Medicine has come a long way from the psychological torture and haphazard testing practices of old. People are living longer, better, and more easily. For the past few decades the business of healthcare has played a central role in who and why people had access to quality healthcare as well.
As technology continues to advance at breakneck speed, we sprint into science fiction territory as everyday a new headline breaks of something we only dream of before.
We are in the age of cloning, of quality artificial limb replacement, and more. Our only limitations thus far have been funding, time, and local laws (though those get ignored fairly regularly).
In this article, we are going to speculate and go over a few things we think will be coming in the future.
A Shift In How Healthcare Is Delivered
Ever heard of a doc in the box? If you haven’t, it’s basically a smaller practice that has one or two doctors and a staff of assistants/nurses that do routine checkups and may provide other emergency services. Compared to the price and wait time of going to a full hospital, it is a drop in the bucket for regular healthcare.
For as little as $100, you can get a comprehensive check up and for a variety of other testing services usually in tandem with a lab they work with. These smaller general practitioner practices as the alternative to specialist based ones and serve a totally different market.
As health care costs rise and fall, the main influencing factor for healthcare for many is the price. With WebMD and other sites acting as the first line of inquiry, other more creative/compartmentalized services will rise to address gaps in the market that bigger companies don’t have interest in.
For many doctors and medical staff, it’s as easy as making the choice to get coverage, buy medical equipment and patients since the demand is always there.
Blockchain Records
Blockchain is making waves in the medical community for being a way to more accurately store and process patient data. No more lost records, damages from server errors, and a slew of other things that can cause problems for hospitals and healthcare providers.
Moral Ambiguity Of Experimentation
There is something to be said about the fierce battle in the United States over the past two decades regarding stem cell research. The applications are endless, but the surface has barely been scratched. Because of the use of cells tied to reproduction, it’s been vehemently battled by Republicans in the US. Meanwhile, a slew of countries have used them for everything from organ generation to knee/joint repair.
The bigger question is where exactly the line in drawn and where it changes as a newer generation brought up with the internet will set that boundary. Human experimentation from WWII to drug trials show a willingness to use people as human guinea pigs as needed. Yet, for some reason other trials or tests are deemed inhumane despite little objective difference in how the subjects are treated and what they are subjected to. We believe that within the next ten years, new “rules” will be set to give a better perspective both in the US and globally for what constitutes moral vs. immoral human experimentation
