

Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology - andrewvalish
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-10/13/massive-health

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cbs
_Mine says 101. What the hell does that mean? It doesn't even tell you whether
that number is good or not._

Saying that to a diabetic would be like asking you: The thermometer says 98.6
F is that good or bad?

I don't mean to write this guy off altogether, his heart is in the right
place, his statement about _"products for people's health that they love to
use?"_ I guess is on the right track but only because it is so vague.

I work in medical technology, I have a next generation device sitting on my
desk right now. But you know what? When I go to work tomorrow I'm not going to
worry about the diabetic too fucking stupid to not even have a passing
knowledge of what their blood glucose level means. Better UI isn't going to
get the Tracy Morgans of the world to get off their asses and give a shit
about their condition. If a doctor telling you the ramifications of your
condition doesn't get you to care, it doesn't matter that the UI sucks,
because you're not managing your condition anyway.

 _We are always trying to solve the wrong problem," he said. "How can we make
products for people's health that they love to use?_

Yes, products people like will help, and I am glad to watch when those devices
hit the market. However, you think the industry is focusing on the wrong
problem? We have patients so poor they resort to boiling used catheters and
this guy has the balls to worry about if the high tech devices are love-able?
That just pisses me off. The first problem is and always will be access. Is
that how consumerist our country is now? Basic knowledge can go out the door
because people can't even be arsed to stay alive unless things are love-able?
I don't care, we have bigger fish to fry, there are many orders of magnitude
more people without access than people squandering access.

I know there is that line of bullshit that a more attractive product will sell
more units and mean more capital for whatever else; but these aren't consumer
products you choose to buy, you get sick and then have to buy it. There is
going to be better overall ROI for both the medical companies and the
healthcare consumer by getting substantial healthcare improvements out the
door.

Edit: "Siri, my friend is having a spasm on the floor as his throat closes up,
he is pointing to something labled EpiPen. My heavens, what do I do?!?!"

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vph
>Likewise, he explained that around 22 percent of people don't complete their
course of antibiotics, which helps to creates bacteria that are resistant to
antibiotics. "You have to change the way you deliver medicine."

When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The thing is technology
isn't going to help these 22% of people. Self responsibility and a little
education would help.

~~~
dpatru
> Self responsibility . . . would help.

The point of a lot of great tech is to help humans where they're weak. People
in general are not very responsible nor do they remember well: That's why we
have schools and calendars.

~~~
vph
I don't the technology itself can do much about human weakness.

~~~
TeMPOraL
That's the _whole point_ of technology - we use our knowledge to augment
ourselves and fix our weaknesses.

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BenSS
Healthcare is insanity much like education because the current institutions
assume everyone is identical. Simply using more tech isn't the cure. There's
an almost a paranoia about using resources inequally, when choosing properly
can yield huge benefits. That said, tech can certainly improve things! My
favorite healthcare insanity and a glimpse into what can be done story:

[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/24/110124fa_fact_...](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/24/110124fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all)

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agumonkey
In a slightly different sub-topic , i'd like to bring this up again :

[http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_heywood_the_big_idea_my_broth...](http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_heywood_the_big_idea_my_brother_inspired.html)

Social webapp for complex diseases, helps patients communicate and share
data/insight. Great inspiration.

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nobody3141
10 Healthcare is expensive

20 Technology is good

30 So we use technology to make health care cheap

40 We announce massive NHS-IT project

50 We spend $20Bn

60 We discover project totally useless and abandon it

70 goto 10

~~~
tristanperry
Pretty much sums it up.

(for non-Brit HNers not aware of the NHS-IT project reference, the not-so-
thrift previous Government launched various IT projects to 'improve' the NHS,
such as <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15014288> which cost £11bn, took 9+
years and was a big failure overall... mind you, they did create IT projects
since they thought they sounded 'sexy' - <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
politics-12905303> \- so I guess it's little wonder the main NHS-IT project
failed)

~~~
agumonkey
Wasn't the problem tied to politics and national scale reforms (1) more than
absolute improvement room in the healthcare systems ? Maybe smaller/more
innovative attempts could succeed; things like non invasive surgery, new or
cheaper ways of monitoring (earlier response is often best)

at one point, all people want to be healthy, they just don't have tools to do
it.

(1): I just skimmed lightly through both links btw.

