Structural Disruption
Just as ATMs, then online banking, drastically reduced the need to walk into banks, online health means far fewer people need to come to doctors in person to be cared for by them. The extent of structural disruption this will bring is being vastly under-estimated.
When you’re sick, the last thing you want to have to do is wait for an appointment, then wait for your labs, then wait for your results, only to wait for another appointment. The imminent future of hospital systems is already here.
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State line regulations on telemedicine are being obliterated. 18 states have agreed to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, and a dozen more are in the process of approving.
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The Johns Hopkins Hospital monitors patients in its network through a 22-screen command center.
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Montefiore Health System opened a 12-story ambulatory surgical center—with no hospital beds.
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Virtual consultations at Kaiser—whether by phone, email or video—are fully half of all interactions between a health professional and a patient.
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The CDC’s free Text4baby—an advice-giving app for expectant and new mothers—has been used by over a million subscribers.
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At Kaiser’s Oakland medical center, algorithms ping nurses’ phones when a baby is showing abnormal biometrics.
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In Japan, Amazon is already doing same-day drug delivery to your home or office.
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TODAY
88% of doctor consultations are not at a hospital.
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IN 7 YEARS
We’ll see a 1000x increase in telemedicine, but even that phenomenon will be surpassed by health chat.