Baseball, medicine and home runs

The baseball metaphor has been used in various contexts within health care and medicine to illustrate important concepts and principles.

Michael Lewis wrote the New York Times bestselling book “Moneyball,” which was also made into a movie. The concept of moneyball in baseball involves using data and analytics to inform player selection and strategy. Similarly, in health care, data-driven approaches have been used to improve patient outcomes and resource allocation as well as to identify trends and inefficiencies.

Now, with the use of artificial intelligence (AI), capturing these data has made it possible for both large and small practices to use AI in real time when the doctor is eyeball-to-eyeball with the patient.

In medicine, batting average can be used as a metaphor for a physician’s diagnostic accuracy. Just as a baseball player with a high batting average consistently hits the ball, a physician with a high diagnostic accuracy consistently makes correct diagnoses, and the patient may have better outcomes.

Playing the field is a metaphor that applies to medical education, where students are encouraged to explore various specialties and career paths before deciding on a branch of medicine. Just as a baseball player might try different positions on the field, medical students can gain valuable experience by rotating through various specialties.

In medicine, a home run can refer to a breakthrough or significant accomplishment, such as a successful treatment outcome or the development of a new therapy. I recall a patient who had prostate enlargement and untreated erectile dysfunction. I did both of his operations, and the patient referred his father and uncles for urologic care — that was a urological home run!

Another example is discovering the use of an existing Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for a different indication. Colchicine is indicated for the treatment of gouty arthritis. Recently, low-dose colchicine with its anti-inflammatory properties has been repurposed for the management of coronary artery disease.

A strikeout in medicine can represent a setback or failure, such as an unsuccessful treatment, misdiagnosis or unexpected complication. Another strike occurs when a patient decides to leave the practice due to an office issue. For example, I was seeing a new patient when my staff interrupted me to take a phone call from a referring physician. A few minutes after I returned to the exam room, I received another phone call and left for another few minutes. When I returned, the patient said, “Dr. Baum, you enjoy an excellent reputation, but I don’t feel I have your undivided attention. I want to end this consultation and plan to see another doctor.” I was very disappointed in myself, and in the process, we changed the way we handled phone calls when I was with patients. This issue was discussed at the next staff meeting, and we developed a policy that I would accept a call when I was in the exam room with patients only from the emergency room, the intensive care unit or one of my children. If a doctor called, the doctor was told that I was with a patient and that I would return the call immediately after the doctor-patient relationship ended. The doctor wishing to speak with me was asked whether that was acceptable, and almost every time the doctor accepted this alternative. I have had other rare strikeouts, but never again a situation where I left the exam room multiple times and the patient left my practice.

Bottom line: These baseball metaphors provide relatable, illustrative examples of concepts in the health care and medical fields, helping clarify complex ideas and emphasize the importance of continuous learning, improvement and perseverance.

Neil Baum, M.D., is a professor of clinical urology at Tulane University in New Orleans. Dr. Baum is the author of several books, including the bestselling book “Marketing Your Medical Practice: Ethically, Effectively, and Economically,” which has sold over 225,000 copies and has been translated into Spanish.