Health care is long overdue for a consumer technology overhaul to bridge the gap between the innovators working tirelessly to improve patient care, and the people waiting anxiously to take advantage of it. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Consumer technology has instrumentally changed our decision-making habits when purchasing a product or service. It is a rapidly growing, evolving, and expanding industry that aims to make the lives of consumers as easy, informed, and efficient as possible. We are increasingly seeing consumer technology dominate across numerous industries, especially throughout the COVID-era which has brought technical and virtual innovations to new heights. But one sector where it is noticeably lagging behind is health care.
It's quite an incredible, paradoxical thing that for the most important decisions we make in our lives, we have the least amount of resources to make them. When it comes to our consumer decision-making, there is a massive difference between choosing a place to eat, for example, versus deciding whether or not to get a hip replacement. With the current strain on the health care industry, both professionals and consumers are suffering due to stretched staff and resources, less face time and reduced networking. Unsurprisingly, this means consumer-decision making resources in health care are currently very limited.
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It's no secret that health care is extremely complex and met with more regulations and compliance issues than any other industry, meaning it has stunted its own ability to drive consumer innovation. One issue that brings the largest amount of concern is privacy, which is actually limiting the potential for meaningful improvement of health care. The consumer technology solution would be a framework that encourages greater connectivity and transparency through patient-to-patient and patient-to-doctor networks.
One 2019 report identified that technology-driven consumer innovation has the potential to create $350-$410 billion in annual revenue by 2025. One of the ways these emerging technologies would reshape health care is how consumers access it, and the same report predicted that "personalized ecosystems of care" centered around patients and families could be one of the biggest shifts.
As health care technology continues to rapidly innovate, it needs to do so with the intention of being more consumer-facing, allowing greater patient insight into the increased options regarding care. This will allow consumers to better understand how new technologies coming out could be the best choice for their health. In short, consumer technology in health care simply means better access to care.
The more accessible something is, the more people use it, which is essentially what lies at the heart of all consumer technology. If health care is the largest portion of our gross domestic product, and if it is one of largest costs to consumers, there needs to be rapid development in the consumerization of it to help drive innovation and change, to allow patients to have the best possible treatments, and achieve the best possible outcomes. Technology does sometimes offer an overwhelming amount of options, but there's no doubt it has also made our lives easier.
Consumer decision-making is so integrated into the fabric of our society, but virtually nowhere to be found when it comes to potentially life changing decisions. Technology where it is least important seems to have the most amount of accessibility and innovation, whereas health care has fallen flat in comparison. The fact is simple: more innovation is needed urgently, and the benefit it would provide for all parties is undeniable.
Health care is long overdue for a consumer technology overhaul to bridge the gap between the medical and scientific innovators working tirelessly to improve patient care, and the people waiting anxiously to take advantage of it. These consumers are armed with hundreds of questions and concerns that they have every right to ask and have answered with time and care. But we're still waiting to see this democratization in our most essential yet inaccessible industry. When we start to prioritize the consumer and put them at the heart of our innovation, this is when the health care industry will begin to see meaningful change.
Patrick Frank is the co-founder & COO of PatientPartner, a platform that connects pre-surgical patients with fully recovered patients who went through the same surgery. Frank has worked in consumer technology across a variety of industries including retail banking, law, real estate and health care. Frank was included in the 2021 Forbes Magazine 30 Under 30 list and PatientPartner was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Fast Company World Changing Ideas list for health care.
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