The Digital Diagnosis

THE DIGITAL DIAGNOSIS by: @MDGadvortising y THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY AND THE WORLD OF PERSONAL TECH ARE RAPIDLY CONVERGING. With medical knowiedge doubling roughly every five years and technology evolving at lightning-quick speed, patients and physicians are increasingly using mobile devices and the Internet as healthcare tools. Patients are taking matters into their own hands (literally). physicians are utilizing smart tech to make their practices more efficient, and healthcare marketers are figuring out the best ways to reach them. PROCESS CHANGE Consumers have taken a more active role in their healthcare in recent years. SEARCH RESEARCH Eight in ten online health inquiries start with a search engine, with women more likely to search than men. Popular research queries include: Specific diseases or medical problems. 55% Certain medical treatments or procedures 43% Ways to lose or control weight. 1 IN 3 AMERICAN ADULTS HAS EVEN GONE ONLINE TO FIGURE OUT A MEDICAL CONDITION. 27% Health insurance. 25% Medical test results. 15% 1 172% Ways to reduce healthcare costs. SS S 11% A GROWING COMMUNITY OF PATIENTS In the last year, of those posting health-related questions or stories Patients are banding together to form communities on social media sites such as Facebook to share their experiences and research findings. In the last year. OF ADULT INTERNET USERS IN THE U.S. HAVE LOOKED ONLINE FOR HEALTH INFORMATION IN THE PAST YEAR. have posted 19% specitic health questions have consulted online reviews of 30% rankings of healthcare services or treatments. have posted comments 40% or stories about personal health experiences have read on 26% watched someone else's health or medical experience. have gone online to find others who share similar health concerns. 38% have posted both. DIGITAL DOCTORS Patients aren't the only ones going mobile. Physicians go online nine to fifteen hours per week for professional purposes, and 87% use smartphones or tablets for their practices. In fact, they've learned that apps can be valuable medikal tools for both patients and physicians. With the help of apps and add-on devices, a smartphone can now be used to: Diagnose Ear Infections O. Take Pulses "THESE DAYS, I'M ACTUALLY PRESCRIBINGA LOT MORE APPS THAN MEDICATIONS. Measure U Blood Pressure Perform Cardiograms TALKING TO YOUR PHONE, THAT'S THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE." Complete Blood, Urine, and Sweat Tests - Erik J. Topol, M.D Track Glucose Levels BRAVE NEW WORLD Despite the many smartphone technological changes in the last few years, bigger changes are still to come. FUTURE PRODUCTIVITY GAINS THE SUPERCOMPUTER'S SUPER ANSWERS $305 BILLION Watson, the IBM supercomputer that gained notoriety for winning Jeopardy! several years ago, is now being deployed to hospitals and clinics to provide quick answers to in-depth medical questions. One of the six Watson computers is at The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. There, it searches throught Mobile devices could result in an estimated $305 billion productivity gain 600,000 Pieces of Medical Evidence in medicine over the next decade. FUTURE COST SAVINGS $197 BILLION 2 Million Pages of Medical Journal Text Using mobile devices and remote monitoring technologies could save $197 bilion in the United States over 1.5 Milion Patient Records the next 25 years, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution. MEDICAL MARKETERS The healthcare world is evolving. With 65% of patlents trusting their own online health findings and physicians using mobile technology to assist with patient diagnoses, marketing strategies will need to be reconfigured. Healthcare marketers will need to: Q+ $$S Leverage location situations. (ex waiting rooms) Strengthen content Increase mobile and social media marketing Utilize video marketing Develop apps. budget. SOURCES: PEWINTERNETORG NBCNEWS.COM. FORBES.COM BROOKINGS.EDU, THINKWITHGOOCLE.COM mdg WOLTERSKLUWERHEALTH.COM, MASHABLECOM Erk Topol MD. author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine How the Digital Revolution Will mdgadvertising.com twitter: OMDGadvertising U Create Better Health Care and co-founder of the West Wreless Health Institute.