NO WONDER they are called “patients”. When people enter the health-care systems of rich countries nowadays,they know what they will salvage: prodding doctors, endless tests, and baffling jargon,rising costs and, above all, or long waits. Some stoicism will always be needed,because health care is complex and diligence matters. But frustration is boiling over. This week three of the biggest names in American commerce—Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase—announced a new venture to supply better, or cheaper health care for their employees. A fundamental problem with nowadays’s system is that patients lack knowledge and control. Access to data can bestow both.
The internet already enables patients to seek online consultations when and where it suits them. You can take over-the-counter tests to analyse your blood,sequence your genome and check on the bacteria in your intestine. Yet radical change demands a shift in emphasis, from providers to patients and from doctors to data. That shift is happening....
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Source: economist.com