Recent Appearances / Mentions
Healthcare in America | The Future Of Recovery Technology: You’ll Never Head Home After Surgery The Same Way Again
After a surgical procedure, what happens?
The vast majority of the time, the surgeon hands the patient a few sheets of paper outlining basic care instructions. They chat with them for five to ten minutes about the recovery process, and then send them on their way. And should the patient have any questions, well, they can try to reach the doctor during office hours.
Forbes | 4 Trends In Digital Health To Keep An Eye On In 2018
According to a mid-year study, $3.5B was invested into 188 digital health companies in the first half of 2017.
Every pillar of the “health” umbrella is now acknowledging the importance of innovation, and more than ever we are seeing the prioritization of streamlined processes through digital platforms. Medicine, in particular, is a very old industry with massive companies that struggle to innovate from the inside—hence why so much money is being invested externally.
Don’t Know What Digital Health Is? Here’s A Look At The Past 10 Years
The first half of 2017 was a big moment for healthcare — more specifically, the disruptive innovations being created by digital health companies.
There were 188 digital health deals in the first half of 2017, raising $3.5 billion. And assuming this investment trend continues through Q4, it’s anticipated that 2017 will see $2.7 billion more in digital health funding than last year.
INC Magazine | How Mental Health Technology Is Transforming Healthcare (and Improving Emotional Wellbeing)
Healthcare tomorrow will be better, faster, and stronger.
Digital health is on the rise, and healthcare as a whole is looking to today's most innovative entrepreneurs to solve some of the industry's longstanding pain points.
The Huffington Post | $3.5 Billion Has Been Invested In Digital Health So Far In 2017. Here’s Where The Industry Is Going
Investors in digital health have been busy this year. In the first half of 2017, 188 startups took in $3.5 billion in investments—a record setting amount.
It’s not hard to see why. Patients and providers are both looking to digital health tools to get better treatment and improve the relationship dynamic.
Hacker Noon | What Do Patients Ask Chatbots in The Healthcare Industry?
Physicians are busy. So are patients. We’re all moving faster than ever.
We’ve made it easier to communicate. To stream shows. To buy a pair of shoes. People look around and they see so many aspects of their lives becoming automated, becoming more convenient. And they want that same ease and convenience when it comes to medical care.
Digital Health Revolution
When you survey all this data and then pull back to extract an overarching analysis, there is a very clear trend that’s happening: healthcare companies are scrambling to disrupt their own business.
It’s far more cost efficient for a huge healthcare brand to invest millions into handfuls of smaller startups and hoping one of them becomes a market disruptor, than for them to try to innovate internally. Healthcare companies are well-oiled machines with red tape, regulations, and firmly established processes and protocols. It would take them far longer (and cause much more of a hassle) to incubate early-stage ideas.
So instead, they are trying to capture market share by investing in the very ideas that are looking to disrupt their very existence.
Anyone who says digital health is “dying,” or has been over-funded, doesn’t see the gold rush that’s happening to capture market share of an age-old industry.
Tech Moves Quickly and It’s Time For Healthcare To Catch Up
It just goes to show how quickly things can change once people realize the benefits of having new technology. But we’re still acting like our patients aren’t connected. In that same Medicare survey, only 9% of respondents said that their health plan integrated data from those digital tools. Another 57% didn’t know whether or not their plan offered telemedicine. 31% said their plan didn’t offer it.
These people are connected. Healthcare just hasn’t caught up with them yet. And I think we really need to focus on giving them what they need. Steve Jobs has a famous quote that I think really nails this.
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
It’s clear to me from these studies, and from my own experience, that we just need to show patients these tools. Most of them are connected and ready to use them, but they don’t know they want them yet.
Technology starts with younger generations and filters upward towards the elderly. And there are issues. You might have to change the font sizes on an app to make it easier to read. Maybe you have to simplify the layout. Honestly, I’m 35 and I’ll occasionally find myself having trouble navigating an app. So there are issues that we address for older users, but it’s all very doable.
It’s time to stop using these preconceived notions about what people want or need. We need to get to know the populations that we’re creating for and leave our judgements at the door. Our patients are connected, and it’s time that digital health caught up with them.
