Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Intel's plans to make health care more techno-savvy
According to Intel chairman Craig Barrett, the health care industry has been slow to adopt existing technology to achieve reform. Healthcare IT News reports on Barrett's speech at a recent chronic care summit hosted by Intel in Washington, D.C. He apparently told the audience that the health care industry is "in denial" about the technology it needs to adopt, and observed that he has "'seen every other industry in the world make this transition, save [the health care] industry.'”
In addition to chiding the industry, Barrett called upon the business sector--employers--to demand better health care and to shop for it just as consumers shop for most everything else. For example, if a provider does not have electronic medical records, then an employer should take its money elsewhere.
The official Intel press release quotes Barrett:
We all have an interest in improving the quality and cost of our healthcare system – as patients, caregivers, employers and as a nation. We need to look at new and innovative ways to apply technology to help solve health problems and improve health outcomes. We must work to make remote patient monitoring and integrated telehealth solutions part of the health care delivery system.
What is clear from the press release is that Intel--not a traditional player in the health care sector--is ready to take on a big role in addressing the needs of aging baby boomers and the demands that chronic illnesses place on the health care system. In addition to developing products, Intel is collaborating with Continua Health Alliance to create a marketplace for interoperable personal health teledevices and services.
Intel's news may or may not come as a surprise, but it highlights one of the themes of our Fall 2006 Conference on Rethinking Business Models in the Global Health Economy. Boundaries are blurring between traditional industry sectors and new players are emerging in the resulting innovation spaces. Intel seems intent on leading the way.