Idealog.co.nz | The Transformation Issue
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feature
Of all the
countries in the
world, I would
want our health
data to be stored,
it would be
New Zealand.
Interestingly
enough, I’ve had
conversations with
global biotech
companies who
believe we could
make more of
our story.JAMES ARACI
Future insights manager
!;!££!+,!2
223=!ধ32Democratising digitalised health
It’s easy to get excited about the benefits of transitioning
into a digital health system supported by technologies,
but there are equally large challenges. Firstly, the barrier
to entry into a personalised healthcare system is still
largely reserved for the rich.
In terms of costs, Edison’s baseline product starts at
$2499 for a targeted report and solution based on genetic
profiles. It draws parallels with the inequality that lies
within many existing preventative health care programmes
that are costly, such as yoga retreats, naturopathy,
mindfulness courses, health apps, wearable technologies,
or new treatments and drugs based on your genetic profile.
Future insights manager at Callaghan Innovation
James Araci believes to lower the cost for preventive
healthcare, there needs to be more support into
healthcare research, specifically towards supporting new
technological solutions coming to the market.
“The treatment for sickness tends to be at the
cutting edge of science, so it’s very expensive to develop,”
Araci says.
So, what can the government do about the wide
gaps of inequality within healthcare, and the prospect
that new technologies will only make the gap wider?
“I can’t see a government being able to afford the
latest technologies at a national level, but a government
that is doing everything it can to keep us healthy through
network help support and providing a strong and trusted
system of sharing medical data – that is vital,” Araci says.
He adds the importance of primary health care by
encouraging early intervention and promoting wellness
as “one of the most feasible and practical things that our
government can do right now”.
“If we can keep people healthier, we can provide small
interventions that means someone doesn’t have to go to
hospital, or if we could reduce the rates of obesity, it could
then reduce the rate of diabetes. So, investment in those
areas and better tools in the health system to understand
communities, if we can reduce illness less people will be
sick, so it will limit the need for expensive drugs.”
Another way to bridge resources to marginalised
communities is teleheath, or remote healthcare, where
people in regional areas can access specialist treatment
online. It’s already happening across New Zealand. A new
virtual medical centre has begun operations in Patea,
which assists physicians with ‘digital health deputies’ to
deliver better healthcare to rural communities.
“It doesn’t sound like a big change, but if you live in
rural New Zealand, it’s significant. Currently in Kaikoura,
patients are being seen by specialists in Christchurch via
skype and broadcasting. It’s not just saving time, but it’s
equalising access to specialist treatment,” Araci says.
Furthermore, there are an increasing number of
patients developing tools to treat and manage their own
healthcare. Araci points to a few examples, such as Nori
health, a chatbot that enables patients to treat and manage
Crohn’s disease, or another local example, Uri-Go, a
lightweight variable device that helps disabled people go
to the toilet.
“It is already here, it’s popping up in pockets, it’s just
unevenly distributed at the moment.”Who owns your data?
The ability to harness far greater healthcare information
about individuals means issues like security and data
privacy are paramount to the future of healthcare. In a
digital age littered with reports of data breaches in some
of our most traditional institutions, how do we expect to
trust that our digital health data won’t be manipulated
or meddled with?
“If we get the management of big data correct and
secure, that would be powerful, I’m more concerned with
that than any particular physical treatment,” Araci says.