Asking Doctor Mike About Health in Technology

This week, Doctor Mike stopped by to talk about everything from Apple Watches to smart water bottles! There are so many new health features in tech products nowadays that we felt it was about time we asked someone about them. Luckily, Dr. Mike is a practicing physician who knows a thing or two about the human body, so we just asked him! This was a fun and informative sit down that we hope you enjoy!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:04 Who is Dr. Mike?
05:16 Apple Watch
12:23 How is this affecting the medical field?
19:46 Shopify (Sponsored)
20:53 Health features on smartphones
24:45 Fitness trackers
28:44 AI in medicine
49:05 Factor (Sponsored)
50:16 Lightning round
01:06:58 Trivia with Dr. Mike
01:14:39 A Race to Z with Dr. Mike
01:18:08 Trivia with David
01:22:08 Outro

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Waveform is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

[thejoker]

What I really like about Mike is that he's consistent about what he says, no matter who asks or what podcast he's on. Of course, he's a doctor and is reiterating medical facts, but still, there are professionals who bend the truth to tailor the experience to a certain audience.

[julesm]

Every time I see Dr Mike and MKBHD together I remember that they’re both 6 ft 3 😂.

[gururajsawant]

Dr.Mike and MKBHD together can actually make a good pair of hosts for a tech related series where they can explore and review all the health tech. ❤❤❤

[ChrisParayno]

MKHB and Dr Mike point out the issue about 90 percent of the "tech youtubers influencers" is that majority just regurgitate stuff from the manufacturer. They don't know the internal workings nor experts in the field. They are just influencers and most are there for entertainment purposes only. Great podcast, especially on Mike chiming in on critical aspects of the medical field.

[themaddscot]

My cardiologist (High BP) checks my Apple Watch for historical information such as heart rate, etc. He also more importantly checks my Activity to see if I am moving/active etc. He has said the data is more of a "ok" check than a real data element for him and more of a motivation tool for me. He aligns with Dr. Mike on the watch usefulness but says it tells time well and other things like messages and alerts.

[a.girl.has.no.name_]

I love that doctor Mike broke out the matte black scrubs for this. Dude always makes a point to dress for the occasion 💯

[aurenllis]

I'm a medical student and longtime lurker in the 90%. I was super excited for y'all to talk about tech in medicine. I appreciated how the discussion had research in mind. I feel like providers need reminders on what most people know about medicine the longer we're inundated in the healthcare community too.
• Products: I feel like one theme was the lack of a quick fix for a lifetime of habits. Tech provides tools to improve our health, but these tools are limited without more data from studies or individual motivation to continue with a product. We're allowed to enjoy these innovations as long as there are more positives than negatives.
• AI: Bedside manner was nice to hear about in the episode, since each patient takes in a negative diagnosis differently than others. I don't know how I'd feel for myself or my family with a computer for a uniquely human interaction. Supportive relationships are important for patients to deal with the news and make decisions about management in line with their wishes. Patient communication and adherence might be difficult too. Providers are trained to ask the right questions, pull out the important answers, and do a physical exam before going to labs or images. Once with a diagnosis, then patients need to feel motivated to work with providers and agree to a plan based on recommendations. All of the medical advice in the world won't change a patient who isn't interested or equipped to change with the right resources. Additionally, I think a worrisome point would be the weaponization of health data with companies and corporations.

[godminnette]

I will say I've dramatically increased my health, as my Fitbit made me more cognizant of being sedentary and the food I eat. My resting heartrate has gone from ~80 to ~63, and stayed there for the past few months.

[dvdv]

As someone with type 1 diabetes, I do use tech daily. I have a CGM that automatically measures blood sugar every 5 minutes. And, I have extra software that communicates with both CGM and insulin pump to adjust insulin dosage as needed. The CGM alone already is a game changer for managing type 1 diabetes, but this combination is incredible, and I would never want to lose it. I mention this as an example for tech that indeed is incredibly useful and not just a gimmick.

[alisutherland]

I love how nerdy this was. It felt warm and I felt at home.

[andresransom]

This is the podcast we needed but weren’t to sure what to do with because it was so informative.

[smiilisa]

As a wheelchair user, I love the fact that the Apple Watch offers wheelchair modus and takes into consideration that my movement is different but that I am still being active. In fact, I agree that the fall detection is ultimately the only useful feature. Some other data just gives me axiety.

[MinoyHoiMi]

“Social media detox” and here I am watching 80 mins of this podcast Lol

[loaffloaff]

1:40 A sign you have a good healthcare provider.

[SandMan_]

Dr Mike what a role model you are for the medical community! Sincerely, an anaesthesiologist.

[stephendragon]

the part about understanding our body first before relying on tech for diagnosis is pretty relatable.... I'm guilty of it. I also search a lot of medical stuff online and it tends to cause anxiety. I remember self diagnosing myself for kidney stone and it wont go away even after few weeks... I returned to my doctor twice. he said the results didn't find any stone or significant sign of infection. Then it dawned upon me I just really had a bad back muscle tear bc of work and posture lol

[dalton]

As a night owl, I very much appreciate that. Night owls have to deal with others making sound while we try to sleep yet we have to be quiet while others sleep. If we want to go to a government building then we have to be awake when we should be sleeping.
If we want to go to school we have to function while we should be sleeping. Our job options are extremely limited if we don't work for ourselves.

[fiartruck]

To the editors: that punch zoom on "do that anyway" was awesome. Well done. I loved it.

[kurticeberg]

I love how he gave the trivia answers in the actual correct order lol. That alone would throw some off, thinking there’s no way they were already in the right order.

[ExecutorRO]

One of the best podcast I've listen to in a while. Also great point and questions that can be turned into clips so that the information can be spread even faster!