New Keys to a Long-Standing Goal
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Disruptive technology, a term first coined nearly a decade ago, refers to a new product or innovation, that is cheaper, smaller, or in some other way better than existing technology. It may or may not be radically different from conventional technology, but it ultimately becomes the standard by first filling a niche market and ultimately providing performance improvements. Every industry has witnessed disruptive technology in one form or another, and radiology is no different. For instance, hand-held ultrasound scanners and dedicated orthopedic MR scanners are prime examples of disruptive technologies in medical imaging. However, innovations such as these have more often than not ended up in the hands and offices of non-radiologists, leaving other medical specialists performing diagnostic examinations for which we are better trained to not only perform and interpret. Regrettably, rather than embracing some disruptive technologies, we have often tried to erect barriers, preferring to maintain our allegiance to the tried-and-true technology that has served us so well. However, if we are to continue our role as the nation's imaging specialists, we cannot continue to ignore or fight these changes. Is it not technological change that has allowed us to achieve what we have as a profession? However advanced they may be, the superb technologies we use today likely will be obsolete in another decade.
Since its inception, our profession has achieved its position in the health care continuum, not only by recognizing the potential of new technology, but of having the skill and prudence to use that technology constructively and carefully. We cannot afford to forgo that approach and leave it to other medical specialists to accept these disruptive technologies. If we do, we will find ourselves standing on the diagnostic imaging sidelines in the decades to come.
Does this require us to reassess and likely change aspects of how we practice medicine, whether it is in a group practice, a hospital imaging center, or one of our nation's leading research institutions? Yes it does, and it will require a significant rededication of our time and energy if we are to succeed. It has been said that change is not without inconvenience. That is very true for our profession as we consider our future.
This is not an impossible task for us. In fact, in an interview several years ago, the same individual who gave us the concept of "disruptive technology" also said it is possible to manage it if we work to understand and harness disruptive technology. He went on to say that a firm does not need to reinvent itself to deal with these industry changes and dismiss our approaches and decision-making processes entirely. The key, he emphasized, is to realize that those methods that have worked so well for us to date are not appropriate for meeting every professional challenge.
Our profession relies on our ability to harness the advantages of technology to ensure the highest level of patient care possible. We must remain focused on that guiding purpose while accepting the inevitable technological changes that will shape medical imaging. If we fail to do so, our patients will suffer much more than we will.