TTA Archives 2005-2012

…with technology leading the way? That’s the vision of Frank Moss, former director of the MIT Media Lab [TA 2 Nov, MIT’s New Media Medicine]. Think we’ve got a lot of tech now? ‘But imagine a far more extreme transformation, in which advances in information technology, biology and engineering allow us to move much of health care out of hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices, and into our everyday lives.’ A home-linked ‘digital nervous system’, reporting our vital signs and moods, is a little over the top and perhaps ill-considered (Ed. Donna has experienced that ‘smart homes’ are a notorious dead end for technologies), but the description of the interactive office visit with animations to explain a diagnosis and collaboration in meds…yes. The avatar understanding ‘natural language’ linked to a ‘super-computer’ is already being worked on with IBM Watson (HealthcareITNews). The advocacy of a ‘moonshot’ effort for consumer health is one this editor can applaud…now if only US ‘healthcare reform’ weren’t 99% a giant wet blanket rather than the catalyst Dr. Moss (Ph.D) advocates.

This is the one article you should read this weekend. Unfortunately the NY Times does not see fit to permit readers to comment. (Appreciate readers feedback here and links to other comments; it is not yet on the Moss blog) Our high-tech health care future

Update 14 Nov From last Thursday’s GigaOM Road Map Conference: More Moss on why ‘resistance on the part of healthcare pros and VCs (is actually) a good thing’:  that opportunities abound between employers needing to reduce their costs and that the consumer business model will be worked out despite the VCs Eeyoreism (Ed. Donna’s term, not his). Ed. Donna likes that sentiment probably more than is good for her….but in the back of her mind, the dreary ol’ FBQs* still apply.  The time for healthcare startups is now. One can hope!

*The Four Big Questions:  who pays, how much, who’s looking at the data, who’s actioning it. ‘The fundamental things apply….’