Longitudinal Data — Amazon Healthcare’s Opportunity?

by Cancergeek

Over the past few weeks, most of us have seen the announcement by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan that they are moving into healthcare. (Jan 30, 2018 NYT article here)

Since that time there has been a lot of comments, new articles, and discussions on various platforms speculating what this all means.

The article published in the US Today on 2.25.2018 entitled, “How Amazon, JP Morgan, Berkshire could transform American Health Care” highlights several of the pillars they may attack.

The pillars that were cited for disruption could be:

• Slashing Bureaucracy
• Expand Telemedicine
• Pharmaceutical pricing and distribution
• Healthy Living
• Payment to health care providers (hospitals and clinics)

Some have commented that the “fear of disruption” is overrated. Others have stated that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions since this is a move to focus on the reduction of health care costs for their own employees.

On 2.27.2018 in a Financial Times article entitled, “Apple Pushes Forward With Healthcare Ambitions” announces that Apple will be launching AC Wellness Network. AC Wellness Network is an independent medical practice dedicated to delivering compassionate, effective healthcare to the Apple employee population.

So what? Why care?

There is one thing that all physicians want when formulating medical recommendations, decisions and discussing treatment options with patients — longitudinal data.

Today the EMR’s, whether Epic, Cerner or another incumbent, as well as more specific information systems that reside in oncology such as Aria or Mosaiq, do not have longitudinal data sets on patients.

In my opinion, this is where Apple, Amazon, and even Google have the advantage.

Longitudinal data.

In today’s marketing world I can identify and track the buying habits of my target customers. I can identify where they are traveling, who they are interacting with, where they eat, what they eat, how they sleep, what they buy, and I can anticipate with very good accuracy what they are going to buy next.

I can do this so well that I can provide the perfect promotion to help nudge them over the edge to make a purchase just as they were about to place the item back on the shelf.

Just think if we began to apply this type of thinking and logic to healthcare?

I am not limiting this to merely population health 2.0 and managing a community of chronic patients.

I am talking in the sense that we can now begin to anticipate when people may skip taking their medication and nudging them gently to remember and take it.

A radiologist will now have all of the background information and previous studies at their fingertips to help them make a definitive diagnosis for a patient.

A primary care physician will have knowledge that a patient works all day carrying heavy trays and can no longer pick up their child and instead of visiting the PCP first or referring to physical therapy, can now send them directly to MR and an orthopedist to repair the probable tear in the rotator cuff.

A physician may have access to an event that happened 4 or more decades ago and have analytics to provide insights as to how that correlates to the symptoms a patients may have today.

We must realize that many children (and adults) today have a deeper relationship and more history with their email account and cell phone than they do a family or primary care physician.

The disruption I hope for is that the Amazon, Apple, and other companies like Google will enable the longitudinal information needed by physicians.

I hope that their technology will provide physicians the opportunity to spend more time with me, and less time on a computer.

In turn, I hope this lifetime collection of knowledge will enable physicians to build a trusting relationship with me.

I hope physicians are enabled to provide care at the N of 1.

The care physicians want to provide.

The care we deserve.

Care at the N of 1.

As always feel free to email me at cancergeek@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter and Instagram as @cancergeek

~Cancergeek