November 21, 2022 – Big Tech has had a surprisingly small impact on US healthcare, so far. Artificial intelligence, for example, outperforms physicians in many complex tasks (like reading mammograms and analyzing chest X-rays), yet AI remains woefully underused. Meanwhile, many have tried to spur operational efficiency using big-data analytics, but care delivery remains as inconsistent and ineffective as ever. Perhaps the most telling example of Big Tech’s struggles in medicine: 9 in 10 healthcare organizations still rely on fax machines to exchange important patient information.
Two tech giants are trying to change all that – and capture a meaningful slice of the $4.1 trillion Americans spend on healthcare each year.
Their approaches couldn’t be more different. One company is dutifully abiding by an old, unwritten rule of health technology. The other is poised to rewrite the healthcare rulebook altogether.
First, the rule: It’s better to collaborate (than compete) with healthcare’s power players. In most industries, technology has been used to disrupt or displace the incumbents. That’s how ride-sharing apps shook up the taxi industry, how online booking sites changed travel and how streaming platforms bested cable companies.
Read more in the latest issue of Repertoire Magazine.