The world is changing rapidly, as people from around the world share ideas and create novel innovations every day. Check out some of the biggest trends and technologies that are revolutionizing the way we deliver healthcare.
Big Data: The abundance of data today is reshaping most industries and healthcare is no different, although it's taking place at a slower pace (in part because of regulations on privacy of data and safety of techniques). But technologists have been responding to these regulations, creating electronic health records that can be combined with other health data and analyzed to learn a whole lot about our general health, as well as the efficacy of treatments.
Machine Learning: This is an offshoot of big data – it's the ability for computers to learn, based on previous examples. When it comes to healthcare, for instance, this could mean looking at some X-rays that include cancerous cells and others that don't, and learning to tell the difference. This will lead to computers that will be able to make diagnoses more quickly, more accurately, and more efficiently than we currently can.
mHealth: If you keep track of your steps on your smartphone or wear a fitness-tracking device, you're taking part in mHealth, or mobile health. There are plenty of apps that will track all sorts of health metrics, with greater or lesser accuracy and with more or less-informed advice to go along with it. mHealth also includes more useful, larger-scale applications of mobile devices to assist in healthcare, like hospital administration or doctor-patient communication.
Personal Healthcare: You're now able to keep track of your own health like never before, by using some of the devices described above, by seeing your electronic health records, or by using services like commercial genetic testing through 23andMe and others. Our ability to educate ourselves on healthcare and medical topics is better than ever before, too (but be careful about self-diagnosis).
Employers Taking a Bigger Role: While it's not true across the board, many employers are taking more interest in the health of their employees, aiming to get them faster, better, cheaper care (what's good for employees is good for employers, right?). Companies as big as Intel, Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Chevron have all taken steps to help their employees live healthier, happier lives.
Personalized Healthcare: All of the above trends are leading to customized healthcare – medicines, therapies, and other treatments designed specifically for you. This is in large part thanks to genomics, our ability to rapidly sequence your DNA to better understand what makes you tick and what you're at risk for, as well as the spread of big data.
National Patient ID System: Errors within the healthcare system are all too common, with a recent study finding the best error rate to be around 7% for mismatched records. This sometimes gets much worse, with an error rate as high as 60% when entities exchange information with each other. A nation-wide system to ensure 100% accurate patient identification would go a long way to mitigate these problems, which end up wasting time in the best cases or causing serious complications in the worst cases, when medicines or treatments are given to the wrong people.
Does the idea of a national patient identifier sound great to you? HeroX is hosting the Chime National Patient ID Challenge, a contest to create a patient ID system that will work 100% of the time. If you've got a great idea to contribute or want to learn more, the challenge is still open for registration until July 12th so check it out!
