Lucas Seuren

Atheist, Educator/Teacher, Scientist

I study how people talk. Following a PhD in Linguistics at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, I took a position at the University of Oxford to investigate how video technology like Zoom - or in those days Skype - changed the ways in which clinicians and patients interact. Little could I have foreseen that only 1.5 years later a pandemic would make all this work not merely theoretical, but highly practical. My approach is to make video recordings of routine healthcare consultations, transcribe these, and then to try to make sense of the structure of the talk. My goal is to understand the impact technology has on communication and by extension on the feasibility of video consulting. Using a co-design approach, I've worked with patients and care providers to develop evidence-based tools that help them use video technology appropriately and effectively. I'm currently evaluating how telemedicine can improve timely access to specialist care for older patients in primary care and long-term care, thereby improving healthcare experiences and preventing avoidable ED visits. I'm also collaborating with colleagues on how to integrate LLMs into primary care and what the effects will be on patient experience.

Helping patients and clinicians have better conversations, improving access to high quality healthcare through technology, and environmentally sustainable diets

Communication is the foundation for excellent healthcare experiences

Health Care Services, Linguistics, Telemedicine

Calisthenics, rowing and making fluffy eggs. For the past 2.5 years I have been working on learning and then mastering the handstand. It has been and continues to be a great lesson in perseverance and finding joy in the process of learning and minor accomplishments.