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As I have written and documented before, medical costs are the greatest threat to the US based on Medicare debt (27 trillion and climbing fast) and other medical debt and the Pentagon saying debt is the single greatest threat to the US.
Semis/Mems/Sensor technology offer a significant part of the solution. Vinod Khosla maintains tech (AI and other semi related techs) could reduce the need for doctors by 50% and improve medical. Already in many areas AI and advanced imaging can out diagnose even the best doctors. As far as controlling and monitoring the body, the semi/mems/sensor sector offer numerous low cost, highly effective solutions. Excessive markup and regulations need to removed to open a flood of innovation.
The reality is machines of all types are getting more capable at an ever increasing rate and in most areas people are not and in fact slowly degenerate with age.
More advanced robotic systems than they have now many feel could actually perform some surgeries with minimal supervision and in the future totally autonomous. A robot arm is far more accurate in every respect and combined with robotic vision from the arm to near the operating tip could give it advantages to human could match. It could
also operate at a higher speed cutting down the chance for complications and infection significantly. The shorter the duration of surgery it has been found, the less chance for many problems.
I have talked to numerous doctors and they have said technicians could do a significant part of what they do at sharply reduced cost. The markups in medical in everything are beyond insane(50 to 1 is common and 100 to 1 not unheard of) and also need to be addressed. 60% of nurses have only a two year degree and make as much or more than a senior engineer and US medical ranks 37th in quality. This is all now coming to a head, just look at the financial or news channels today. The semi/mems/sensor sector offers a significant part of the solution. This could easily dwarf the auto sector as the next great opportunity for the tech sector, while helping preserve the stability of the US. Comments solicited and wanted
Addition: Since 2008 the price for the most commonly used branded prescription drugs have soared
208% compared to a 14% rise for consumer prices.
Yes, I am reminded of this every time I get a prostate exam... no new tech available here? Seriously? My guess is that we will see more medical innovation abroad since they don't have enough doctors and doctors don't make exorbinant amounts of money. The medical lobbies in the US are just too well funded to be defeated.
If you want another example of a medical FAIL watch the movie Concussion staring Will Smith and a bunch of other famous people.
The same cold be said said about the US automotive companies but then came Tesla. Maybe Apple can change US health care? They seem to be hiring a lot of biologists and medical professionals.
Dan, I have friends and associates who like you travel overseas. They are literally floored when they have high end sophisticated procedures and the cost is less than a tenth it is here and these countries are rated twenty places higher in quality than the US. Like I have said and documented, US medical has literally degenerated into a largely, but not completely, criminal organization that abuses the legal and legislative system to extremes. When you figure we spend 3.7 trillion on medical and compare this to countries with the very best care that are expensive countries to live in, US medical is stealing at least a trillion dollars a year, making US medical the world's largest criminal organization by far.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post! I am perhaps more optimistic on the opportunities for finding innovative ways to apply electronic design expertise to medical diagnosis issues.
One example is the initiative taken by the Mayo Clinic Ventures group, which has an excellent track record of identifying the medical need, then collaborating on the design, manufacture, and FDA qualification of new products:
Located in Boston, hotbed of biomedical product R&D (well, Cambridge, mostly)...
A long way of saying that I think there is momentum on identifying opportunities and developing products to bring electronics technology to the area of medical diagnosis. It will be interesting to see how these innovations continue to grow. (How that translates to the cost you and/or your insurance company pay for a medical procedure is another story, however.)
Being healthy and having healthcare are two different although related topics. I'm healthy and fit at age 59 and haven't seen a medical professional in years, because I take it as my own responsibility to live a healthy lifestyle through eating healthy, exercising 15 hours per week and getting proper sleep.
Sure, I agree that the medical services industry could use some automation to become more efficient, and my favorite example is a local franchise called Zoom Care, where they have created the first entirely paperless, urgent care system. You can go to their web site and make your own appointment without having to talk with a person, or even use your mobile phone since their site is mobile friendly. They wrote all of their own software from scratch to create this system, and are franchising the concept out. This approach has user-friendly software to minimize the paperwork drudgery associated with visiting a healthcare professional. There are no clipboards, no filing cabinets, because everything about your medical history is online and HIPPA secure.
Chipguy, it isn't the technology that is the problem, it's the deep rooted corrupt culture that the people in medical don't realize what's right or wrong for everyone and everything around them tells them they are saints doing the right thing. Until this culture of entitlement is broken up, the cost problems will only get worse. A whole new culture that is solution oriented has to take hold and overcome the numerous obstacles that have been blocking reform and in fact making the problem worse every day.
I know there are many great people in medical and related businesses that just haven't opened up their eyes to what's going on and the damage medical cost are causing. I hope this will cause them to open their eyes and then become part of the solution and stop being part of the problem.
Daniel, you are very fortunate also. I eat well, have always exercised, many times 40 plus hours a week(I worked data construction and even as a foreman would walk at least ten miles/day, eat over a pound of veggies/day. Sleep is another matter, unless I want to become a drug addict, which I don't, six hours is the best I can do. Also my work was hard on the shoulders with 50% plus requiring extensive shoulder surgery and injuries and even death common, 2 jobs with deaths and many with serious injuries. Genes play a very serious part in health also and we have no control over that.
Arthur, Yes, I count my blessings every day and am very thankful to God for keeping me so healthy and providing me with good genes. It is difficult for me to witness others that have not taken care of themselves physically through neglect, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc., because they can become a medical burden to the system, driving up my healthcare costs and the costs for the entire medical insurance system. Improving medical equipment and lowering medical costs through the unique application of semiconductor-power technology is a wonderful goal, however it doesn't counteract a population that isn't living a healthy lifestyle to start with.
We could easily cut the cost of medical care by 33% right off the top. We also have to have risk based insurance for otherwise it's like insuring drunk and reckless drivers at the same rate as good drivers. Sad, but true, in my studies of economics, if a system is open to abuse, it will be abused by all parties. Medical in the US is severely abused by both users and providers, becoming the ultimate financial mess on the face of the planet, dwarfing even most war. Health should be taught from the very earliest ages. The drug war is a farce for anyone that knows chemistry knows alcohol and tobacco always rate in the top ten most dangerous drugs and mostly in the top five both health wise and economically. The drug prohibition keeps a corrupt medical system in charge and lets the law enforcement/court/prison system make hundreds of billions, while costing hundreds of billions in reduced human potential, while creating more crime than they prevent. I also feel semis integrated into the human body will be a staggeringly huge area of growth that is just starting to get looked at. Robotics, transportation and medical are three next great growth areas for semis. Anyone who has worked in a lab knows alcohol C2H5OH is a non specific solvent that attacks every part of the body, one of the few drugs to do so. The drug makers definitely do not want to compete with bio semis.
