The tools available to physicians in the “doctor’s black bag” haven’t changed much in over a century. Twenty years ago, my colleagues and I published a paper in which we advocated for the addition of a portable ultrasound device – not much bigger than a smartphone – to be available to clinicians in the exam room. And for the last two decades, many clinicians have begun using a portable ultrasound, not to replace a stethoscope but to provide information quickly and accurately that can’t be obtained from unaided clinical assessment alone. This has made us better clinicians, and here’s the key, it’s provided more time for clinicians to get to know the patient as a person so that medical evidence can be tailored to the unique needs of the individual in front of us.

It’s now time for the docto

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