04/06/2024
The future is coming faster (and sometimes slower) than you think 😐.
Hard to believe it's been 13 years this week since TEDx Maastricht 2011, a catalytic, forward thinking gathering curated by the incomparable Lucien Engelen- where I also met & became friends & co-conspirators with Dave deBronkart, & Lawrence Sherman to Simon Sinek.
To my surprise the talk I gave there "Medicine's Future, There's an App for That" ended up featured as TEDTalk of the day.
A fun watch-> https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kraft_medicine_s_future_there_s_an_app_for_that
Reflecting on what I covered & envisioned then, and the reality 13 years later reveals both remarkable advances & frustrating bottlenecks:
: Triumphs & Hurdles: Sequencing costs have dropped from $5000 to $100, yet bridging the gap between raw DNA data & personalized Dx/Rx remains a work in progress. Programs like Genomics England & the NIH's All of Us Research Program are key to moving from BigData to knowledge, to actionable insights.
& Apps: Explosion with Caveats: We've evolved from the iPhone 4 (512MB of RAM & 8GB of storage) to spatial computing supercomputers on our faces. We've gone from 20K to 350K+ health related apps, many lack FDA clearance or rigorous evidence, slowing clinical adoption.
Boom: In 2011, wearables were nascent (FitBit launched in 2009). Today, an estimated 500 million devices ship annually, with health as a major driver. Continuous monitoring has the potential to vastly improve disease management if we can further 'QuantifiedSelf' to 'Quantified Health'.
: Still Early Days: Market size is undeniable, but user experience & workflow elements remain fragmented. Consolidation and the rise of true personalization (think GenAI interfaces) could be gamechangers.
You can explore the Digital.Health platform we’ve been building to discover over 3000 existing solutions you can leverage today http://Digital.Health
: From Buzzword to Bedrock: 2011's IBM Watson hype after beating the Jeopardy champions is dwarfed by now embedded in medical imaging, drug discovery, & more.
: Sci-fi to Shelf: The Medical Tricorder XPRIZE I helped conceive & design launched in 2013 and spurred consumer devices measuring multiple vital signs. Adoption hinges on accuracy, data security, & provider buy-in.
is Key: The true disruptive power lies in these technologies combining. Wearables feeding genomic insights, GPT-powered app personalization...this is where the next leaps will happen.
: The Root of Stagnation: We don't practice 'evidence based medicine' we practice 'reimbursement based medicine'. Value-based care models face uphill battles, hindering the focus on proactive prevention & healthspan.
The 'FutureMed' Program I founded in 2011 has evolved as well, from Exponential Medicine to NextMed Health.
For those excited about building the future of healthcare & biomedicine, join us for http://NextMed.Health this Dec 10-13th.