Power to the patients!

This week’s guest believes that the smartphone has the power to transform the way health care is practiced and to put patients back in control of their health care. Dr. Eric Topol joins us to talk about his recent book, “The Patient Will See You Now.” A practicing cardiologist, professor of genomics, and director of Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, CA, Dr. Topol outlines the beginnings of what he believes is a long-overdue shift in medicine that will put the future of medicine in consumer’s hands. That change will have profound effects on all aspects of our business. 

In this episode, we discuss the gap between the patient and the doctor, and how Dr. Topol believes the system is rapidly evolving toward “democratized medicine.” I ask Dr. Topol why he believes that the US health care market is “unique and irrational.” We also talk about the idea of upgrading patients from being passengers on their health care journey to being their own co-pilots and how we can prepare our clients for that future of health care.