{"id":11577,"date":"2019-08-30T12:29:12","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T22:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/?p=11577"},"modified":"2020-02-14T03:51:12","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T13:51:12","slug":"less-is-more-ob-gyn-doc-talks-about-the-future-of-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/less-is-more-ob-gyn-doc-talks-about-the-future-of-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Less is More: OB\/GYN doc talks about the future of healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"11577\" class=\"elementor elementor-11577\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4cda5ba2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4cda5ba2\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2021608d\" data-id=\"2021608d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a6a371b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5a6a371b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">Less is More: OB\/GYN doc talks about the future of healthcare<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a94c98e elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"a94c98e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-46f67bb elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/author\/hi-vizibility-marketing\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"far fa-user-circle\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUniversity Health Partners of Hawaii\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-a474e5f elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/2019\/08\/30\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-calendar\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>August 30, 2019<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4858b98b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4858b98b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?fit=800%2C534&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-11578\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?w=5184&amp;ssl=1 5184w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?resize=150%2C100&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?w=2400&amp;ssl=1 2400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-16de10cd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"16de10cd\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1a9e0750\" data-id=\"1a9e0750\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-78f3e36b elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"78f3e36b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-79c0c543 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"79c0c543\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Written by Marybeth Kotrodimos, University Health Partners of Hawaii<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Photo by Vina Cristobal\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Specialty doctors traveling to rural areas and neighboring islands to see patients?<br \/>Surgery and hospital stays a rarity for cancer patients?<br \/><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Genetic testing used to tailor medical treatment to the individual? <\/em><br \/><em>Cancer centers offering healing touch, pet therapy, and acupuncture?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In what he describes as \u201ca paradigm shift\u201d in medicine, UHP\u2019s Dr. Robert Kim tells us that these scenarios are not just a vision for the future, but increasingly, the present reality of healthcare here in Hawaii. With a less-is-more approach, Dr. Kim along with his colleagues at UHP, are helping to shape a much brighter future for those suffering from cancer and other debilitating diseases throughout the state of Hawaii and the Pacific Rim.\u00a0 Regarding these changes, the individualized patient care given by our doctors perfectly illustrates the UHP motto: \u201cTomorrow\u2019s Healthcare Today.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a gynecologic oncologist, Dr. Kim treats women with ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancer, as well as what he refers to as \u201ccomplex gynecologic problems\u201d such as endometriosis, abnormal pap smears, and fertility issues.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn the old days,\u201d Dr. Kim tells us, \u201cwe\u2019d have 20 patients in the hospital, all trying to recover from surgery.\u00a0 Currently we have no patients in the hospital, even though I\u2019m doing surgeries every day.\u201d The switch to minimally invasive procedures is one big reason hospital stays are not always required after surgery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe used to be super-aggressive,\u201d in treating cancer, Dr. Kim says. That aggressive treatment often \u201cresulted in harm, leaving people with handicaps and side effects. Now we\u2019re into a less-is-more paradigm which doesn\u2019t mean cheaper or more restrictive service. It\u2019s recognizing that we can still achieve cures with less.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe big open surgeries of the past often resulted in large wound infections and other problems,\u201d Dr. Kim explains.\u00a0 Patients now \u201crecover quicker\u201d in part because they are left with \u201clittle puka incisions\u201d instead of large wounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another major change in healthcare, he says, is that \u201cmultiple therapies\u201d are employed in the treatment of cancer. \u201cWhereas we used to have a heavy reliance on chemotherapy, other, better targeted therapies are now being used.\u201d\u00a0 We are seeing \u201ca recognition that all cancers are not the same. You might have ovarian cancer, and the person next to you might have ovarian cancer, but that person might not have the same type of cancer as you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Kim also tells us that \u201cthe world of 23 &amp; Me and Ancestry.com has entered the medical world too. We\u2019re analyzing cancers now to the basic building blocks of genetics.\u201d They are looking at differences in mutations and tumor types and developing targeted medications that are making a big difference, especially the field of gynecologic oncology.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Kim says what he is most proud of is that when he started practicing medicine in Hawaii, if patients from a neighboring Island or West Oahu wanted to see him or another specialty doctor, they would need to travel to him.\u00a0 Over the past several years, and specifically in the past year, Dr. Kim has been helping to bring about what he calls \u201cdecentralization\u201d of specialized treatment, \u201cwhere you\u2019re not coming to us. We\u2019re coming to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Kim explains that we know that when patients are near their homes, they are near family who can make them more comfortable and participate in their care.\u00a0 \u201cThey do better,\u201d he says. \u201cYes, maybe it\u2019s less convenient for me to fly to Hilo, but it\u2019s one plane fare and I can see 20 patients versus having 20 people fly here.\u201d\u00a0 He says this is what he\u2019s been \u201choping for, waiting for \u2013 delivering health care to people in the community.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He mentions UHP\u2019s new clinic in Pali Momi, as well UHP\u2019s new gynecologic practice in Hilo, and adds, \u201cWe\u2019re already servicing Maui. Eventually we\u2019d like to serve Kauai.\u201d\u00a0 But he is quick to say that these communities do have good care in place already. There are very good gynecologists on the Big Island, for example, but most of the specialists were in Honolulu. Now UHP is bringing specialists, like Dr. Kim, to Hilo.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Kim also talks about the decentralization of cancer centers.\u00a0 There used to be just two big cancer centers on the island, at Kapiolani and Queen\u2019s, but now we have two on the leeward side as well: one at Pali Momi and a center at Queen\u2019s West Oahu. And instead of being \u201ccold sterile places where you go to have drugs infused in your body, they are offering alternative therapies like Reiki, healing touch, pet therapy and acupuncture.\u201d\u00a0 They offer lodging for outer island patients and support groups as well.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAre we seeing a future where there is no need for surgery because the treatment for cancer is so good?\u201d Dr. Kim asks.\u00a0 \u201cOne day are we going to see that we\u2019re not using our standard chemotherapy regimens because we now have new therapies? I don\u2019t know what the future is going to be, but the future is bright.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-58614bdd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"58614bdd\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5f807ea0\" data-id=\"5f807ea0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca35fd7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"ca35fd7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/news-all\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">&lt;&lt;   &nbsp;Return To News<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 30, 2019 &#8212; Dr. Robert Kim talks about the future of healthcare and OB\/GYN&#8217;s recent efforts on the Neighbor Islands. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21740,"featured_media":11578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-11577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-department-of-ob-gyn"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/uhphawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2455.jpg?fit=5184%2C3456&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21740"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11577"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12951,"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11577\/revisions\/12951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uhphawaii.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}