Sometimes it is difficult to imagine how our systems and technology will affect society in the next decade. If, in 2008 you were told your cell phone will be able to translate Spanish on the fly, or notify you when you should leave for a meeting to avoid traffic – you might not have believed it.
Today trends in information technology are being capitalized on in nearly every industry. In the health industry, the progression in medical care has looked like this:
Past Decades: Medical Products
Care was provided based on the historic and evidence-based information that was accumulated through study and practice.
Current Decade: Medical Platforms
Platforms focus on real-time, outcome-based care. Treatments are continuously monitored, calibrated, and calculated. There is movement towards use of big data that can statistically support a diagnosis.
Next Decade: Medical Solutions
This era will use virtual care, artificial intelligence and robotics to deliver intelligent solutions for both evidence and outcome-based health, by focusing on collaborative and preventative care. It is leading to a previously unimagined precision for medicine, down to the familial and individual level, which one day may even be able to predict and thereby prevent disease. (PWC Global)
Virtual Care
Through this decade and the next, there is a significant shift in responsibility for one’s own health. Fitness apps, diet coaches, and health mentorship programs are available for mass subscriptions, and today’s working generation highly values a ‘healthy lifestyle’ as a result. And of course, with information at our fingertips, nearly everyone is guilty of “googling” their symptoms. It is, of course, advisable not to do so because:
- Google is merely a search engine, and the credibility of the source is not verified
- There is no feedback from or no dialogue with Google. A proper diagnosis requires providing your medical history, examination, and potentially testing and consultation.
Enter virtual care, which provides a full diagnosis right from your cell phone. In Canada, it is starting with companies like Dialogue, who offer premium healthcare through mobile and online.
Dialogue is currently offered through employers as a part of their health benefits and wellness plans. Its model caters to the consumer trend of mobility and flexibility, reducing the need for an employee to take hours out of their day for an appointment. This ensures that employees are tending to their health needs in a timely and convenient manner, and reduces workplace absenteeism.
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Recent advancements in AI technology include using machine learning combined with neuro-science, unlocking powerful medical search engines, and using big data to refine the accuracy of diagnosis.
Recently, Google partnered with DeepMind Health, who is working to combine machine learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general-purpose learning algorithms into neural networks that mimic the human brain. This program is in partnership with clinicians, researchers and patients worldwide to solve real-world healthcare problems.
IBM’s Watson for Health is helping healthcare organizations apply cognitive technology to unlock vast amounts of health data and power diagnosis. Watson can review and store far more medical information – every medical journal, symptom, and case study of treatment and response around the world – exponentially faster than any human.
AI is already being used to detect diseases, such as cancer, more accurately and in their early stages. According to the American Cancer Society, a high proportion of mammograms yield false results, leading to 1 in 2 healthy women being told they have cancer. The use of AI is enabling review and translation of mammograms 30 times faster with 99% accuracy, reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies (PCW).
