Dr. David Whitehouse is the Chief Medical Officer at UST Global, a multinational provider of IT services and solutions, where he uses his clinical and health systems experience and insights to help clients understand the significance, influence, and possibilities of technology advances. He recently spoke with DOTmed HCB News about the ways technology is changing health care and the ways facilities need to adjust in order to remain competitive.
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DOTmed HCB News: There's been a lot of talk about the changes brought about by health reform. Is that the biggest influence on healthcare today?

David Whitehouse: It’s certainly one of them. But the explosive advances in material science, which have fueled the possibilities in wearables and digestibles, really herald the dawn of data driven medicine. We should add to that biological advances in genetics and molecular biology, which are making personalized medicine a reality. Meanwhile, cognitive computing driven by analytic agents such as IBM's Watson offer a level of insight we have not previously seen.
HCB News: What are some examples of the other influences?

DW: There is a real sense that digital transformation is reshaping medicine to be genuinely consumer focused. Consumer-centric care will create greater convenience, empower better understanding, and engage everybody to become true guardians and advocates for their own health.

That shift, fueled by digital technology, makes possible a whole range of well-managed health assets—emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

HCB News: In your view, are we paying too much attention to some of these factors and not enough to others?

DW: The plethora of new health care apps hoping to solve everything from price transparency to diabetes management. Some promise to monitor my contribution to maintaining or improving my health, from exercise to diet to meditation. These proliferating apps are fragmented, overwhelming, and in the end just frustrating.

What I want is the universal, one-touch platform for health—health advice, medical knowledge, appointment scheduler, reminders for my meds, transport info to the physician’s office. I want it to track how I pay for doctor’s visits, track my health status, and analyze the interventions I’ve received and the outcomes they achieved. That is actually what we are working on at UST with our approach to “Health Karma,” an all-in-one solution on the smartphone.

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