Digital tools for health come with 'hope, hype and harm'

Dr. Robert Wachter has long been an advocate for patient safety and a keen observer of trends in medicine. Years ago, Wachter coined the term "hospitalist" and predicted the rise of these doctors who specialize in caring for hospitalized patients. Wachter, associate chairman of University of California, San Francisco's department of medicine, has a new book out: The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age. In it, he turns his attention to the rise of technology in health care, and the risks and rewards as we digitize everything from medical records to office visits. Here is an edited and condensed version of our recent conversation about it.