Navigating the future of medicine with doctors

LUBBOCK, Texas (KBTX) – Medical costs and deductibles are surging and insurance networks are dwindling, making health care pricier than ever. Doctors say patients should be thinking about health care diagnostics to stay ahead of expensive health issues before they become a problem.

Dr. Rakhshanda Rahman, the Medical Director at UMC Cancer Center, joined First News at Four to share how a new wave of health technology is helping find issues like tumors or strokes earlier than ever before.

Rahman says technology has boomed leading to new tests and imaging studies now available to patients. Imaging, for example, has come a long way for cancer diagnoses, leading to early detection.

“Imagine beating the cancer like it never happened, which is what our goal is,” she said.

However Rahman explained that not all of the new technologies will be suitable for everybody.

“People need to understand their insurance plans, their deductibles and then talk to their doctors about what their risks are [and] what may be the best for them, because if the choices are made more precisely in [an] individualized way, then we can seriously curtail the expense that comes with it,” she explained.

Another important piece of information people should learn from a primary care physician is which area of specialty they should seek advice from. Rahman says with all the technology advancements physicians are not able to keep up with every single disease process.

“Those days where the doctor used to be the jack of all trades is no longer applicable. Those days are gone, and to get the best advantage of of the newest technology, it’s best to seek the specialty advice,” said Rahman.

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