Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
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Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#2In 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...
Social webapp for complex diseases, helps patients communicate and share data/insight. Great inspiration.
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#310 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
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#410 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
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)
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#510 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
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…
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.
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#610 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
This riles me every time I hear about it. I remember just watching one of the parliamentary committees on BBC Parliament and thinking why the hell are these people in charge of the biggest IT project in Britain.
I often wonder why open-source can't provide a good and cheap solution to this NHS IT problem. I know I'd happily work on something that will benefit the health of the entire population. I don't find it too hard to imagine that there are lots of other developers out there who feel the same way I do.
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#7>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.
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#8>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.
> 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.
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#9>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.
> 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.
I don't the technology itself can do much about human weakness.
Re: Why we need to reinvent healthcare with technology
#1010 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
This riles me every time I hear about it. I remember just watching one of the parliamentary committees on BBC Parliament and thinking why the hell are these people in charge of the biggest IT project in Britain. I often wonder why open-source can't provide a good and cheap solution to this NHS IT problem. I know I'd happily work on something that will benefit the health of the entire population. I don't find it too h…
It's not health it's government.
The ministry of defence stock control project is similarly behind schedule and overbudget - and last time they tested it they had 8Bn worth of kit the army couldn't find.
I mean how difficult is it to make a stock control system ??