Interview with Dr. Gerald Diaz

On this week’s episode of the PNC podcast, Dr. Gerald Diaz discusses how he is using his background in computer science to make physicians’ jobs a little bit easier.

Dr. Gerald Diaz is an academic hospitalist and former software engineer who founded grepmed.com. He received his medical degree from the St. Louis University School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at UC Davis.

Our Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest-running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. Unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. And Economist Magazine recently ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations. While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills you need to advance your career. To find out more, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

Gerald worked as a software engineer for four years before coming to the realization that he wanted to help people more directly. He attended medical school and completed two years of radiology training, but decided to shift to internal medicine. So, he now works as a hospitalist. In the past year and a half, however, he has also taken on a new project: GrepMed.

GepMed is a community-sourced, searchable medical image repository. It makes high yield diagnostic and management algorithms, guidelines, checklists, evidence summaries, clinical images (x-rays, rashes, ekgs, microscopy) easily searchable and accessible from any web browser.

Information Overload

In training, everyone carries around their copy of “Pocket Medicine.” In emergency rooms, important algorithms are posted directly on the walls. Physicians, however, do not have the space in our white coat pockets to carry the overload of information we're are expected to know.

 

Taking a Shortcut

GrepMed is an image-based medical reference platform. It is an alternative to digital reference resources such as UpToDate, DynaMed or Medscape, but with the visual focus of Instagram, Pinterest or a Google Image search.

Its information is crowd-sourced and verified like Wikipedia, but instead of one page, searches produce multiple results. Ultimately, GrepMed shortcuts the process of referencing a source for medical information through the use of images. GrepMed can function as an educational platform. However, Gerald intends it to be more for physicians who already know the material and need a quick reminder.

You can really process an algorithm, a table, a guideline, especially if it's something that you've seen before and you've processed before… within seconds.

Dr. Gerald Diaz

A Growing Image Repository

GrepMed’s image repository currently has over 6,000 images, and one of the largest library of ultrasound clips. The images link back to original sources, giving users the opportunity to:

  • Seek additional information about the topic
  • Credit the authors and educators developing these resources
  • Vet the quality of the content themselves

When physicians make references and infographics to present at conferences, they are often never seen again. Similarly, if you post on Twitter, but have less than the few thousand followers necessary to gain traction on the platform, the content virtually disappears into the noise.

On GrepMed, however, medical infographics and other forms of visual references are evergreen and attract significantly more views. Anything that can be stored as an image can be uploaded as a reference on GrepMed.

Building a Startup

Because of Gerald’s background in computer science, he had realistic expectations when he started this project. He partnered with a software developer, who manages the website’s technical development.

Gerald’s short-term goal for GrepMed is to grow the database by 10 times and develop a community that contributes and verifies the content itself. Long-term, he dreams that when physicians need to find clinical information, they will turn to GrepMed first.

At some point during this growth phase, Gerald and his associates are certain that they can find a nonintrusive way to make the company self-supporting and profitable. And this will enable them to continue its expansion and improve its utility to clinicians.

Links for today's episode:

Thanks to our sponsor…

Thanks to the UT Physician Executive MBA program for sponsoring the show. It’s an outstanding, highly rated, MBA program designed for working physicians. It might be just what you need to prepare for that joyful, well-paying career. You can find out more at vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

I hope to see you next time on the PNC Podcast.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, share it on Twitter and Facebook, and leave a review on iTunes.

Podcast Editing & Production Services are provided by Oscar Hamilton.

Disclaimers:

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life or business. 

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counsellor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career. 

Right click here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

Here are the easiest ways to listen:

vitalpe.net/itunes  – vitalpe.net/stitcher