We need to consolidate and centralize our health data
Growing up in post-WWII America seems, in retrospect, to have been a lot simpler. (I was a kid, of course.) This was life before computers, cable, wi-fi, and smartphones gave us ready access to vast stores of information and advice on almost any topic.
I’m not saying things were better, it’s just simpler. Doctors made house calls if you were sick. Though they didn’t have the diagnostic and treatment capabilities they have now, we pretty much relied on the care and advice of our family doctor (today’s primary care physician).
Today, we’re not only expected to be better informed and “smarter” about our own and our family’s health but also actively involved in it. It’s become more of a shared responsibility with our doctor(s), who, I’ve read – and experienced — typically allot just 10 or 15 minutes to a routine office visit.
The challenge here is to make the time for and integrate all the information and advice technology now affords us into our lives (including the data generated by “wearables” like Fitbit).
That’s where technology like ICmed’s comes in, offering up a whole new way to collect, store and share current and historical health and medical information with family and healthcare providers. Now more than ever, we need to consolidate, centralize and put this information in quick and easy reach when we need it.