The “Uber-isation” of healthcare in Australia
MARTIN KOPP
The Australian11:35AM August 3, 2016
Australia’s healthcare industry is on the cusp of its “Uber moment”.
Smartphones, health apps, and wearables empower users to take more control of their health, and make better informed decisions. The days of simply tracking the number of steps taken have been replaced by analysis of blood glucose levels, heart signals, and automated reminders telling us to do more exercise. The list of new capabilities goes on.
Massive change is also underway in the healthcare industry. Vast stores of data can be mined to tailor treatments to better suit individual patients, and in some instances the cost of analysis and care have fallen dramatically. For instance, the cost of sequencing a human genome is US$99 — down from a cost of US$2billion the first time it was achieved.
Among researchers and life sciences companies, the understanding of genetics and genomics — and how they drive health, disease and drug response in each person — is advancing each day. This gives medical professionals insight into better disease prevention and enables more accurate diagnoses, safer drug prescriptions, and more effective treatments.
New technologies allow professionals to analyse data in real-time and data from a variety of sources to identify trends and correlations and further improve healthcare services. It also allows researchers to fine tune the selection of potential candidates for clinical research projects, condensing timelines for research and the potential for more targeted research outcomes.
It’s not too far-fetched that in the not-so-distant future we will see a real life version of Dr Crusher’s Medical Tricorder from the USS Enterprise in Star Trek, in the shape of a smartphone app capable of scanning the body, diagnosing − and even treating − disease.
The speed of innovation is both exciting and frightening. With knowledge comes expectation and the increased information available has given rise to “expert patients”. This group expects more from the healthcare system.
A Roy Morgan Research Australia Opinion Poll in 2015 showed 78 per cent of Australians used Google searches to find information about a health problem in the 12 months prior to the poll, while 71 per cent used the internet to learn more about what their doctor had told them[1]. The trusted source of health information is shifting.
It won’t be long before patients enter their health concern and priorities into their smartphone and ask: “How quickly can you find me a bed in this location, a surgeon with these qualities, infection rates that look like this, my own room … and I’m vegan …”
This is what the healthcare industry sees as the “terrible tension”; the more information people have, the higher their expectations and the more services they will demand. But right now we don’t have the system or capacity to meet those expectations.
The challenge for the healthcare industry is how we respond, and how quickly we respond. The evolution of how we operate is inevitable, but the pending “uberisation” of healthcare may also mean revolution rather than evolution.
Investment in health technology has skyrocketed, but that technology and the information it generates is not linked to trusted health advice and guidance. Providing people with real-time data about their health is a step forward but it needs to be real-time operational. Knowing how you’re sleeping and how many steps you have taken is not enough; you need to know how your overall health is affected.
This is where industry has a role to play. We must mobilise health workforces with the technology and tools to connect and communicate as one network, enhancing their ability to offer patient’s more personalised care.
We may not yet be as advanced as the USS Enterprise on Star Trek, but we know the “Uber moment” in healthcare is coming. Today we still operate in an information vortex but there is no doubt access to real-time data will fundamentally disrupt the healthcare industry. As we have seen in other sectors, early adopters of digital healthcare will be the most likely to survive and flourish.
Martin Kopp is Global General Manager Healthcare Providers, SAP SE.