What Are Some New, Exciting Technologies With Potential Healthcare Applications?

For anybody with an interest in retail, I’d encourage you to check out PSFK’s Future of Retail Report, which has a lot of great quick hits on retail strategies.  One technology that I was particularly interested in was an app from Neiman Marcus that alerts sales associates when a customer visits a store.  The associate then has access to sales history and customer preferences, while the customer can access product information at their fingertips.

Let’s apply this to healthcare, where a patient might be able to broadcast medical history or preferences to different stakeholders.  At one end of the spectrum, a patient could list their health-related questions or ask for assistance through an app at a pharmacy or health provider, creating a better, more personalized experience.  At the other end, an electronic health record could be built into a phone and be able to be broadcast to or downloaded via secure line at a hospital when the patient enters.  Biggest hurdle is security and privacy, but could be overcome in the future.

The second technology, also via PSFK, is an extension of my fridge magnet idea from a previous post.  The Virtual Fridge Lock attaches to a refrigerator and monitors when a person opens it.  If that person uses it during an unauthorized time, the fridge sends a message to their social networks and gives friends the chance to comment (with either encouragement, similar to the Nike+ running app, or criticism).

This idea uses all the great elements of gamefication and social motivation, although I wonder how many people will invite this self-induced criticism.  Given that people use social networks more than ever to shape their personal image, will they be willing to admit weight is a problem and shame themselves to lose a few pounds?

What Can Travelling Through America Teach Us About Healthcare?

Every major company has a dedicated consumer research team that can conduct research on its own or let another company take the lead.  Unfortunately, this approach relies heavily on surveys and focus groups, which are notorious for capturing consumer preferences, but not explaining or predicting actual behavior.  Retrospective studies, especially data driven ones, can see what people are actually doing, but only for a single point in time and may miss nuances or actual causes of this behavior.  Is there a better way?

I've always loved the idea of tagging along with a patient or family to see how they really act in the real world, which is why I’m intrigued by The Odyssey Initiative.  This program will send three teachers across the country to the best schools to document what they do right, culminating with them taking these lessons to open a new school in 2014.  The group will also post videos and best practices online, creating a robust resource for other education leaders.

Let’s be honest: this is pretty ridiculous.  This group will spend a year on the road capturing anecdotal information and then try to connect these observations together to create a successful model.  This goes against the traditional model of collecting as much data as possible at the lowest possible cost (through surveys and focus groups) and drawing conclusions from that.  They think they can walk into a bunch of schools then create the ultimate school?

That’s what I love about this idea, that it’s so contradictory to our notions of consumer research.  This group is taking the hardest possible approach by visiting face-to-face with teachers around the country.  However, I think they will find insights and best practices that may apply to a single classroom or the entire system, but may not have been captured through traditional research.

And why can’t this same approach apply to healthcare?  A travelling team sits in doctors’ offices to understand how to improve the patient experience.  A team could embed themselves with the healthiest and unhealthiest people to understand how they make decisions.   Given all the changes in healthcare coming down the pipeline, a team like this could draw insights radically different from what we know today and create the next big idea because we haven’t taken the time to truly listen.

Why Isn’t Everyone Talking To Their Doctors On The Phone?

Imagine being sprawled across your bed with a cold compress to relieve your throbbing headache.  You haven’t eaten for days and every muscle in your body feels like it’s been through a heavyweight bout.  You know you should see a doctor, but that requires energy that you can’t muster up.

This is the dream scenario for Ringadoc, a startup I recently ran across that lets you call a doctor to diagnose your issue for a flat fee.  Telemedicine has the potential to play a significant role healthcare delivery, filling a gap in primary care that may not be covered through general practitioners and retail clinics.  But despite the explosion of smartphones and tablets, why don’t I know anybody who has used or considered this type of service?  There are a few hurdles for the industry:

1) Accurate Diagnosis and Patient Trust: My wife recently had a skin issue and, because of her busy schedule, was only able to talk with several doctors over the phone.  They recommended some topical solutions and suggested she needed to reduce her stress.  After three weeks it was clear that wasn’t working, so we went to a retail clinic where she was diagnosed immediately, given antibiotics, and felt better in a few days.

Medical diagnosis is a very intimate process and often requires more than just descriptions or pictures to be accurate.  I think the public recognizes this, which is why many folks may feel uncomfortable with this process.  Until telemedicine provides and communicates accurate diagnoses on a regular basis, the public may be reluctant to give it a go.

2) Seamless Technology: To assist in these diagnoses, doctors may also require data such as blood pressure, glucose level, etc.  While the technology to do this over your smartphone exists, it would require a whole other set of devices for the patient to own, be accessible, and be able to use correctly.

On top of that, in order for telemedicine to provide significant value, there needs to be greater connectivity.  For example, if my wife had been accurately diagnosed over the phone, she still would have needed medication, requiring the doctor to send a prescription to the pharmacy.  I’m unclear on whether this connection or the ability to pass along data to specialists or a hosipital exists, but I suspect it’s several years out. 

3) Cost: Of course, looming above everything else is cost.  Telemedicine solutions can range anywhere from multimillion dollar, state-of-the-art labs (as I Simon Cowell plunked down for his tour bus) to Ringadoc’s $40 per call model.  However, until this is promoted or supported through insurance, likely reducing costs and giving the industry more credibility, I’m not sure we’ll see stronger adoption.

That’s not to say the industry isn’t looking at this.  Recently, my company has thought about virtual pharmacies, complete with live connections to pharmacists over video.  While this solution has been well-received, it will be years before we roll this out due to the scale and complexity.

Like the newer retail clinic model, I see a lot of potential for telemedicine to play a larger role in healthcare delivery.  However, there are still several fundamental patient issues to work out before it’s normal to talk with your doctor on your bed.