Life Saving Radio Uses Hard Rock To Improve Surgical Performance

If professional athletes can maximize their performance through music and classical music can improve brain development in babies, it's not a far stretch to believe that music might also help to hone focus for people doing mentally taxing work. Given the widely shared statistic that 90% of surgeons play some type of music in their operating rooms, it makes sense that perhaps music might offer some sort of performance benefit for doctors too. So healthcare innovation firm Klick Health teamed up with NextMed Health to build "the world's first AI-powered radio station and album clinically designed to improve surgical performance."

According to the data, the one band most likely to improve surgeon performance was AC/DC. I'm not sure how thrilled I'd be as a patient knowing my doc is rocking out to "Highway to Hell" while operating on me, but at least they rewrote the lyrics to say "Heal" instead. And if hard rock can indeed minimize the potential for surgical complications and help surgeons save lives, then it's exactly the kind of non-obvious idea that healthcare needs. Maybe the next AC/DC song they can adapt is "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and play that for legislators dragging their feet on healthcare reforms supported by doctors.