Health 5.0 more me in MEdicine
Since medical knowledge became more rigorous and standardised, it has largely been one-size fits all. Locked away in journals and the minds of experts, phenomenal store was built of what is efficacious or troubling over populations at a whole. This was accessible mainly in reaction to a problem — you go to the doctor once you develop visible symptoms.
But myriad new technologies are turning this around. New devices are democratising the traditional diagnostic data — wearables can capture physical movement, sleep patterns, heart beats , electrical readings and blood pressure. It can do this consistently and over a long period of time — even when there’s nothing to worry about.
In that sense healthcare is becoming more self service. Rather than consulting a specialist with specialised equipment, people are more prepared to collect and figure things out themselves. Just as retail consumers armed with more data, the information asymmetry has been reduced. And some of the time to diagnosis and treatment has been reduced as healthcare providers are no longer starting from scratch, and without a baseline.
In this way traditional healthcare providers are also becoming more capable at focusing on the individual. Genetic data is ever more accessible as companies setup subscription and even mail-in services. An ecosystem of services are being built to interpret and provide this data. Pharmaceutical companies, dietitians and other healthcare providers are leaping on this wealth of information to provide more personalised treatment.
Put together, these innovations offer something more than the individualisation of medical interventions themselves.
Access to long-term data, electronic health records and ever-deepening communications methods mean that patients are able to access more long-term and consistent healthcare. Geography, memory, and intermittent data are no longer constraints to true healthcare as a service. And probabilistic analysis based on consistent data streams means more possibility for forward guidance on risks and diagnosis, allowing healthcare to turn from something reactive to an aspect of life over which there is real ownership.
Healthcare can not only be a service with more democratised inputs, but a real source of investment. With more individual and accurate data and diagnosis about future risks, and the efficacy of certain interventions, we can all become more involved in our ongoing health.
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