The current healthcare system is in need of a major upgrade. As of 2016, an amount close to $9,024 per capita is being spent by an average American citizen towards basic healthcare amenities. In the same respect, Switzerland stands second with individuals paying an average amount of $6,787 per capita. And, this is pretty much the case for any country. But only if it was that the outcomes were proportional to the investment, the scenario would have stood justified. In fact, according to a Los Angeles Times article, the U.S. life expectancy is now shorter than 30 other countries’ and more people died in the U.S. from preventable diseases or complications than in 12 other high-income countries. This is where big tech companies like Amazon and Google step in.
AMAZON CLINIC: Its decision to partner with companies like Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to create a new company to provide lower-cost, higher-quality healthcare for its employees can potentially serve as a model for future healthcare advancements, if successful. Moreover, the company aims at leveraging Alexa’s growing AI capabilities to address some of the most challenging healthcare problems. It includes helping patients manage their heart rate and diabetes. The company is also working towards minimalizing the interface to help the elderly take advantage of the same.
DR. GOOGLE: Google has created, funded and partnered on a variety of health-related projects with different degrees of success. One popular project was Google Glass. As part of this effort, in 2009 it launched Google Ventures, the venture capital arm of Alphabet, Inc. The fund currently has about $2.4 billion to spend and has made investments in at least 300 companies, frequently related to the areas of genomics, biotechnology and cell therapy.
The aim is clear and simple! To make the world’s health data useful so that people enjoy healthier lives. From sensors to health platforms to precision medicine, the companies are seeking to transform the way healthcare is delivered. However, the important question is that whether we’ll ever be able to accept these tech giants in the field of healthcare as well as we’ve in terms of technology and services.
Feel free to share your opinions and ask questions!
Sources:
As a Health Policy Administration major, who is currently looking into this industry right now, I can tell you with my opinionated opinion, there is certainly a place for technology in the healthcare industry. However, there is NO way that technology on its own should be relied on as the end all be all for the industry. How many times have you gone on WebMD to check symptoms of a cold, or some other ailment just to have a panic attack when the first disease that pops up is cancer or some related and equally terrible disease. Recently I read an article that talks about robot doctors moving into the industry, and the relative lack of success that these robots have had. It is difficult to trust the opinions of a robot when there is no previous experience of a proven track record to draw from.
I think the idea of primarily relying on the data services and advanced technology for healthcare needs is a good one, but one that has been worked on for quite a while now. At its current stage, the process of integrating more data services to replace human healthcare practitioner services (i.e. using Google to diagnose your illness) is still at very early stages, and consists of many flaws. It is dangerous to open these services up to the public at a beta stage because especially for a topic as critical as healthcare, one mistake could end up costing a lot in terms of finances and the welfare of the public. That’s why I think that while this is a good idea, until it is perfected to not have as many problems as it does right now, it should not be available to the general public due to how unreliable its nature is.
Not only this, but in class we learned about data mining and how third party companies exploit your information for their own purposes. Although these services that were mentioned in the original article claim to keep your information confidential, it is very likely that it is still given out to other companies. That’s why I would be very cautious of using these services to diagnose any illness that a person might have, as not only are they unreliable, but the information that you provide them may not be secure.
However, despite the numerous flaws that are present in the current healthcare using big data systems integration techniques, the future of this vertical consolidation might be closer than we think it is. Check out this articles which explore more in depth about the future of this integration!
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/what-it-will-take-big-data-achieve-its-potential-healthcare
As a Health Policy major and potential Information Sciences and Technology minor, your article pertains to a lot of what I am focusing my studies on. However, I believe that the idea of concepts like Dr. Google and Amazon Clinic sound glorious in the moment but are actually a bad idea overall. A recent study conducted by CBC news said that we should “think twice before we consult Dr. Google about our illness; using the internet to look for solutions to your medical emergency has the potential to release your private health information.
We have learned previously in class, how far advertisement companies will go in order to post advertisements that pertain to specifically what your last couple web searches were about. Just because this information is considered more “private” or “confidential” does not mean that these companies will not have access to what you search. Not only will they aim ad’s to scare you or draw you in, they also will falsify information. Dr. Genhai sated that the search you conduct will bring up “a mix of true and false information from various sources”. Not only can this lead to wrong ideas, but it can also lead to worse health outcomes because people will underestimate or overestimate the symptoms that they are feeling. In fact, Dr. Genhai conducted an experiment on her patients where she had them search their symptoms on the internet and she would observe her reaction. Not only did the search results bring up extreme or false cases, but the patient also gained their information through scanning the search results page rather than actually clicking on the link.
Overall, it is clear that Google and other internet search engines track what you search, which can be dangerous in a situation that involves your personal health. The internet is unfortuantely not a trained professional in health and medicine and obtaining information from these sources can only make you feel less at ease. All in all, as a health policy major, I believe it is best to consult your doctor in these situations rather than the internet.
Crowe, Kelly. “Internet Health Searches Can Be Bad for Your Health, Researchers Say | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 7 Apr. 2018, http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/second-opinion-online-medical180407-1.4608410.
As a Health Policy major and potential Information Sciences and Technology minor, your article pertains to a lot of what I am focusing my studies on. However, I believe that the idea of concepts like Dr. Google and Amazon Clinic sound glorious in the moment but are actually a bad idea overall. A recent study conducted by CBC news said that we should “think twice before we consult Dr. Google about our illness; using the internet to look for solutions to your medical emergency has the potential to release your private health information.
We have learned previously in class, how far advertisement companies will go in order to post advertisements that pertain to specifically what your last couple web searches were about. Just because this information is considered more “private” or “confidential” does not mean that these companies will not have access to what you search. Not only will they aim ad’s to scare you or draw you in, they also will falsify information. Dr. Genhai sated that the search you conduct will bring up “a mix of true and false information from various sources”. Not only can this lead to wrong ideas, but it can also lead to worse health outcomes because people will underestimate or overestimate the symptoms that they are feeling. In fact, Dr. Genhai conducted an experiment on her patients where she had them search their symptoms on the internet and she would observe her reaction. Not only did the search results bring up extreme or false cases, but the patient also gained their information through scanning the search results page rather th
an actually clicking on the link.
Overall, it is clear that Google and other internet search engines track what you search, which can be dangerous in a situation that involves your personal health. The internet is unfortuantely not a trained professional in health and medicine and obtaining information from these sources can only make you feel less at ease. All in all, as a health policy major, I believe it is best to consult your doctor in these situations rather than the internet.
Crowe, Kelly. “Internet Health Searches Can Be Bad for Your Health, Researchers Say | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 7 Apr. 2018, http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/second-opinion-online-medical180407-1.4608410.
I found this article very interesting as healthcare seems to be a heavy issue in the United States and maybe technology can help and decrease the costs. I recently read about the new Apple watch and I think there are some really interesting additions that may be helpful for healthcare or at least taking a step in the right direction in being able to direct health concerns to technology. Apple recently released it’s new Apple Watch includes an electrocardiogram (ECG) while helps detect heart conditions early. Apple also allowed it’s new watch to detect when you’ve taken a fall and can call emergency personnel immediately. I actually saw someone write an article about this on the IST page, but I thought this applied very well to the topic discussed above.
Reference: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shourjyasanyal/2018/10/28/5-reasons-why-you-should-be-excited-about-apple-watch-4-ecg-sensor/#4d1421de5ee6
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2018/10/26/has-apple-watch-series-4-fall-detection-saved-its-first-life/#1c34c5eb7b45
The changing atmosphere of the healthcare industry has actually been a focus of my studies at Penn State, and the combination of healthcare and technology is certainly an interesting topic. In addition to the examples you have shown, I have found many examples of new healthcare devices that implement technology. One of my favorite examples is an upcoming device, Siren Diabetic Foot Monitoring Socks. You can check out their website at https://siren.care/. Essentially, they are “smart socks” that detect changes in temperature of your feet. Since low circulation to extremities is a serious issue that many diabetics face, these socks allow a simple and safe way for diabetics to ensure that they aren’t at risk of losing their feet. According to the CDC over 9% of the American population has some form of Diabetes (https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-report.html), which means that these socks could also be extremely profitable as well as helpful.