Healthcare Imaginations
A Digital Future

Take a moment and imagine what a healthcare system of the future would be like if all the technology that we have today could be applied. These are my thoughts and wishes for a futuristic healthcare system.

The biggest factors of influence will be:

  • mobile
  • telehealth
  • artificial intelligence

Digital sensors and instruments will be on your body, in your body and looking at your body – recording every facet of consumption, movement, blood pressure, and other indicators of health or illness.

robot

You will purchase health insurance from your favorite company – like choosing between Peets or Starbucks. There won’t be much of a difference in price but a choice based on personal preference based on customer service and interaction that suits your lifestyle.

Doctors will be participants in many insurance plans. They will treat patients and won’t have to worry about coding and billing and reimbursement. They will be paid for quality outcomes and satisfied patients.

We will speak conversationally to our Intelligent Digital Executive Assistant (IDEA©) to make appointments. Our IDEA© will remind us to take medication and exercise and keep track of it all.

Robo-nurses©, hospital bots, will self-sanitize their hands so that infecting patients is rare. With artificial intelligence, they will avoid mistakes and be more attentive and conversational than human nurses – a more sophisticated SiriTM. Human nurses will be able to care for complex patients and those at a higher risk. They will also train their digital counterparts and provide the customized patient care programs.

Consumable devices will keep track of the food you eat and a continuous record of the calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar consumed and sends the data to your mobile device.

Artificial Intelligence will accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

  • The rare, resurrected or complex diseases will be solved in seconds.
  • Artificial intelligence will also come up with the best combination of drugs, dosage for individuals with multiple chronic conditions. Doctors will do the tweaking of medication, not the prescribing.
  • Calculate the risk of contracting specific diseases and at what age.
  • Services that will provide a prediction on your life span.

Robots will become the new caregivers – Carebots©. They will dispense medications, cook and hold conversations with their patients. The Carebots will provide physical safety for the elderly to remain mobile in their homes 24 hours a day.

Trips to the doctor’s office will be fewer because advanced telehealth and telemedicine means you visit your doctor by turning on your television or tablet. Super apps and ancillary attachments will allow the TV or tablet or other mobile device to become a specialized instrument that provides anything from glucose readings for diabetics to digital images for heart disease patients.

When you need to physically go to the doctor or hospital, a driverless car will respond to your request to be picked up and deliver you to your medical appointments.

We, as caretakers of our own health, will be empowered by information and an avalanche of data that can be acted on instantly. Are you ready?

Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!