Paul Abramson, MD, spoke at a session on spreading opportunities for self-tracking.
Self-tracking may not be for everyone, Abramson said, but it may be especially helpful for those who are diagnosed with medical problems for which conventional treatment typically offers little benefit; for those with symptoms and syndromes that are not adequately diagnosed through conventional medicine; for those who want to change their behavior; for those who want to identify environmental, dietary, contextual or social contributors to their symptoms; or for those who simply want to be more involved in their own health care.
“There is a real lack of interactivity and [patient] empowerment in the standard model,” of medical practice, Abramson said.
In his private practice (http://mydoctorsf NULL.com), Abramson has brought in co-workers he calls “quant coaches,” expert peers who can help patients identify and achieve self-tracking goals and who can work together with the physician and patient to help solve medical problems, such as irritable bowel, chronic fatigue, depression, psoriasis, addictions, diabetes, anxiety and headaches and non-cardiac chest pain.
Abramson said that to him the process of engaging with and helping patients to solve problems and make decisions is more important than the data collected.
Find the complete article here: http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/10/12913/self-tracking-may-become-key-element-personalized-medicine (http://www NULL.ucsf NULL.edu/news/2012/10/12913/self-tracking-may-become-key-element-personalized-medicine)