An Arkansas doctor, T. Atiq helped his former patients face the New Year with less debt, voiding (使无效) more than $650,000 of unpaid medical bills for those once under his care. Each patient received a card with a personal greeting from their doctor. The note thanked each patient for trusting Dr. Atiq with their care followed by the generous surprise. “If this gave them a little bit of assistance then I am grateful to have had the opportunity to do so,” the physician said.

Nearly 30 years ago, Dr. Atiq founded the Arkansas Cancer Clinic in the community of Pine Bluffto make cancer care available for the economically disadvantaged. Before its opening, Pine Bluff cancer patients traveled at least 50 miles for treatment. Dr. Atiq was clear that his patients’ needs were always his top concern—not their ability to pay.

Dr. Atiq knew all too well the huge financial pressure often faced by patients. Although he wished all of his patients could simply focus on recovery from disease, many were simply not in a position to—even if they had insurance. And, most of his patients had to work while receiving treatment. Some of his patients, including elderly grandmothers, were already working two jobs before getting sick.

In the same spirit of generosity that Dr. Atiq opened his clinic, he is now closing its doors to begin a new chapter. Dr. Atiq is a full-time professor of Head and Neck Surgery at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, part of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. His patients safely transitioned to a hospital to continue their cancer care.

Dr. Atiq feels his act of kindness was a small gesture in comparison to what his patients have given to him over the years. “The courage and resilience (适应力) that I have learned from my patients are invaluable,” he says. “The issue is their health. I am hoping that they can be cured of cancer. Or, it is controlled well to where they are living productive, happy lives with their families, their friends, and their loved ones.”

Supercomputers which can analyse blood samples and predict which patients are likely to become seriously ill could save tens of thousands of lives a year, it was revealed last night, according to The Daily Express.

The artificial intelligence (AI) system, developed at University College London and set to be piloted in NHS hospitals later this year, will screen “at risk” patients so doctors can take early action to prevent death or serious illness. Prof Young, a consultant surgeon at Southend University Hospital, said: “I am so excited about this form of technology.”Instead of people getting sick or dying because they are not picked up in time, this will allow us to step in earlier which will save lives and an enormous amount of money. “I think the potential of AI in healthcare like this is as big as the Industrial Revolution was — and signals a completely new example in the way we manage healthcare.”

The technology is the brainchild of Dr Vishal Nangalia, a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in London. He used AI to analyse a billion stored blood samples from 20 different UK hospital trusts dating back up to 12 years. Computers assess blood test results by picking up subtle changes in red and white blood cells, suggesting a patient is going downhill.

He found the technique forecast outcomes of patients with kidney problems with up to 95 per cent accuracy. Traditional methods highlighting serious patient concerns picked up as few as 16 percent of patients who went on to die. “This gives us the opportunity not only to save lives but to prevent serious illness, making the health service not only safer but more efficient.” Prof Young said, “Instead of waiting for people to get worse, we will be able to treat them earlier.”

Most people will experience at least one wrong medical diagnosis in their lifetime, resulting in health problems, psychological suffering and financial cost, according to a new report. Because diagnostic errors are generally discovered in retrospect(回顾), researchers said more work needs to be done to improve medical teams and find ways to avoid errors that can change people’s life in the distant future.

“Diagnosis is a collective effort that often involves a team of health care professionals---from primary care physicians to nurses.” said John Ball, chair of the committee which wrote the report. “The type of a single physician observing a patient case and deciding a diagnosis is not always accurate, and a diagnostic errors, we have to look more broadly at the entire process of how a diagnosis is made.”

The researcher, said there are not enough data on diagnostic errors, and efforts to improve diagnosis and reduce errors have not been frequent. The medical culture discourages transparency and makes it more difficult to correct them. The blame lies in cooperation and communication between members of medical teams treating patients, patients themselves, and their families. Besides this, researchers found the healthcare system is not designed for the collaboration needed in the diagnostic process and that diagnosis will continue to worsen if new ideas are not put forward.

The committee recommended more information, from electronic health records to test results, be made more easily available to families and caregivers, to help them better learn and understand what is going on with their health. Creating an environment for patients to question a diagnosis or add information about their condition could also help better influence diagnosis.

Most significantly, the researchers said methods need to be established to make communication between doctors and patients easier. Doctors are not encouraged or paid to communicate with patients as much as they should be.