Dr. Eric Topol, Editor-in-Chief of Medscape, discusses if the nation is on the verge of a healthcare provider shortage, or if clinicians are being phased out by algorithms.
Voted as the #1 Most Influential Physician Executive in the United States in 2012 in a national poll conducted by Modern Healthcare, Dr. Topol works on genomic and wireless digital innovative technologies to reshape the future of medicine. He is a practicing cardiologist at Scripps in La Jolla, California and widely credited for leading the Cleveland Clinic to become the #1 center for heart care. While there he also started a new medical school, led many worldwide clinical trials to advance care for patients with heart disease, and spearheaded the discovery of multiple genes that increase susceptibility for heart attacks.
Since 2006, in La Jolla, he leads the flagship NIH supported Scripps Translational Science Institute and is a co-Founder of the West Wireless Health Institute. He also serves as Professor of Genomics at The Scripps Research Institute and Chief Academic Officer of Scripps Health. Topol pioneered the development of many medications that are routinely used in medical practice including t-PA, Plavix, Angiomax, and ReoPro and was the first physician to raise safety concerns on Vioxx. He has published 1100 peer-reviewed articles and over 30 medical textbooks.
In 2009, along with Francis Collins and Harold Varmus, Topol was selected to be one of the country’s 12 “Rock Stars of Science” in GQ Magazine. In 2011, the University of Michigan, where he had served on the faculty, initiated the Eric Topol Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine to recognize his contributions. The University of Rochester, his alma mater medical school, awarded him the Hutchinson Medal, the University’s highest honor. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and is one of the top 10 most cited researchers in medicine. His book The Creative Destruction of Medicine (Basic Books) was published in 2012.
