The Patient Will See You Now

In The Patient Will See You Now, Eric Topol, one of the nation’s top physicians, examines what he calls medicine’s Gutenberg moment.” Much as the printing press liberated knowledge from the control of an elite class, new technology—from the smartphone to machine learning—is poised to democratize medicine.

In this new era, patients will control their data and be emancipated from a paternalistic medical regime in which the doctor knows best.” Mobile phones, apps, and attachments will literally put the lab and the ICU in our pockets. Computers will replace physicians for many diagnostic tasks, and enormous data sets will give us new means to attack conditions that have long been incurable. In spite of these benefits, the path forward will be complicated: some in the medical establishment will resist these changes, and digitized medicine will raise serious issues surrounding privacy. Nevertheless, the result—better, cheaper, and more humane health care for all—will be worth it. The Patient Will See You Now is essential reading for anyone who thinks they deserve better health care. That is, for all of us.

“In this extraordinary book, Topol has, in effect, provided us with a prescription for the future of medicine. He outlines the challenges of the current practice of medicine, and gives us a powerful vision of what can be changed—and how. Topol writes about the future more effectively than any physician or scientist that I know. If you want to know about what medicine looks like today, you should read this book. But if you want to know what medicine will look like tomorrow, then you must absolutely read this book.”—Siddharta Muhkerjee, M.D., author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

“Eric Topol understands better than anybody else the growing battle between technology- and information-empowered patients on one side, and the incumbent medical establishment on the other. He also understands who should win it. Read this book and you'll join him in fighting the good fight.”—Andrew McAfee, author of The Second Machine Age

“In his new book, The Patient Will See You Now, Topol expertly builds upon his earlier path-finding work and explores how smartphone adoption, big data, new digital monitors of medically relevant information streams, ubiquitous computing, and larger networks are all combining to revolutionize health care far beyond what most now expect—with the exciting promise of lower costs and higher quality simultaneously. Coming from a world-class physician with a unique perspective on the rapidly changing nature of medicine, Topol’s prescription for patient empowerment is a must read.”—Al Gore

“Dr. Eric Topol is uniquely positioned to map out a new era of democratized medicine—a time when each individual will not only have immediate access to all of their own medical data, but even generate much of it and play a principal role in their healthcare.”—Sanjay Gupta, M.D.

“Eric Topol has written a must-read manifesto for patients who feel helpless. Filled with knowledge and engaging stories, this book shows how you can harness technology to be the master of your medical care—or at least, a better partner for your doctor. I want Dr. Topol for my doctor.”—Elisabeth Rosenthal, M.D., The New York Times

“Dr. Topol clearly captures the challenges and major disruptions occurring in medicine today. A revolution in healthcare is finely happening—one that will not only improve outcomes, but the individual patient's experience. This is a book that everyone needs to read. The practice and future of medicine are indeed being turned upside down.”—John E. Kelly III, Director of Research at IBM

“The most extraordinary time for health care lies ahead. Dr. Topol presents a highly innovative vision and model for how, in an era of big data for each individual, medicine can be democratized.”—Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts

“Dr. Eric Topol has the vision for how smartphones will play a central part in health care in the coming years. Consumers will take on a powerful new role in medicine of the future – The Patient Will See You Now reveals to us how that will occur.”—JK Shin, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics

“It’s your blood, your DNA, and your money; shouldn’t the images, records, and data belong to you, too? Dr. Topol’s deeply researched, powerfully presented arguments will ruffle feathers in the medical establishment—but he maintains that the new era of smartphones, apps, and tiny sensors is putting the patient in charge for the first time. And he’s right.”—David Pogue, founder of Yahoo Tech and host of PBS’ “Nova”

“Dr. Eric Topol is a pioneer of the medicine of the future and the future is now! Read this book and empower yourself for total well-being.”—Deepak Chopra

“In The Patient Will See You Now, Dr. Eric Topol has helped to define a new era in healthcare when the role of the patient has evolved, empowered by the rapid adoption of digital health technologies. We fully agree with Dr. Topol’s vision of the future of healthcare becoming increasingly seamless and giving consumers access to care—where, when, and at the value point they want.”—Greg Wasson, CEO of Walgreens

“We are seeing a sea-change in medicine, a time when the old paradigms no longer apply. As a physician and a scientist, Eric Topol has been both contributor and commentator to this revolution and therefore, one of the few people who can weave together and explain the stunning advances in seemingly unrelated fields. His personal voice, his ability to explain the most complex developments in science in a simple and engaging manner, and the clarity of his vision of the future make this compelling reading. I couldn’t put this book down and I learned so much. It has changed my perspective of what is to come.”—Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone

“Eric Topol’s book focuses us on the most important development in health care today: putting the patient at the center of everything. This is the pathway to the most effective and efficient innovation, development and reform of health care practices, products and policies globally.”—Alex Gorski, CEO of Johnson & Johnson

“I have experienced Dr. Topol’s healing touch as my personal physician after a 99% heart blockage, in his capacity as cardiology advisor to Men’s Health magazine’s 12 million readers, and as the visionary author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine. With The Patient Will See You Now, he’s extending his healing powers where they’ll do the most good: to the patients themselves. Book an appointment to read it now, and you’ll save yourself a lot of copays later.”—Peter Moore, Editor of Men’s Health magazine