Before we get to the video at the end of the page, a preamble: There are very few technologies which have changed the ability to bring out human potential in a historic fashion; the printing press, the steam engine, the Internet are some examples.
We live in a world where we only experience a small part of reality. From vision to smell, our senses are all are just small subsets of vast reality that is just waiting for us. I wonder what the role of virtual reality and augmented reality will do the the human experience as act as a tool for expanded human awareness. It's not just an experience, but I believe these new technologies will "shift the curve" of human evolution and transform mankind.
In April of 2017, I had an interaction with a patient who was having trouble paying for his mental health medications. It was heartbreaking. And as a pharmacist, I experience this pain way too often. But for some reason, I really couldn’t stop thinking about this particular interaction. I felt like I needed to do something about it and that night I told myself that one day I’d be a part of something that would help people pay for their medications. Before bed, I registered a domain name for a website with not the slightest idea of what would come of it. But it finally came together.
Panic attacks can be terrifying and life-altering if they are not controlled! Often they are so scary that every detail of someone's first attack becomes etched permanently in their mind. Unfortunately, it is too common for people to make major career and life decisions based upon the desire to avoid another attack.
The Ugly? So we all know healthcare costs are a big burden. High cost, probably a fair amount of increase in demand and most likely within the same if not a declining budget. Being dominantly a system that fixes things as opposed to preventing things to happen, it is also one of the few (last ?) sectors where the processes are built around the professionals instead of around the ones who need the 'service.'
I have been dabbling with the idea of whether Alexa, or any other of the new voice devices, is going to replace the Pharmacist or not. And I have found that, in theory, they can. But will they be able to pull it off?
Yes, it's all about patient empowerment and the democratization of health. But as we empower the patient, there's someone sitting on the sidelines. It's the physician.