Is It Revolutionary? A 6-Question Checklist To Assess Any Digital Health Announcement

The sheer amount of press releases, news articles, and corporate announcements on digital health technologies is overwhelming. You see dozens every day, and they all sound grandiose and important – obviously.  But how can you separate the wheat from the chaff? How to decide if the given report is about something important, about a technology or method that might become really significant? This is what we try to do with the team of The Medical Futurist by providing context, but the goal is that you can do it as well.  We collected a six-question checklist to help with this. The method is simple: if the answer is yes to any 2 of these questions, the announcement is in line with the digital health trends and directions, so it is worth keeping an eye on it. 1. Why was it made? Is this addressing real clinical or patient needs? The first question you need to answer is why a given technology was developed. One of the most typical shortcomings of new “digital health” technologies is the lack of focus on practical benefits.  This affects startups and major players alike. Do you remember when NASA announced ‘holoporting’ the first doctor to the International Space Station? The answer is brilliant, but man, what was the question? How is that a better solution than having a video call between the astronaut and the flight surgeon? Having a doctor who actually can’t see the patient, and a patient who is unable to establish eye contact with the doctor ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: TMF Forecast Digital Health Research artificial intelligence future Medicine technology medical technology health technology med tech Source Type: blogs