I just finished The Creative Destruction of Medicine by @EricTopol 🧬 🧑🔬
I throughly enjoyed many of his messages so I’ve distilled them down for you in a tl;dr form 🤓
A 🧵 on my key points, outstanding questions, and main takeaway:
I throughly enjoyed many of his messages so I’ve distilled them down for you in a tl;dr form 🤓
A 🧵 on my key points, outstanding questions, and main takeaway:
Key Points:
(1) Complete Your Picture - Electronic Health Records 📜
Patients should be empowered to OWN their electronic health records.
If you + your records can freely move between, doctors, hospitals, insurance providers, etc. you have the power to get the care you need 😃
(1) Complete Your Picture - Electronic Health Records 📜
Patients should be empowered to OWN their electronic health records.
If you + your records can freely move between, doctors, hospitals, insurance providers, etc. you have the power to get the care you need 😃
In addition, this convergence of data streams (imaging, genomics, electrical signals, metadata, etc.) collected throughout your lifetime is powerful!
It gives you a complete “womb to tomb” 👶 ➡️ 👵 picture so that you can make your most informed #health decisions.
It gives you a complete “womb to tomb” 👶 ➡️ 👵 picture so that you can make your most informed #health decisions.
(2) We’re Stronger Together - Social Health Networks 👯
There's a crowd sourcing effect taking hold in healthcare because patients trust their circle, sometimes more than their doctors 🤯
This has lead to an uptick in medical social networks like
@patientslikeme @CaringBridge
There's a crowd sourcing effect taking hold in healthcare because patients trust their circle, sometimes more than their doctors 🤯
This has lead to an uptick in medical social networks like
@patientslikeme @CaringBridge
(3) Be Preventative not Reactive - Continuous Mobile Sensing 📲
With increasing sophistication in smartphone apps & wearables, you can experiment with yourself while tracking changes in real time!
A classic example is the 🍏 watch's ECG (electrocardiogram) app ♥️
With increasing sophistication in smartphone apps & wearables, you can experiment with yourself while tracking changes in real time!
A classic example is the 🍏 watch's ECG (electrocardiogram) app ♥️
Your smart phone is ~literally~ a laboratory in your pocket 🧪 🥼 📳
Utilize it to its fullest, and it will help you move from being reactive to preventative with your healthcare!
Utilize it to its fullest, and it will help you move from being reactive to preventative with your healthcare!
(4) You are Part of a Whole - Data Aggregation 🌏
Moving from n-of-1 (the individual’s experiences) data to n-of-billions data enhances #medicine for everyone!
Granted, this is no easy feat. Multimodal models & data aggregation pipelines in #healthcare have a long way to go!
Moving from n-of-1 (the individual’s experiences) data to n-of-billions data enhances #medicine for everyone!
Granted, this is no easy feat. Multimodal models & data aggregation pipelines in #healthcare have a long way to go!
(5) You are More Than Your Diagnosis - Target Mutations 🧬
Demand your genetic sequence before undergoing a treatment, bc the treatment may not work for you and may even make you worse depending on your mutations 🧫
A great example of genomically guided drug development is...
Demand your genetic sequence before undergoing a treatment, bc the treatment may not work for you and may even make you worse depending on your mutations 🧫
A great example of genomically guided drug development is...
... Kalydeco for cystic fibrosis. It is extremely effective but only for a mutation that occurs in 3-4% of cases.
Other examples include, Herceptin which targets breast cancers that overproduce HER2.
As well as BRAF directed drugs for malignant melanoma.
🧑🔬🧑⚕️👨🔬👨⚕️👩🔬👩⚕️
Other examples include, Herceptin which targets breast cancers that overproduce HER2.
As well as BRAF directed drugs for malignant melanoma.
🧑🔬🧑⚕️👨🔬👨⚕️👩🔬👩⚕️
Outstanding Questions:
(1) One of the most striking facts was that in 1961 90% of doctors wouldn’t tell their patients they had cancer because it was a form of “toxic knowledge”.
Will we ever truly be able to do away with the notion that some healthcare knowledge is toxic? 🤔
(1) One of the most striking facts was that in 1961 90% of doctors wouldn’t tell their patients they had cancer because it was a form of “toxic knowledge”.
Will we ever truly be able to do away with the notion that some healthcare knowledge is toxic? 🤔
(2) It is becoming increasingly difficult for healthcare ⚕️ startups to launch let alone survive bc of surmounting costs in regulation (i.e. FDA “user fees”), long timelines in product discovery and development, and competition with entrenched corporations...
... How can #medtech startups overcome these obstacles?
In other domains being smaller, fast-paced, able-to-pivot, etc. give the edge but these attributes may not be as relevant or desired in #healthcare!
You certainly don't want to move fast and break things in your body 😬
In other domains being smaller, fast-paced, able-to-pivot, etc. give the edge but these attributes may not be as relevant or desired in #healthcare!
You certainly don't want to move fast and break things in your body 😬
Main Takeaway:
Medicine’s democratization is crucial & hopefully inevitable. We should embrace this power to become our own healthcare advocates!
🥳🎉 The End 🎉🥳
Medicine’s democratization is crucial & hopefully inevitable. We should embrace this power to become our own healthcare advocates!
🥳🎉 The End 🎉🥳
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