I cannot express my happiness and excitement about a book I’ve been working on for so long! Here is Your Map to the Future: Learn How to Navigate and Shape What Lies Ahead! In this book, I make science-based futures methods, that only experts including me at The Medical Futurist have been using for decades, accessible to everyone! This heavily illustrated book describes how starting from the traps of short-term thinking and presentism, we can finally expand our time perspective and learn to observe and examine the future as we have been doing with the past. Doing this is crucial in addressing today’s most pressing issues, from climate change to the rise of AI. I cannot wait to hear what you think about it and if you could also leave an Amazon review, that would be fantastic! Thank you! I’m looking forward to beginning this journey with you! Here is the Amazon link: amzn.to/3ZyNHjd

Medical AI scribes promise to support administrative tasks and save clinicians time. But the tool’s time efficiency is more nuanced than it might seem. I discuss it in this video and ask why physicians worldwide don't support the technology goal: to reduce or outright perish administration.

I share scientific announcements, studies and news about how advanced technologies could help medicine and healthcare every single day. Then, once in a while, I get a reminder about reality and what people in healthcare still think about instead of AI and digital health. "One expert says faxes, letters and other non-digital correspondence just aren’t meeting the standards of modern healthcare today, and GPs could benefit from exploring where improvements can be made.   The focus on outdated record keeping comes as media reports reveal up to 150 patients at Mildura Base Public Hospital (MBPH) had been left waiting for care for more than a year after boxes of paper referrals were forgotten. It is believed one affected patient had since died after a GP’s referral wasn’t actioned." Can you believe that there still are conversations around letters and fax machines in the age of generative AI? There are physicians today going to work and using fax machines or keeping medical records on paper? And they don't rebel against these methods? This is unimaginable for me. But again, I spend too much time thinking about the future. Source: racgp.org.au/newsgp/professi…

The future of surgery offers an amazing cooperation between humans and technology, through which surgeries reach high levels of precision and efficiency. Technological advancements, including robotics, AI, and digital health, will fundamentally transform the surgical profession. Check out my analysis: The Technological Future Of Surgery medicalfuturist.com/the-tech…

My newest analysis is out and publicly available! Over the past 15 years, I have given hundreds of keynotes to pharmaceutical companies around the world. One question comes up remarkably often, especially when we talk about artificial intelligence, digital health and the changing role of physicians: what will happen to pharma reps? I analyzed it here: The Future Of Pharma Reps: 5 Ways AI Will Transform Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives medicalfuturist.com/the-futu…

This is the amount of paperwork required to admit a patient to a hospital in the United Kingdom! It’s basically a paper patient twin. 1) Paper: For experienced staff, I estimated this would take roughly ~90 minutes on paper. 2) Digital: Or around ~35–45 minutes and 600–800 clicks as part of traditional EHR workflows. 3) AI: Or perhaps 15 minutes and 20–40 clicks using an AI scribe. Those were my subjective estimates when I first shared this. Now we have much better evidence. An NHS England-sponsored study evaluated AI scribes across more than 17,000 patient encounters at nine NHS sites. Clinicians spent 23.5% more time interacting directly with patients, appointments became 8.2% shorter, and in A&E the time required to complete the initial patient note was cut in half. NHS England is now actively supporting the adoption of ambient AI documentation across the health service. But one important thing has not changed: the AI produces a draft which the clinician still has to review, correct and approve before it enters the medical record. And that's exactly how automation should remove the paperwork from the physician. How quickly can we make this the normal way of working?

BREAKING NEWS! An OpenAI agent hacked into an Australian national healthcare database! Not a hacker or a cybercrime group, but an AI agent. "The hack occurred when an OpenAI agent conducting research into healthcare spending circumvented blocks to find answers in areas it had no authority to access, Albanese said. OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the incident occurred in June but that the company was only made aware of it in August as they conducted extensive checks into its AI models’ activity." Technically, the AI did the task it was assigned to: it did extensive research. Maybe from now on, we have to ask our agents not to hack into public healthcare systems to do a good job. Source: edition.cnn.com/2026/09/23/b…

A US judge just decided that ambient clinical audio recordings that physicians use to help create their final clinical notes serve an “administrative purpose” and patients don’t have a legal right to the recording. As contradictory decisions come out every week about patients accessing AI scribe notes, let me ask a question: wouldn't it have been great if policy- and law-makers could have had the chance to get prepared for such questions before the technology got implemented? This is exactly where futures methods can help. I'm not saying that every single person in healthcare should use them daily, but a policy-maker body could have easily used it to forecast such challenges and maybe try to get a legal consensus about it before it gets widely adopted in the industry. I'll keep talking about the practical importance of futures methods until you really get fed up with me. Source: ama-assn.org/practice-manage…

This book explains how disruptive technologies and emerging trends such as robotics, AI, 3D printing, precision medicine or patient design will impact the manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceuticals in order to prepare successfully for a better future of healthcare. Check it out on Leanpub! leanpub.com/thefutureofpharm…

Our Comment paper in Nature about how science could engage with the future differently by systematically applying foresight methods. For almost 20 years, I have worked to make futures methods an accessible and practical toolkit for medicine, healthcare and life sciences. My goal is for the future directions of publications, research findings and scientific projects to depend not only on researchers’ individual opinions, but on systematic methods that help us explore multiple possible futures. At the beginning of this year, I asked myself why this has been so difficult. Why do we encounter so much resistance, confusion or scepticism? I realized that I had not found the right language to explain why it matters. Then I thought of translational medicine, a term that became prominent when I was still a medical student. Scientific progress was accelerating rapidly, but many discoveries struggled to reach the bedside. Genomics and other fields were advancing, yet clinicians and patients rightly asked why those breakthroughs were not being “translated” into medicines and diagnostics. Translational medicine emerged as a response. It brought new training programmes, institutes and a philosophy aimed at helping scientists and clinicians understand one another’s language and work toward shared goals. While waiting at a red light, the idea suddenly came to me: 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. In essence, we are trying to solve a similar problem, not only in medicine. We want to translate the visions, scenarios, risks and opportunities generated through futures methods into the language of researchers who may never have analysed the future this way before. You can read our paper here: nature.com/articles/d41586-0…

MIT researchers came up with tiny batteries that can run ingestible electronics before breaking down into materials the body can absorb. But this post isn't about the technology; you can find the source about them below. It's about scientific marketing. You invent a battery that can dissolve in the body and the image you share of it is unbalanced, awfully lit and in general just poor. The scientific accomplishment is amazing, but the way it is being presented to the public (and sometimes part of that public pays for the grants) is low quality. I always wonder why? Why don't you spend a few more minutes on those interview answers or visual representations to make your work present itself better? Source: discovermagazine.com/tiny-di…

Consistency always wins! I've been using puzzle games, apps, and crosswords daily to keep my mind sharp for decades. Now I've just reached a 500-day streak on the Elevate app doing mental games. What is the secret app streak that you are proud of but nobody cares about? I will!

In Your Map to the Future: Learn How to Navigate and Shape What Lies Ahead, I show that thinking about the future isn't just for experts or think tanks, but it's a skill anyone can learn. You'll learn how to: 1) Explore different possible futures instead of trying to predict a single outcome 2) Use methods like scenario analysis and vision writing to prepare for uncertainty (with over 6 methods explained in detail) 3) Overcome short-term thinking and information overload 4) Understand intertemporal decisions and make better choices today by thinking about the future more effectively. It's available in e-book format too: amazon.com/dp/B0DP9K3FB7

ZipStitch is a surgical-quality wound closure device. The company claims it even supports wound healing. It's available without a prescription in the US. A surgeon friend of mine provided some insights, explaining that these devices don’t quite measure up to stitches when it comes to handling wounds under high tension, as they lack the necessary strength. Additionally, stitches afford surgeons greater precision in wound closure. Another factor to consider is the device's impracticality for the patient; when it's the sole means of securing a laceration, the area must be kept dry - meaning no showers. Not exactly great for a smooth recovery. Despite these drawbacks, such products can still play a valuable role in your home emergency kit, offering a helpful solution for wound management when professional medical assistance isn't immediately accessible but needed.

When New Zealand announced its plan to ban cigarette sales for future generations in 2021, it felt like one of those rare moments when public health truly dared to think big. I found the news remarkable at the time, and more than 1 million people saw my analysis about it here on LinkedIn. It looked like a bold signal that prevention, policy and long-term thinking could align in a meaningful way. The plan was later scrapped by the new coalition government in 2024. That is one reason I try to stay cautious about overhyping major announcements. There is a big difference between a powerful idea in the form or a political announcement and a lasting real-world change! In healthcare and medicine, we should absolutely pay attention to bold ideas, but we should also wait to see what truly gets implemented, sustained and translated into outcomes. Here is the original announcement: bbc.com/news/world-asia-5958…

Seventeen years ago, I was sitting at my own medical graduation ceremony at the University of Debrecen. Of all the speeches that day, there is one word I still remember clearly: “colleagues.” It meant a great deal to me to hear a professor address us that way for the first time. It felt like being welcomed into a profession and a community that had suddenly become ours as well. Last Saturday, I had the privilege of standing on that same stage and speaking to a new generation of physicians. I spoke about the world they are entering: patient empowerment, digital health, artificial intelligence, and the responsibility that comes with having tools at their disposal that previous generations of doctors could not even have imagined. But perhaps the most meaningful moment for me was being able to say that word again, this time from the stage: Colleagues. My heartfelt congratulations to every newly graduated physician. I attached the full speech too and summarized it here: medicalfuturist.com/what-i-t…

I will be in Belgrade this weekend speaking at the MIND conference that focuses on finding out how AI can help transform medicine and healthcare. In my keynote, "Your AI Prescription", I will provide worldwide examples about how a country like Serbia could leverage an advanced technology like AI for the benefit of patients and physicians. (Please do let me know if you have top-notch examples in mind.) "MIND2026 puts Belgrade at the center of the regional conversation on AI in medicine. It brings together healthcare, research, institutions, and industry in a programme built around implementation, judgement, and real-world use." See you there! mindbelgrade.com/en

Abu Dhabi's system now links 100% of hospitals, dialysis and fertility centres in the country! Imagine what a country's healthcare system could win by using advanced AI to analyze the data, results, patient outcomes, treatment plans, and anything that is available in the EMR. A plethora of prompts come to mind: what gaps can you identify in the data, what is the lowest-hanging fruit for improving patients' health, or what could save the biggest amount of time for our physicians? "The unified system, the first of its kind in the region, is powered by artificial intelligence and leverages healthcare-sector-wide data to identify patterns and detect early signals associated with patient safety. This enables timely preventive action and supports the delivery of safer care." They claim that it has helped reduce the time required to report risks, saving more than 2,000 hours of staff time. Source: gulfnews.com/amp/story/uae%2…

How to explain the major levels of AI to healthcare leaders? I always look for new ways in terms of videos, papers, and infographics to make it easier for everyone in healthcare to understand enough about this breakthrough technology. Here is a brief overview of how the different layers of AI in healthcare is built upon each other. Machine learning methods - neural networks - generative AI - AI agents - and agentic AI. Here is what is possible on each level.

AI evaluating other AI models? It might sound scary, but the FDA is doing the right thing as it tries to deal with regulating generative AI. "Cognita Imaging recently received a $1.29 million research contract from the Food and Drug Administration to test a new method of evaluating artificial intelligence-generated radiology reports. The goal is to assess whether a “jury” of large language models can evaluate another AI model’s report, and which cases need radiologist oversight." In the next 18 months, they will test whether AI tools can be evaluated not by a panel of radiologist experts, but AI models designed for this purpose. "When there are disagreements that have clinical significance, radiologists will be brought in to see if the problem came from the AI-generated report, the LLM jury or the original radiologist’s report." Source: medtechdive.com/news/cognita…

It's one thing to read the studies about all those foundation models in radiology, and it's another thing to make one publicly available. Alibaba Group Holding’s research arm, Damo Academy, just did that. The AI model can identify nearly 150 abdominal conditions (including cancers) by reading CT scans. It's amazing to see that science produces the knowledge required to make such AI models useful, and tech giants jump into the picture by open-sourcing their models based on the studies. "The vision-language model, called Damo Radar, was designed to analyse contrast-enhanced CT scans covering 18 abdominal organs and identify a broad range of diseases and other abnormalities, such as malignant tumours, the institute said on Friday. The model was trained using CT scans paired with clinical reports. In nearly 40,000 real-world examinations, it achieved an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.913 across 146 clinical findings. An AUC of 1.0 represents perfect diagnostic accuracy." Source: scmp.com/tech/big-tech/artic…