By Patty Enrado, Editor
CHICAGO — e-Health, in the form of emerging and electronic technology, is transforming health and healthcare. In his Views from the Top session, “Health 2020 – Supporting Stimulus Goals with Wii Fit + Nurse Avatars + Personal Genomics +…,” eFuturist Douglas Goldstein looks at how three waves of technology – digital, DNA and nano – and entertainment that are revolutionizing the industry. The session, Monday, April 6th, at 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM, will explore how the Healthcare Stimulus Package can be supported through eHealth innovation.
One of the challenges is to apply medical knowledge and technology to solve today’s wellness, prevention and treatment requirements, said Goldstein, who is also president of iConecto, a digital media firm. What’s in the labs today often takes 20 years to move from the bench to bedside or home or wherever a person may be. This is the result of financial constraints and the need for comparative effectiveness analysis in a system focused on disease care, not health.
But there is technology being embraced by people today in the form of video games for health. In 2007 consumers spent $6.7 billion on health e-games such as Brain Age, WiiFit, Wii Sports, Dance, Dance Revolution and Re-Mission for people with cancer. At the same time, health plans, hospitals and health management companies spent billions of dollars on health and wellness programs that doesn’t include the exergaming, brain fitness and mobile health activities that people are doing every day, Goldstein said. “This is a huge disconnect, and a huge opportunity for the healthcare industry,” he said.
In his session, Goldstein will outline “practical bridges” that leverage digital media today and DNA and Nano technology tomorrow. Success, according to Goldstein, depends on “Distinctive Innovation,” which requires the in-depth understanding of: Technology, Lean/Six Sigma, Yankee Ingenuity and Understanding of the Healthcare Stimulus.
In the end, he said, the most essential pieces of the puzzle are pure Yankee ingenuity and our abilities to work collaboratively to focus on prevention and treatment of disease.