This article was first published in the September 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
In the past, the doctor-patient relationship was a one-way street. A patient visited a physician for a diagnosis, the physician told the patient his or her assessment, and the patient went home (hopefully) to comply with the physician's recommendations.
Healthcare will improve only when patients are seen by the healthcare system, and physicians in particular, as partners and decision makers. Imagine this. A teenager gets sick, allows her doctors to dictate her care... and it leads to a misdiagnosis, 43 hospitalisations, six major surgeries and three organs removed. That was me. At 26, I fired all my doctors, and not only did the decision likely save my life, it gave me back my life. I took control of my healthcare, worked with doctors who treated me only like a peer, got diagnosed correctly (Crohn's disease) and, with the correct meds, was in remission in 24 hours.
With the wealth of information available online today and the advent of health technology such as ingestible sensors and wearables that monitor patient activity, the doctor-patient relationship can now enter the second stage in its evolution.
Healthcare can now be two-way, where patients are more informed and empowered regarding their health. They can become more involved in their own healthcare by researching their conditions, tracking their symptoms and measuring their progress. Physicians, in turn, can save time, see more patients and engage in more productive, insightful one-on-one discussions.
The new era of doctor-patient relationships means that patients are no longer on the sidelines when it comes to their health. In fact, the role of the patient has shifted from benchwarmer to star player, meaning visiting the doctor is like checking in with a coach: patients come to their appointment, review their progress, listen to recommendations, go home and try to improve.
The patient's new role means improved health outcomes overall. Research shows that giving patients more autonomy and involvement in their healthcare actually increases the effectiveness of treatment.
Patient-driven healthcare also means patients have the information they need to improve their health daily. Wearable and sensor tech can give patients immediate feedback that helps them get better about taking their medication, eating well and exercising. In the next few years, this industry will explode and we'll be tracking everything. By 2019, the wearable-medical-devices market will be worth $5.8bn (£4bn) a year and there will be 5.5 billion users of mobile and wearable biometrics worldwide.
One tool that's empowering patients is the electronic medical record (EMR). Patients who have access to their own data make better-informed decisions, and the key to this is the EMR. Physicians worldwide are starting to see this and want a comprehensive picture. According to the 2012 Accenture Doctors Survey, 54 per cent of doctors are routinely accessing clinical data about patients seen by different health organisations.
In the US, more than 40 per cent of patients would switch doctors to access EMR. They can share this information with their physician, and the two can collaborate as colleagues. Collaboration, engagement and the sharing info improve health outcomes.
Patients need to stand up for themselves and demand the information, technology and resources they need to succeed in driving their own healthcare, and only then will we see dramatic improvement in outcomes.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
