Can technology free us to be more human?

I’ve been leading the digital transformation of healthcare as an executive and a consultant for the last few years. I have also been writing on the promise and potential of digital health. Along the way, a personal experience reinforced the simultaneous need for the human touch in healthcare.

My in-laws were visiting from India. After returning from a movie and fireworks on July 4th, my father-in-law found himself shivering. He had a 101-degree fever. My wife, a physician, gave him Tylenol, and we called it a night. At 4 am the next morning, my mother-in-law woke us up to say that his temperature was at 105 degrees. We rushed him to the emergency room at Danbury Hospital.

At the Hospital

In the ER, a doctor took my father-in-law’s vitals and started to run diagnostic tests (blood, urine, chest x-ray, and ultrasound of the bladder). Within an hour, we had the diagnosis — a case of severe UTI and sepsis. An IV dose of antibiotics was the first step. Next, it was decided that he should be admitted for monitoring — we had not realized that there was a high risk of septic shock. We had made it to the hospital just in time!

Once admitted to the inpatient ward, his urine sample was sent for a culture to identify the right antibiotic. It was a waiting game from there. We waited for his fever to normalize before he could be released. We waited for the urine culture results. Between my wife, my mother-in-law, and me, we took turns spending time at the hospital. The nursing staff was great — full of passion and humor, and on top of their job. It was the conversations with them that kept our spirits high.

Two days later, his fever still had not normalized. The urine culture results were in, and they were disappointing — he had a severe, treatment-resistant bacterial infection. A different class of antibiotics replaced the original treatment regimen. We were uncertain about how much longer he would need to stay at the hospital. Luckily, the hospital staff showered us their professionalism, passion, and willingness to do whatever it took to make us all feel comfortable.

My father-in-law had regular visitors (my wife’s colleagues who work at the same hospital). There were ample opportunities to stay entertained. India was playing its third T20 cricket match with England. Wimbledon had just started. And FIFA (Round of 16) was well on its way. Between the conversations and the banter, the time spent at the hospital became bearable.

Finally, on day four, the new antibiotic started to work, and his fever started to normalize. The doctor’s prognosis was favorable. There was hope that he would be released the next day. There was a reason to cheer! And the following day, it was time to bring him home.

Could technology have helped?

As I spent five days in and out of the hospital, I couldn’t stop thinking about my life’s work and wondering how integrated healthcare technology might have helped. Questions such as:

• Could he have worn a smartwatch or a piece of smart clothing or smart something that would have predicted the onset of the infection and warned us to seek medical help?
• Could he have been diagnosed remotely with a telemedicine solution, and then be treated in the comfort of our home?
• Could a monitoring device have alerted an ambulance service to transport him to the hospital?
• Could emerging, AI-enabled diagnostic technology have sped up the identification of the appropriate antibiotic, and shortened the overall hospital stay and reduced costs?
• Could digital telemetry have eased the work pressure on doctors and nurses at the hospital?
• Lastly, could a digital solution ease the nervousness one feels when being sick in a foreign land? And if these tools and capabilities existed, would they be preferable to the continuous care and concern he received from other human beings?

My conclusion?

As humans and social animals, we naturally feel good when we are in the company of others. When we’re sick, it’s the human compassion and empathy that keeps us cheerful and motivated. We were grateful that my father-in-law’s hospital stay included many social interactions that made the experience bearable. At the same time, it was clear that digital solutions would have made various points of care smoother, more efficient, and more accurate. The technology could have shortened the diagnostic and treatment matching timeline, reducing the length of hospital stay and reduced overall costs. His antibiotic in the form of Smart [integrated] Medicine could have helped monitor his recovery and risk for a relapse.

In conclusion, while human interactions and compassion define our well-being, technology can help transform the process of healthcare — from prevention to diagnosis to monitoring — making it more accurate, efficient, and cost-effective. The goal of technology has never been to replace humans, but make our life easier. To free our time to engage in meaningful activities that make us human. Digital health innovation can lead to less time in hospitals, less time feeling sick, and more time being well with friends and family, and more time being human!

Be well!

Ruchin Kansal

Founder and Managing Director, Kansal & Company

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