Forget the election, Automation of US medical is needed for economic survival

[Arthur Hanson]

With US medical taking twenty cents of every dollar and rising with our population aging, the US needs to streamline and automate medical care as much as possible. AI and advanced robotics will be key to solving this problem. Also, low-cost devices should make it possible to monitor our health much more closely than we do now and make recommendations on preventive actions. Numerous devices are already available and I see the day when health insurers not only require them, but use them to push preventive measures to catch health problems early to maintain health insurance of which the costs are rising rapidly. AI, robotics and health monitoring devices in real time will be the future or health costs will drive the nation to bankruptcy. I have a sport scale and blood pressure pulse monitoring device that I use as a dashboard for my health. In the future as I age further, I may see adding a heart monitor and oximeter to the devices I use to maximize my health to keep me at full potential as long as possible. I just turned 70 and am in top shape, except for my teeth(stupidity on my part). I see semis playing an ever increasing part in maximizing the potential I do have. I see the day when health insurance companies will rely ever more on automation to control costs and maximize our potential. Junk food is costing us far more than the drug problem. This is one of the major growth opportunities for the tech sector, automation of monitoring and actually performing diagnostics and surgery. Any thoughts and additions sought and welcomed. This may be the greatest opportunity for the tech sector.

 

[Artem341]

Your insights on the intersection of AI, robotics, and healthcare are spot on. As healthcare costs continue to rise, especially with an aging population, leveraging advanced technologies is crucial. AI and robotics have the potential to revolutionize medical care by streamlining processes, improving diagnostics, and enhancing surgical precision.

Low-cost health monitoring devices, already gaining traction, can significantly contribute to preventive healthcare. By continuously tracking vital signs and providing real-time feedback, these devices can help detect health issues early, leading to timely interventions and potentially saving on long-term healthcare costs.

The role of health insurers in this ecosystem is also pivotal. By incentivizing or requiring the use of such devices, insurers can promote preventive measures and healthier lifestyles, ultimately reducing claims and controlling costs. The adoption of these technologies could indeed lead to a paradigm shift in how we manage health and wellness.

Your personal use of health monitoring devices as a dashboard for your health is a great example of how individuals can take charge of their health. As technology advances, adding more sophisticated devices like heart monitors and oximeters will become increasingly common, empowering people to maintain their health proactively.

The potential for automation in diagnostics and surgery is immense, presenting a significant growth opportunity for the tech sector. This integration of technology and healthcare could not only improve patient outcomes but also make healthcare more accessible and affordable.

For more insights and opportunities in this field, you can visit JobHire.ai.

 

[Barnsley]

Your insights on the intersection of AI, robotics, and healthcare are spot on. As healthcare costs continue to rise, especially with an aging population, leveraging advanced technologies is crucial. AI and robotics have the potential to revolutionize medical care by streamlining processes, improving diagnostics, and enhancing surgical precision.

Low-cost health monitoring devices, already gaining traction, can significantly contribute to preventive healthcare. By continuously tracking vital signs and providing real-time feedback, these devices can help detect health issues early, leading to timely interventions and potentially saving on long-term healthcare costs.

The role of health insurers in this ecosystem is also pivotal. By incentivizing or requiring the use of such devices, insurers can promote preventive measures and healthier lifestyles, ultimately reducing claims and controlling costs. The adoption of these technologies could indeed lead to a paradigm shift in how we manage health and wellness.

Your personal use of health monitoring devices as a dashboard for your health is a great example of how individuals can take charge of their health. As technology advances, adding more sophisticated devices like heart monitors and oximeters will become increasingly common, empowering people to maintain their health proactively.

The potential for automation in diagnostics and surgery is immense, presenting a significant growth opportunity for the tech sector. This integration of technology and healthcare could not only improve patient outcomes but also make healthcare more accessible and affordable.

For more insights and opportunities in this field, you can visit JobHire.ai.

Nice pitch , but prices are never coming down

 

[Arthur Hanson]

Just this morning the congressional budget office said the Medicare trust fund will be broke and well as the Social Security trust fund. Automation of medical will be a step in the right direction.

 

[IanD]

Streamlining and automation are not the fix to the US healthcare problem, which means it spends more than any other country on poorer care. The problem is the system itself which is all about making the most money out of patients (and drugs) not providing effective cost-effective healthcare...

 

[Arthur Hanson]

Streamlining and automation are not the fix to the US healthcare problem, which means it spends more than any other country on poorer care. The problem is the system itself which is all about making the most money out of patients (and drugs) not providing effective cost-effective healthcare...

You are one hundred percent right. There should be no individual doctor's offices in cities, since this is a highly inefficient model that doesn't have the resources and skill set that require a clinic and not an individual or few doctors that can't have the breadth of skills and equipment to deliver high quality care efficiently and effectively.

 

[IanD]

You are one hundred percent right. There should be no individual doctor's offices in cities, since this is a highly inefficient model that doesn't have the resources and skill set that require a clinic and not an individual or few doctors that can't have the breadth of skills and equipment to deliver high quality care efficiently and effectively.

You're still missing the point -- it's nothing to do with efficiency/quality of individual doctors or practices/clinics either, other countries manage to deliver a much more effective and cheaper health service using them.

The problem with the US health care system is that is primarily designed to make money for drug companies/hospital groups/insurers/doctors, and the best way to do this is by providing poor-quality care for the most money -- not only is there no incentive to keep costs/premiums down, there's a perverse incentive to increase them, and there is no effective oversight/control to stop this happening in the best interests of patients.

Whatever magic technology fixes including AI that can be applied in the US can equally be applied in other countries where the focus is more on the patients and their health and less on the businesses and their profits -- net result, the US will *still* have the worst healthcare at the highest cost of any developed country...

 

[Arthur Hanson]

You're still missing the point -- it's nothing to do with efficiency/quality of individual doctors or practices/clinics either, other countries manage to deliver a much more effective and cheaper health service using them.

The problem with the US health care system is that is primarily designed to make money for drug companies/hospital groups/insurers/doctors, and the best way to do this is by providing poor-quality care for the most money -- not only is there no incentive to keep costs/premiums down, there's a perverse incentive to increase them, and there is no effective oversight/control to stop this happening in the best interests of patients.

Whatever magic technology fixes including AI that can be applied in the US can equally be applied in other countries where the focus is more on the patients and their health and less on the businesses and their profits -- net result, the US will *still* have the worst healthcare at the highest cost of any developed country...

I agree with most of what you say, but individual responsibility has to be a requirement just as it is with auto insurance and upper end life insurance. There will never be enough money to take care of other people's bad habits. Maybe a tax on junk food should be part of the payment plan.

 

[IanD]

I agree with most of what you say, but individual responsibility has to a requirement just as it is with auto insurance and upper end life insurance. There will never be enough money to take care of other people's bad habits. Maybe a tax on junk food should be part of the payment plan.

You're still diverting from the real issue -- regardless of who you think should pay (the state or individuals) or in what proportions or whose responsibility it is, the US has a fundamentally broken system which prioritizes on the wrong outcomes, money and corporate profits not the health of its citizens.

Still, at least the US is a world leader in this particular field -- health systems which fail to meet the needs of most people even while spending a fortune... ;-)

 

[Arthur Hanson]

You're still diverting from the real issue -- regardless of who you think should pay (the state or individuals) or in what proportions or whose responsibility it is, the US has a fundamentally broken system which prioritizes on the wrong outcomes, money and corporate profits not the health of its citizens.

Still, at least the US is a world leader in this particular field -- health systems which fail to meet the needs of most people even while spending a fortune... ;-)

Also the amount of massive, costly advertising, marketing to people and doctors is a very, very costly mess and almost fraud. In Canada drug advertising is not allowed and the best drugs are chosen by a formulary board of experts in the particular field who chose the best drug for a particular condition, lowering total cost dramatically.

 

[Paul2]

Nice pitch , but prices are never coming down

If you open the immigration floodgates for medics like UK did in fifties, they do. Except it will crash incomes of MDs tenfold.

It also has to do with severe bureaucratisation of the medical profession. How much money it takes to open a clinic? Much of that is lawyers, paperwork, certifications, and insurance. Each mid-career MD also accrues like $100k of very expensive paperwork for himself personally (exams, prof. liability insurance, certifications, etc.)

 

[IanD]

Also the amount of massive, costly advertising, marketing to people and doctors is a very, very costly mess and almost fraud. In Canada drug advertising is not allowed and the best drugs are chosen by a formulary board of experts in the particular field who chose the best drug for a particular condition, lowering total cost dramatically.

There's a similar system here in the UK -- no drug/doctor advertising is allowed, and NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) evaluates all treatments and drugs, decides which ones are worth using, and then negotiates a (usually massively discounted) price with the manufacturer on behalf of the entire country. Even for new drugs the prices are typically 5x-10x lower than in the USA, and even less (can be 50x-100x lower) for older off-patent ones.

The manufacturers do this because they only have 2 choices: 1) sell their drug to the whole of the UK at a heavily discounted (and usually secret) price, or 2) don't sell any drug in the UK at all. There's more profit in #1 so that's what they do. And if they insist on keeping the price so high that NICE thinks the benefits don't justify the cost, they don't sell any drug because NICE doesn't authorize its use.

There are advantages to a socialised health care system... ;-)

 

[Claudio DD]

Also, low-cost devices should make it possible to monitor our health much more closely than we do now and make recommendations on preventive actions. Numerous devices are already available and I see the day when health insurers not only require them, but use them to push preventive measures to catch health problems early to maintain health insurance of which the costs are rising rapidly.

What about microchipping humans?
Since it is embedded is much more efficient that an external sensor.
what could go wrong with such a bright idea to decrease costs?

 

[Arthur Hanson]

What about microchipping humans?
Since it is embedded is much more efficient that an external sensor.
what could go wrong with such a bright idea to decrease costs?

That might be the way to go as long as the chips can only be read by a device handled by the user at their discretion. Until good health is rewarded (it should be enough of a reward in and of itself) and bad health penalized on the demand end, the US medical costs will also continue to go up. Some insurance companies reward good health in Medicare, it should be rewarded from day one and bad health habits penalized. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Semis will play an ever-increasing role in medical from maintaining and improving health to early prevention and treatment of health problems.

 

[milesgehm]

What about microchipping humans?
Since it is embedded is much more efficient that an external sensor.
what could go wrong with such a bright idea to decrease costs?

How will this implanted chip be powered? Have an operation every 6 months to swap batteries?

 

[blueone]

How will this implanted chip be powered? Have an operation every 6 months to swap batteries?

It could probably be powered by cellular and WiFi transmissions charging a tiny lithium battery.

 

[Arthur Hanson]

I'm have no doubt a battery could be charged through the skin at home.

 

[Barnsley]

How will this implanted chip be powered? Have an operation every 6 months to swap batteries?

Any movement will help charge said battery!

 

[milesgehm]

Energy harvesting is a nice idea in theory.

For an implanted hearing aid
The battery, indeed, is charged with a coil placed on the skin over the implant. The procedure should be performed daily and it lasts about 1 to 1.5 h. The manufacturer asserts that, as new, the battery could last more than 30 h with a single cycle of charge

For a spinal cord stimulation device;
When an SCS device’s battery starts to get low, it sends an alert that a recharge is soon needed. The recharge process typically includes:

• Taking the fully-charged charger (from a base station) and placing it over the skin where the implanted SCS device is located. Many systems include a belt to conveniently hold the charger where it needs to be.
• Aligning the charger’s internal antenna so that it can maximize the signal strength from the charger to the SCS device. Adjusting the angle of the charger and/or the belt can help optimize the signal strength. Wearing light-weight clothes or fewer layers can also help.
• Once the charger has begun recharging the SCS device, it can take 45 minutes to several hours to charge, depending on the device.

While the SCS device is recharging, sleep is to be avoided because an unmonitored charger could cause a burn or the antenna could get out of place and stop charging. Instead, relaxing activities are encouraged while the device is charging, such as watching a movie or reading.

So charging through skin is possible but not very attractive

 

[blueone]

Everyone knows I was being facetious, I hope. 5G and Wi-Fi transmissions are too weak to charge a battery.