Today’s doctor visits look and feel a lot different than they did even just a couple decades ago. 

Rushed physicians and medical trainees are spending less time with patients, leading to diagnostic errors, poor patient outcomes and increased costs in health care. The influx of AI and other new technology has led to a decline in modern medical trainees’ fundamental bedside skills and a weakening of the doctor-patient relationship. There is a lack of empathy and an increase in physician stress and burnout. The list goes on.

To help reverse these trends, a new report from Northwestern University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham provides six practical strategies to reinvigorate a waning culture of bedside medicine in this new health care environment. The suggestions give clinicians and medical educators guidance on how to better teach and practice important bedside clinical skills, such as the physical exam.

Research Professor Jacob Segil has created a redesigned surgical instrument called the CAP-LIFT cannula. The device was recently launched in October, and within the first few weeks used in over 100 successful surgeries.

Cervical cancer, one of the most common cancers in women, is often treated with surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, which can affect fertility and quality of life. Researchers at Chiba University have developed a new nasal therapeutic vaccine as a non-invasive treatment option. In animal studies, the vaccine produced strong and lasting immune responses against cervical tumors. If proven effective in humans, it could provide women with a safer, fertility-preserving alternative to current cancer treatments.