Three years after he got into medicine, Dr. Myo Thant felt the burn.
So he found an outlet in computer programming and game design, creating in the 1980s the first surgery simulation: “Life or Death.”
After another decade of near-burnout-level patient loads, Thant has turned to his computer again, creating an exclusive social Web site for the medical community.
“I started thinking maybe I should be doing something, helping physicians socially,” Thant told The Examiner.
The Web site bills itself as “the exclusive online resource for physicians ? a private community created by physicians, providing concise information and valuable services to help you balance your personal and professional life.”
It includes social networking and professional classifieds similar to craigslist.
“I like the fact that it was a nice combination of access to research and opinion … and that it had a classified component,” said Dr. Amy Zimmerman, a Baltimore City opthamologist. “You can find some good things on eBay, but I would think you can really deal better with other physicians” for medical equipment.
Thant hopes users such as Zimmerman will drive the content of the site and find support online to keep them from burning out.
“When I started out to practice, the life seemed to be not that bad. When we sat around in the lounge and talked about social things, other hobbies, national and international news,” he said. “Now I look around, and physicians are not in the cafeteria at all; they just come in, get their food and go back to their office.”
When he has a chance to sit and chat, Thant said, the aggravations of high patient loads, slow Medicaid reimbursement and rising malpractice insurance dominate the conversation.
“A lot of physicians are retiring early,” he said. “I basically cut down the practice.”
He started the site in February, and in March he mailed out 1,200 invitations to local physicians. From that pool, about 100 signed up.
This week, Thant mailed 20,000 invitationsto doctors nationwide.
“I hope it will become international, so physicians from different countries can communicate,” he said.
