The future of medicine | Hacker News Reader

The future of medicine

scienceroll.files.wordpress.com

12 pointsgeorgeoliver6 comments

Original whitepaper download available here: http://scienceroll.com/2013/10/30/whitepaper/

For those who want the data without the layout:

Already have:

  Digital literacy

  Virtual dissection

  Curated online information

  Smartwatch

  Digestible sensors

  Real-time diagnostics in OR

  Personalized genomics

  Robotic interventions

  Telemedicine

  Inter-disciplinary therapies

  Virtual trials

  AI in medical decision support

In progress: Microchips modeling clinical trials

  DIY biotechnology

  Medical tricorder

  Robotic nurse assistant

  Augmented reality

  Semantic health records

  Embedded sensors

  Wearable e-skins

  Evidence-based mobile health

  Optogenetics

  Customized mobile apps

  Meaningful use of social media (lol)

  Artificial organs

  Adherence control

  3D printed biomaterials and drugs

Still needs time: Full physiological simulation

  Gamification-based wellness

  Holographic data input

  Home diagnostics

  Multi-functional radiology

  Remote touch

  Humanoid robots

  Nanorobots in blood

  Augmenting human capabilities

  VR applications

  Redesigned hospital experience

  Virtual-digital brains

  Recreational cyborgs

TL,DR: In the future, it'll be even more awesome to be rich and sick.

Should put the descriptions of what the color coding means at the top, as well as the bottom.

Spoiler: green = already available, orange = in progress, red = still needs time.

I love how close together "Redesigned Hospital Experience" and "Virtual-digital Brains" are on this infographic.

missing: decentralized market-place (where doctors and hospitals auto-compete for patients, driving down cost and improving QoS)

I'd argue that it's more important to ensure competition between schools in the medical education pipeline. Competition downstream won't reduce prices unless we get X's boot off the hose feeding into the supply of medical professionals (where X is the AMA, congress, or whoever you believe comes out dirtiest in the "it's not my fault" game). We have 2/3 as many doctors per capita as other comparable countries. No amount of post-education market equilibration will suffice fix the fact that our doctors are (comparatively) overworked and overpriced.

The market is slowly routing around the problem right as we speak by promoting nurses and offering new certification pathways, but it's happening slowly. If the local politics I've observed are any indication, the doctors are fighting tooth and nail while loudly claiming that they aren't. There are policy decisions that could dramatically accelerate the process.

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