We have been hearing a lot of changes in the approach for preventive healthcare segment. With an era of focus only on creation of medical claim products, which pays you once you are ill, preventive healthcare has never rightly evolved. However, the preventive healthcare plan is not an unknown entity for developed countries where people are availing preventive care. In India, we start caring for our health when we cross 40; however research says the age group of 30 to 40 is the group which is becoming more vulnerable as the patterns of work, lifestyle etc. are changing over last two decades.
The core intention of this blog is to think loud on possibilities of innovations that can change the way we deliver healthcare today. Preventive healthcare coupled with remote monitoring technologies will bring an era of preventive health. Let us try to understand why prevention has never been an adaptable strategy.
The drivers that can help here are -
Innovation in ‘Preventive care’ is definitely evolving. With IBM’s Watson promising APIs for developers and startups, opportunities for digital health startups will be immense. I can think of Dr. Watson merging with symptom checkers on your mobile, diagnosing problems upfront, suggesting treatments with more precision and rationale.
One can now plan the diet intake, calculate BMI, identify symptoms upfront, follow treatment plans, decide daily calories burn rate, check with one’s PCP, make PCP payments online against quick advice etc. and much more.
World of Preventive Health IT is up for opportunities.