Most people are aware that technology has been heavily incorporated into every area of their lives. They expect that trend to continue with their health as well. Think about how far we’ve come in less than 20 years with digital tools and sensors: fitness trackers, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, smart scales, activity trackers (Fitbit, Jawbone Up), sleep monitors (Beddit), etc. We can imagine a future where someone's vital signs are measured by ingesting a pill-sized sensor once a day instead of having to go to their doctor to get checked—that would be incredible! The possibilities seem endless at this point and it’s exciting to think about what new technologies might be able to help us in our daily lives.
1# What technology can be incorporated into digital healthcare?
In case you haven’t heard, there’s some pretty major things happening in the world of healthcare right now. From payer-provider feuds to patients having direct access to their own healthcare records online, the industry as we know it is slowly changing to suit today’s digital needs.
What do you think the future of digital healthcare will look like? Do you think electronic medical records will be fully integrated with social media? Will patients have more control over their health data than ever before?In case you haven’t heard, there’s some pretty major things happening in the world of healthcare right now. From payer-provider feuds to patients having direct access to their own healthcare records online, the industry as we know it is slowly changing to suit today’s digital needs.
What do you think the future of digital healthcare will look like? Do you think electronic medical records will be fully integrated with social media? Will patients have more control over their health data than ever before?
2# How would the technology you mentioned above benefit patients and the healthcare community at large?
By providing an easy way to track their health and fitness, patients will be better equipped to learn what works for them. The technology could also help educate professionals on how people across a variety of backgrounds respond to various health measures, hopefully resulting in more informed medical decisions. And because it’s connected to smartphone apps that already have your daily health habits in them, each person would be able to get healthier faster with less effort by combining all their data into one convenient place. In 2030 and beyond, your smartphone could play a big role in keeping you healthy. So what do you think—could your phone be an extension of your doctor or health coach someday?
The technology I mentioned, Wearable Technology and Smart Drug Monitoring would be very beneficial to patients. Wearable technology can monitor things such as pulse rate and respiratory rate. This helps to ensure a patient’s health is monitored through checkups and more in-depth monitoring. Smart drug monitoring would allow a doctor to monitor certain drugs that patients are taking for potential interactions with other medications being taken by them.
Both technologies will help lead to safer medication usage over time if used correctly as opposed to without these technologies. The combination of these two technologies along with other possible technology advancements could also help fitness tracking amongst individuals which in turn could help create healthier people in general.
3# What is your disruptive idea for digital healthcare? What bold idea would you like to see come to life in this space?
We hear it all too often, health and fitness is so important, but I don’t have time. You may not have time to exercise or eat right during your 9-5 but what about your commute or while watching TV at night?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could work out in virtual reality (VR) from anywhere, anytime and even at work! VR provides a safe, fun place for anyone to escape from life stressors and be proactive about their health & fitness. By putting a gym in every person's pocket on any device that can connect to the internet we can truly change people's lives. We want to encourage people to move more by delivering immersive workouts that are accessible and convenient for anyone on earth.
Healthcare and fitness are inextricably intertwined, which means that if tech is going to change one of them it's going to change both. Artificial intelligence (AI) and human-machine interaction—along with devices that are connected to each other—can improve health outcomes and save lives. (Okay, there might be a few ethical issues with using AI for autopsies, but who's to say what tomorrow brings?) What does your idea entail? Where would it start if someone built it today? Is your idea more about patient outcomes or just innovation for its own sake?