Digital health products and services are rapidly diffusing into clinical medicine. Technologies like telemedicine, artificial intelligence and remote sensing are the new tools in the black bag of increasing numbers of clinicians.
A just-published study in Heart is spawning headlines about the benefits of daily egg consumption. A health benefit from egg ingestion is possible, and this is a matter I've pondered before, and investigated directly. But I advise against taking such headlines too literally, as they turn over easily, and crack under very slight pressure.
Remember Cambridge Analytica? It was just the tip to the data iceberg. Issues around vast data sets, advanced analytics, revenue potential and ownership are all swirling together and reaching critical mass. But let’s take a step back.
Our perennial pseudo-confusion about diet- and pseudo-confusion, it is- is actually fueled by two parallel delusions, running in opposite directions. The first is that every opinion about diet changes the facts about diet; it does not. This delusion operates as if bias, preconceived notion, having the answer before asking the question, or having something to sell - is fully commensurate with expertise and the weight of evidence.
The senior market is growing incredibly fast. Over 10,000 people turn 65 every single day in the United States alone. One of the biggest issues with the aging population is isolation and loneliness. Many consider loneliness a national health national crisis. And interestingly, loneliness isn’t just a condition of our elderly population. A recent survey by Cigna revealed that Generation Z (adults ages 18-22) may be the loneliest generation. Further, loneliness and social isolation may be directly related to a decrease in wellness and to an increase in mortality.
Walking into the back hallway, all seemed calm and quiet. The hallway was dimly lit with several closed doors on either side. The dark gray carpet was broken up by shafts of light here and there as the sunlight sneaked in through the windows. The bathroom was immediately to the left and as I turned toward it, I breathed in the scent of burning flesh. Such a familiar scent. A scent I’m used to from performing surgery when I use cautery to stop bleeding. Feeling at home, I walked a little further, drawn to the scent…Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks--this wasn’t just anyone having surgery, this was my child!
Most physician entrepreneurs, particularly those still in clinical practice, are more interested in devices, digital health and care channel, process and model improvement or innovation. For the drug industry, that is a problem since there are many exciting opportunities. Given the escalating costs and decrease in new drug research productivity, we need to do a better job of getting physician entrepreneurs engaged in the early stages of drug discovery, development and commercialization.