Technology has been changing the healthcare industry for many years now but we’ve reached a point where computers have gone from outside the body to inside the body. Computerized surgical implants are being utilized in many different capacities to provide better care for patients, and that’s presenting some unique challenges for CRNAs. Today we talk with Adam Flowe, CRNA, who is the Chief Nurse Anesthetist at Duke, to talk about all the advancements in technology and what it means for the profession today and in the future.
Click the timestamps below to help you navigate through the many topics we discussed.
On This Episode:
It’s amazing to see how much technology has impacted the healthcare industry in recent years but computers will continue to play a bigger and bigger role in our bodies.
To get a better idea of what types of surgical implants are happening and what might be coming in the future, we invited Adam Flowe, CRNA, onto the show. He’s the Chief Nurse Anesthetist at Duke and has a unique perspective in the computerization of healthcare. It truly is incredible to hear everything that’s being done, but it’s also a great reminder that CRNAs will work with patients that have these different implants and that can present new challenges.
As Adam says during our conversation, computers are being used inside our bodies more and more and that doesn’t seem to be slowing down. So understanding these developments is crucial in providing the best care possible.
As you get started on the episode, keep an ear out for these topics:
- How he went from school teach to a CRNA
- How computers are now moving inside of our body
- Why are more and more implants available?
- The different types of implants that are available and more popular
- What challenges do these stimulators create for anesthesia providers?
- Training SRNAs for the future of these implants being more and more common
- Is there technology to make us smarter?
Check it out the interview at the top of the page and use the timestamps to help you navigate through the many topics we discussed.
3:16 – Welcome in Adam
4:23 – Background on Adam
6:51 – Why this topic?
11:42 – Why are we seeing more of these implants?
13:23 – Different types of implants
21:42 – Challenges for anesthesia providers
23:39 – Training SRNAs for this
26:59 – Can we be made smarter?
30:52 – Elon Musk health technology company
41:54 – How long can the body tolerate these things
42:38 – Final thoughts
43:19 – Lightning Round
“Now with advances in anesthesia, advances in surgery, advances in the size and the safety in the digital technology, we can actually in a very focused and minute way guide electrical charges into specific parts of the brain, specific nerves of the body to improve patients’ lives.”
-Adam Flowe, CRNA
