Thriving With Today’s Tools

As we are all too aware, we live in a time of rapid technologic change and evolution of clinical care delivery. An integral part of our mission at Practical Neurology is to provide ongoing updates having a daily effect on the delivery of neurologic care. In this issue, we explore the application of several new technologies and approaches that can help or, in some cases, hinder neurologists’ ability to thrive and practice.

We open with a discussion of the incorporation of Advanced Practice Providers on Neurology Teams in the context of physician-led and collaborative teams by Amy Perrin Ross, with tips for what to consider when advanced practice providers join a team. Next, Carla LoPinto Khoury and John Khoury cover the potential benefits, possible pitfalls, and financial feasibility of Scribes & Neurology Teams.

Turning from tools involving people and time to technologic tools, we co-chief editors engage in a spirited debate about the use of Patient Portals. There is clearly a love-hate relationship with this particular aspect of the electronic health record, but no matter where you stand on its use, it is here to stay.

In contrast, office-based imaging tools are technology that most of can easily embrace as providing faster diagnoses in a low-cost, low-risk manner, potentially enhancing the care we provide. Robert Sergott first provides an extensive discussion on the mechanism and use of Ocular Coherence Tomography in Neurology, the ophthalmoscope of the 21st century—worth keeping an eye on. In Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Outpatient Neurology, Tripti Kumar and Mark Vanderland discuss use of this technology across all neurologic subspecialities. Such real-time imaging has the potential to dramatically improve and extend the bedside clinical evaluation of our patients for a host of neurologic conditions.

We hope you find this issue enjoyable and enlightening. As always, please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns.