[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":322},["ShallowReactive",2],{"slug-is-crowdfunding-the-grim-future-of-health-insurance":3},{"post":4,"relatedPosts":186,"relatedBooks":321},{"id":5,"date":6,"date_gmt":7,"guid":8,"modified":10,"modified_gmt":11,"slug":12,"status":13,"type":14,"link":15,"title":16,"content":18,"excerpt":21,"author":23,"featured_media":24,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":26,"template":27,"format":28,"meta":29,"categories":30,"tags":33,"project_category":44,"contact_email_category":45,"yst_prominent_words":46,"class_list":57,"better_featured_image":76,"acf":121,"yoast_meta":130,"_links":133},22071,"2018-10-13T10:36:08","2018-10-13T08:36:08",{"rendered":9},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F","2022-05-25T18:21:18","2022-05-25T16:21:18","is-crowdfunding-the-grim-future-of-health-insurance","publish","post","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fis-crowdfunding-the-grim-future-of-health-insurance",{"rendered":17},"Is Crowdfunding The Grim Future Of Health Insurance?",{"rendered":19,"protected":20},"\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"5px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #555;font-size: 12px;line-height: 14px\">THIS ARTICLE HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2018. THE INFORMATION SHARED IN THE ARTICLE WAS ACCURATE AT THE TIME OF ITS PUBLICATION, BUT IT MAY BE OUT OF DATE NOW. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fmagazine\">BROWSE OUR LATEST ARTICLES HERE\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>A growing number of people, mostly Americans, are forced to use crowdfunding sites to ask for money to cover medical expenses. While in many cases, the option is a potential source of hope binding people together for a good cause that would otherwise be lost due to financial reasons, the phenomenon also shows the desperate state of a healthcare system where victims of terrible illnesses have to “commodify” themselves on online donation forums. Should it stay that way? Should we fear for a dark future of health insurance in some parts of the world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003C!--more-->\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>The patchwork called crowdfunding\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Indiegogo, Crowdcube or FundRazr – crowdfunding platforms, which help finance an unimaginably broad range of projects from innovative solutions such as the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.kickstarter.com\u002Fprojects\u002F713418541\u002Fzapbox-experience-mixed-reality-for-just-30\">ZapBox mixed reality headset and content\u003C\u002Fa> as well as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.kickstarter.com\u002Fprojects\u002Fzackdangerbrown\u002Fpotato-salad\">the guy raising money for his potato salad\u003C\u002Fa>. According to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0277953617305166#bib72\">Massolution (2015)\u003C\u002Fa>, a US research firm, \u003Cstrong>there are over 1250 crowdfunding platforms around the world, having raised $16.2 billion in 2014, up 167% from $6.1 billion the previous year – and the sum is continuously going upwards.\u003C\u002Fstrong> This progress is generated from growing uptake in North America and Europe as well as significant growth in Asia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The method of crowdfunding is appealing and straightforward: the project initiator kicks off an idea on a platform which transmits the message to the potential funders. Depending on the packaging of the concept, which presumes digital literacy and marketing skills, and the broader social network of the fundraiser, the project gets funded to a certain extent in a specific scheme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In the case of personal causes, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fb99a81be-f591-11e7-88f7-5465a6ce1a00\">the founders of GoFundMe, the sector leader, initially envisaged helping users pay for holidays and weddings\u003C\u002Fa>, The Financial Times notes in its article. But by 2009, they began to notice people were using the site more to cope with crises, including medical emergencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-22072\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-platforms.png\" alt=\"future of health insurance\" class=\"wp-image-22072\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-platforms.png 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-platforms-768x381.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-platforms-512x254.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: www.cuttingedgecapital.com\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Crowdfunding – Band-Aid for cancer?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>After a while, crowdfunding websites started to take notice of the growing numbers of medical campaigns. Although the genre shows up to a larger and larger extent also in the UK, Australia or Canada, in countries with public healthcare systems, these fundraising projects generally aim for financing treatments outside of the national care schemes’ scope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>However, in the US, where healthcare coverage does not come as general and natural for everyone, any injury or severe illness can wreck entire families. The Financial Times noted that the average cost of hospital stays for cancer patients in 2015 was $31,390, according to government figures — about half that year’s median household income. More than a quarter of adults in the US reported that they or someone in their household \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.kff.org\u002Freport-section\u002Fthe-burden-of-medical-debt-section-1-who-has-medical-bill-problems-and-what-are-the-contributing-factors\u002F\">had trouble paying their medical bills\u003C\u002Fa> over the previous year, according to a 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation\u002FNew York Times survey. Moreover, \u003Cstrong>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpmc\u002Farticles\u002FPMC3273528\u002F\">medical expenses are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States, according to a study that\u003C\u002Fa> indicated about 62% of personal bankruptcies in 2007 were reportedly due to medical bills, even though most of those people had insurance — up from about 46% in 2001.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>No wonder that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2018\u002F01\u002F16\u002Famericans-without-health-insurance-up-more-than-3-million-under-trump.html\">growing numbers of the American uninsured\u003C\u002Fa> as well as people without comprehensive health insurance packages, with medical conditions going beyond their insurance limits or with high deductibles turn to \u003C\u002Fstrong>crowdfunding\u003Cstrong> sites out of desperation.\u003C\u002Fstrong> \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fb99a81be-f591-11e7-88f7-5465a6ce1a00\">The Financial Times says\u003C\u002Fa>, YouCaring has helped its users raise more than $900 million since 2011, and its momentum is building, with roughly $400 million coming in over the past year. The company told FT that close to half of its 350,000 active campaigns are related to healthcare and the fastest-growing category is fundraisers for cancers. It even \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.buzzfeednews.com\u002Farticle\u002Fannehelenpetersen\u002Freal-peril-of-crowdfunding-healthcare\">helped ease the burden on bankruptcies\u003C\u002Fa>: a \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1002\u002Fhast.645\u002Fabstract\">study published in 2014 estimated\u003C\u002Fa> that 4% of would-be bankruptcies have been prevented by healthcare crowdfunding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>However, Dr. Ida Hellander, director of health policy for the \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.pnhp.org\u002F\">Physicians for a National Health Program\u003C\u002Fa>, a US nonprofit organization which advocates for universal healthcare, is \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpmc\u002Farticles\u002FPMC3273528\u002F\">saying that it’s not even Band-Aid\u003C\u002Fa>. “It shows how desperate people are, the magnitude of the crisis and the fact that the political will is not there to help people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-22073\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"870\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health.jpg\" alt=\"future of health insurance\" class=\"wp-image-22073\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-512x512.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: www.twitter.com\u002FBuzzFeedNews\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Organized begging?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Arthur Caplan, \u003Cstrong>the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.huffpost.com\u002Fentry\u002Fhealth-care-crowdfuding_n_5953d33de4b05c37bb7b3f39\">founding director of New York University’s division of medical ethics, went even further in telling HuffPost that crowdfunding is\u003C\u002Fa> “a Band-Aid that doesn’t really cover what I’ll call ‘hemorrhaging wounds.’” He added that it cannot be the solution to access problems in healthcare, as these platforms only offer solutions to certain people in particular cases.\u003C\u002Fstrong> In fact, in 2015, Nerdwallet found that about \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nerdwallet.com\u002Fblog\u002Floans\u002Fmedical-debt-crowdfunding-bankruptcy\u002F\">40 percent of crowdfunding campaigns\u003C\u002Fa> on major platforms were medical in nature, however, only 11 percent were fully funded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>That phenomenon could go down to a wide variety of reasons. While \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0277953617305166#bib60\">Snyder et al. (2016)\u003C\u002Fa> suggest that “compared to the experience people have when giving or considering donations to a large charitable organization, an individual’s medical crowdfunding initiative can feel much more personal and compelling, leading to giving that would not have occurred otherwise,” the downside is that people in need have to commodify their misery online. They have to tell a compelling story with which they can “ask for money” – and the peoples of the Internet will select the ones “worthy” of their attention and gratitude. While mutual aid or universal coverage provides care no matter who you are and what you are suffering from, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.buzzfeednews.com\u002Farticle\u002Fannehelenpetersen\u002Freal-peril-of-crowdfunding-healthcare\">crowdfunding is entirely contingent on the ability to craft a compelling narrative\u003C\u002Fa>. Above mentioned Arthur Caplan even called the method “organized begging”.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>No matter how horrible that sounds, the dynamics of selecting the campaigns for donations show for example \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0277953617305166#bib3\">adverse selection\u003C\u002Fa> as well as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0277953617305166#bib9\">herding behavior\u003C\u002Fa>. That means people with extended social networks can transmit their message to a wider audience – and if these friends and relatives also happen to be from the wealthier parts of society, the campaign might become even more successful. Thus, no matter how often you hear that online platforms are inherently egalitarian – \u003Cstrong>in cases such as crowdfunding, the biases of society towards the not-so-well-off, minorities, migrants, non-English speakers, etc., who usually happen to be those who lack the resources to tell their stories the most, will reappear.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-22074\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"489\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-2.jpg\" alt=\"future of health insurance\" class=\"wp-image-22074\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-2.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-2-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-Health-2-512x288.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: www.abcnews.go.com\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Who is worthy for help?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Not to speak about the specific nature of medical crowdfunding campaigns. While these online donation initiatives can truly organize the charitable side of people, and in many cases, it can help the elderly, disabled, children and their families live through incredible hardships, the system could appear as biased towards specific goals and specific diseases.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>On the sunny side, in several cases, it successfully advocated for rare conditions. For instance, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0277953617305166#bib67\">GoFundMe’s largest campaign to date raised more than $2 million from over 37,000 donors around the world\u003C\u002Fa> to support a young girl with a rare neurological condition, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Ftopics\u002Fmedicine-and-dentistry\u002Fsanfilippo-syndrome\">Sanfilippo Syndrome\u003C\u002Fa> Type A, an autosomal recessive disease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>However, as surreal and heartbreaking to say this as it is, \u003Cstrong>the most convincing campaigns are usually the ones where people struggle against diseases like cancer, genetic disorders, and other afflictions ostensibly out of the victim’s control. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Furl?q=https:\u002F\u002Fwww.buzzfeednews.com\u002Farticle\u002Fannehelenpetersen\u002Freal-peril-of-crowdfunding-healthcare&source=gmail&ust=1539159122807000&usg=AFQjCNE-0wN0Po2EpfzgqiaexJykTADPlA\">BuzzFeedNews says\u003C\u002Fa> that such conditions are often referred to as “faultless”, while it’s way harder to find backers for “blameworthy” diseases — addiction and mental health in particular — that are popularly conceived as either the fault of the victim or somehow under their control.\u003C\u002Fstrong> The magazine found that there are rarely campaigns for adult heart disease, or “getting my life together as a single mom” — both are viewed as the result of “choices” instead of “needs.” If there’s already a hierarchy of affliction and need in society, then crowdfunding often works to exacerbate it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-22075\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"404\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-2.jpg\" alt=\"future of health insurance\" class=\"wp-image-22075\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-2.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-2-768x356.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCrowdfunding-2-512x238.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: www.inc.com\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>How to crowdfund your kid’s medical expenses?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>That’s how it could happen that the above title emerged on the website, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.todaysparent.com\u002Fkids\u002Fkids-health\u002Fhow-to-crowdfund-your-kids-medical-expenses\u002F\">todaysparent.com\u003C\u002Fa>, teaching worried and penniless mothers and fathers how to tell a compelling story, how to stay engaged and willing to share as much as possible delicately balancing on the sad, funny and awe-inspiring parts of the journey through healthcare towards complete healing.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>For introverted people as well as people sensitive about their privacy, the procedure to put themselves or their kids on the “charity market” in front of a massive amount of people, in return for money is challenging – to say the least. Claudia Koziner, the mother of Isabella Masucci, a two-year-old toddler with brain cancer, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fb99a81be-f591-11e7-88f7-5465a6ce1a00\">told The Financial Times\u003C\u002Fa>, that by launching their YouCaring campaign, they stepped over boundaries they would have never imagined – for example by telling the entire world that there’s a problem they are facing. “So we’ve amassed a good amount of money through the YouCaring site and for that we’re grateful, but should it have to be that way?”, she commented. It’s a heartbreakingly tricky question that she posed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-22077\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"579\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FHow-To-Crowdfund.jpg\" alt=\"future of health insurance\" class=\"wp-image-22077\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FHow-To-Crowdfund.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FHow-To-Crowdfund-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FHow-To-Crowdfund-512x341.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: www.theoutline.com\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>How to avoid the dystopic scenario of relying even more on crowdfunding for health?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftonic.vice.com\u002Fen_us\u002Farticle\u002Fkzq4k3\u002Fcrowdfunding-is-the-sad-dark-future-of-healthcare\">Vice Tonic noted\u003C\u002Fa>, by 2026, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cbo.gov\u002Fpublication\u002F52849\">Congressional Budget Office estimates\u003C\u002Fa>, 22 million people could lose their insurance. Others may be stuck with policies that are functionally worthless. It’s clear that this will contribute to the boom cycle for medical crowdfunding, with more people turning to the kindness of strangers in the hope of getting out of medical debt or funding urgently needed procedures. Is there anything else to do in the long run than urge politicians to change healthcare policies and opt for broader health coverage for the US population?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>What if health insurance premiums depended more on lifestyle data monitored continuously than any other factor including money? What if a healthy way of life could not only ensure in itself longevity and better chances in prevention, but also better coverage when it comes to injuries, cancer or genetic disorders.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-22078\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"489\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FPhilips-Diabetes.jpg\" alt=\"future of health insurance\" class=\"wp-image-22078\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FPhilips-Diabetes.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FPhilips-Diabetes-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FPhilips-Diabetes-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FPhilips-Diabetes-512x288.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Philips diabetes self-care app with an integrated virtual community. Source: www.philips.com\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Could the solution come from health data?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In return of another type of privacy waiver – the offering of health data – compared to the need for crafting powerful narratives on crowdfunding sites, health insurance companies offered benefit packages rewarding healthy lifestyle choices and ultimately lower costs for any intervention or treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As the number of wearables, trackers, and sensors skyrockets – it’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fthe-future-of-health-insurance-preparing-for-dr-big-brother\">predicted that 245 million wearable devices will be sold in 2019\u003C\u002Fa> – health insurance companies might want to leverage on that data. The process already started: Last month John Hancock \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.johnhancock.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fjohnhancock\u002Fnews\u002Finsurance\u002F2018\u002F09\u002Fjohn-hancock-leaves-traditional-life-insurance-model-behind-to-incentivize-longer--healthier-lives.html\">announced\u003C\u002Fa> that all of its life insurance policies would incorporate the company’s Vitality Program. Under this program, customers can earn points by exercising regularly, purchasing nutritious foods, getting annual health screenings, and completing other activities. To get points for exercise, customers must share their gym records or data generated by a wearable activity tracker with the insurance company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hioscar.com\u002F\">Oscar Health\u003C\u002Fa>, a New York-based health insurance company with more than 40,000 users, has employed technology, design, and data to humanize healthcare since 2013. Their patients in the US \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2015-09-03\u002Ffor-health-insurance-startup-oscar-cute-ads-only-go-so-far\">get Amazon gift cards as rewards\u003C\u002Fa> for achieving their daily goals as measured by \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fitbit.com\u002Feu\u002Fhome\">Fitbit\u003C\u002Fa> wearables. As a great success for the innovative health insurance start-up, \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2017\u002F06\u002F15\u002Fcleveland-clinic-and-oscar-partner-on-health-plan-in-ohio.html\">in June 2017 Cleveland Clinic and Oscar announced\u003C\u002Fa>, they are teaming up on a new health plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Could these new insurance schemes make up for the lack of universal health coverage substantially? Could digital health data and giving up part of our privacy eliminate the need for the use of crowdfunding and put a healthcare story in front of a much bigger audience than health insurance companies?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>It’s a tough question with seemingly no right answers in the short term. Crowdfunding, while innovative in nature, cannot replace a more comprehensive solution. Just as Band-Aids cannot cure cancer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"10px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>At The Medical Futurist, we are building a community for making a bold vision about the future of healthcare reality today.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FFIbMejImnxs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\">\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003Cp>If you’d like to support this mission, we invite you to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">join The Medical Futurist Patreon Community\u003C\u002Fa>. A community of empowered patients, future-oriented healthcare professionals, concerned health policymakers, sensible health tech developers, and enthusiastic medical students. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our research and sustains our future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">\u003Cstrong style=\"background-color: #e71d3299; color: #000;\">Click here to support The Medical Futurist from as little as $3\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa> – it only takes a minute. Thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n",false,{"rendered":22,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>A growing number of people, mostly Americans, are forced to use crowdfunding sites to ask for money to cover medical expenses. While in many cases, the option is a potential source of hope binding people together for a good cause that would otherwise be lost due to financial reasons, the phenomenon also shows the desperate state of a healthcare system where victims of terrible illnesses have to “commodify” themselves on online donation forums. \u003C\u002Fp>\n",6,22082,"closed",true,"","standard",{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":27},[31,32],802,499,[34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43],755,756,828,191,1084,207,229,246,304,686,[],[],[47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56],2923,2987,2989,2991,2993,1571,1583,1683,1723,1883,[58,14,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75],"post-22071","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-insurance","category-healthcare-design","tag-health-insurance","tag-insurance","tag-digital-health-insurance","tag-crowdfunding","tag-medical-expenses","tag-digital-health","tag-ethics","tag-future","tag-medical","tag-health-data",{"id":24,"alt_text":77,"caption":27,"description":78,"media_type":79,"media_details":80,"post":5,"source_url":120},"TMF, future of health insurance","TMF","image",{"width":81,"height":82,"file":83,"sizes":84,"image_meta":117},870,489,"2018\u002F10\u002F041_crowdfounding_V2.png",{"medium":85,"large":91,"thumbnail":96,"medium_large":100,"large_old_512x288":101,"thumbnail_old_150x150":106,"medium_old_370x208":108,"medium_large_old_768x432":111,"large_old_512x288_old_512x288":114},{"file":86,"width":87,"height":88,"mime-type":89,"source_url":90},"041_crowdfounding_V2-370x208.png",370,208,"image\u002Fpng","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F041_crowdfounding_V2-370x208.png",{"file":92,"width":93,"height":94,"mime-type":89,"source_url":95},"041_crowdfounding_V2-768x432.png",768,432,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F041_crowdfounding_V2-768x432.png",{"file":97,"width":98,"height":98,"mime-type":89,"source_url":99},"041_crowdfounding_V2-150x150.png",150,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F041_crowdfounding_V2-150x150.png",{"file":92,"width":93,"height":94,"mime-type":89,"source_url":95},{"file":102,"width":103,"height":104,"mime-type":89,"source_url":105},"041_crowdfounding_V2-512x288.png",512,288,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F041_crowdfounding_V2-512x288.png",{"file":97,"width":107,"height":107,"mime-type":89,"source_url":99},"150",{"file":86,"width":109,"height":110,"mime-type":89,"source_url":90},"370","208",{"file":92,"width":112,"height":113,"mime-type":89,"source_url":95},"768","432",{"file":102,"width":115,"height":116,"mime-type":89,"source_url":105},"512","288",{"aperture":118,"credit":27,"camera":27,"caption":27,"created_timestamp":118,"copyright":27,"focal_length":118,"iso":118,"shutter_speed":118,"title":27,"orientation":118,"keywords":119},"0",[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F041_crowdfounding_V2.png",{"related_posts":122,"related_posts_footer":126,"cta_type":27,"cta_color":27,"subtitle":27,"related_books":20},[123,124,125],16532,13003,13151,[127,128,129],17336,13229,13916,{"yoast_wpseo_title":131,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":132,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":15},"Is Crowdfunding The Grim Future Of Health Insurance? - The Medical Futurist","Many people are forced to use crowdfunding sites to ask for money to cover medical expenses. Should we fear for a grim future of health insurance?",{"self":134,"collection":140,"about":143,"author":146,"replies":149,"version-history":152,"predecessor-version":156,"wp:featuredmedia":160,"wp:attachment":163,"wp:term":166,"curies":182},[135],{"href":136,"targetHints":137},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F22071",{"allow":138},[139],"GET",[141],{"href":142},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts",[144],{"href":145},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftypes\u002Fpost",[147],{"embeddable":26,"href":148},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fusers\u002F6",[150],{"embeddable":26,"href":151},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=22071",[153],{"count":154,"href":155},19,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F22071\u002Frevisions",[157],{"id":158,"href":159},46486,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F22071\u002Frevisions\u002F46486",[161],{"embeddable":26,"href":162},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F22082",[164],{"href":165},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=22071",[167,170,173,176,179],{"taxonomy":168,"embeddable":26,"href":169},"category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=22071",{"taxonomy":171,"embeddable":26,"href":172},"post_tag","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=22071",{"taxonomy":174,"embeddable":26,"href":175},"project_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=22071",{"taxonomy":177,"embeddable":26,"href":178},"contact_email_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=22071",{"taxonomy":180,"embeddable":26,"href":181},"yst_prominent_words","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=22071",[183],{"name":184,"href":185,"templated":26},"wp","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.w.org\u002F{rel}",[187],{"id":129,"date":188,"date_gmt":189,"guid":190,"modified":192,"modified_gmt":193,"slug":194,"status":13,"type":14,"link":195,"title":196,"content":198,"excerpt":200,"author":23,"featured_media":202,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":26,"template":27,"format":28,"meta":203,"categories":204,"tags":206,"project_category":213,"contact_email_category":214,"yst_prominent_words":215,"class_list":224,"better_featured_image":233,"acf":259,"yoast_meta":276,"_links":279},"2024-05-23T15:54:29","2024-05-23T13:54:29",{"rendered":191},"http:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F?p=13916","2024-05-23T16:07:34","2024-05-23T14:07:34","healthcare-in-2060","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fhealthcare-in-2060",{"rendered":197},"Looking Back At Today’s Healthcare In 2060",{"rendered":199,"protected":20},"\n\u003Cp>I receive many questions after my talks and on my online channels about the not-yet-visible future. People want to know what healthcare will be like in the next decades. But throwing around predictions will not help us design better healthcare. However, showing a utopian future for healthcare might do so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003C!--more-->\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On a chilly October afternoon in 2060,\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>after having watched the leaves falling off the trees in our garden for too long to get bored, my beautiful and overtly curious grandchild, Nina, came to me and started asking me questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-768x432.png\" alt=\"digital health literacy\" class=\"wp-image-24112\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-2048x1152.png 2048w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>She pointed at one of the many sensors in the living room – small, simply designed cubes measuring air quality, temperature, humidity, noise, light, air pressure, that optimize our home environment based on our personal information. Nina asked whether I had ever lived in a house without sensor cubes. When I said yes, she looked at me with wide, marveling eyes and asked me to tell her how I had lived when I was young. She liked to ask about the past. I told her about the unbearable heat in third-floor apartments during hot summer nights without proper air-conditioning and the inconvenience it caused when you could not set the right amount of light for working.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nina was satisfied with my responses, but I had the impression she still had something on her mind. I asked her about it. She told me that she heard a word from her fellow first-graders and she did not know what that was, but one of her friends, Lyanna, told her it was from the age when people did not use smart cubes at home, so she wanted to ask me and make sure I can answer the question. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>So, I asked her, what that mysterious word was, and she said, hospital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I laughed out loud. Hospital. I have a grandchild who does not know what a hospital is. Isn’t she the sweetest (and for that matter the luckiest) girl in the universe?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And isn’t it amazing that she doesn’t know what a hospital is?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>So, I told this charming little lady to come over and listen to her old, wrinkle-faced grandpa who will tell her the story of hospitals, doctors, nurses, pills – and pretty much how healthcare used to look like in the 2020s, in the barbaric, pre-technological era of medicine. Here is what I said: \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“More than 40 years ago, patients had to go to huge and unfriendly buildings called hospitals to receive any kind of care and to measure vital signs or health parameters, for example how hearts and brains work. So when people fell sick, they had to go to that specific building instead of just getting care at home or wherever. And there, at the doctor’s office, you could not just go and see the physician. Sometimes you had to wait in line for hours while other people got checked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital-768x432.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47078\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Do you remember, Nina, how mommy called up the doctor, she appeared on the screen and mommy showed her your ear when you said it hurt? And she also told her whether you had a fever, and what the device put into your ear for checking it properly, showed? And everything happened in your room, and also your friend, Gregor, the little salamander could be there? I wish it was so easy back in the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And by the way, back then, all doctors were actually humans\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I know that sounds very funny now, but back in those days, all doctors, and nurses I talked about were actually humans. There were no health robots, like Docco, in homes, no Dr. A.I. at your service 24\u002F7. When you needed a blood test, you had to go to a specific building, where a specific human took a lot of your blood with syringes. No, not just a few drops how Docco does it. A full vial!   \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Mommy told you that this method of how you speak with a doctor through the screen is called telemedicine, right? You know, back in the day it was just a shiny new thing which not many believed in. People had to travel from their homes to a different place to receive care. And as doctors were not as widely available as nowadays, sometimes people had to travel a lot. Sometimes by real ambulance cars with real drivers – no driverless cars and no drones delivering medical equipment were available.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No robo surgeons, either\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>And there were no \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mayoclinic.org\u002Ftests-procedures\u002Frobotic-surgery\u002Fabout\u002Fpac-20394974\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">robo-surgeons\u003C\u002Fa> either, those were all real people, with no help from artificial intelligence or robots. I know it sounds scary, but they managed somehow. People obviously did not live that long, but even then they could cure a lot of diseases. Considering how these human doctors had to remember everything themselves, without the A.I. analysing all the patient data real-time, they actually did quite well.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>You know, Nina, nowadays computers can send each other every health data that you have within a blink of an eye. In the 2020s not every device could communicate with each other, so sometimes physicians did not know about the patients and they had to ask for all the data and information that the other doctors and nurses already had. Again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And records on paper! \u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Moreover, they had to write down all the information, they used keyboards to type down information, not even looking at the patient or talking to them. And I think you are not going to believe this but some medical records were on paper. Yes, people wrote by hand on paper, like you draw those butterflies with the lilac pencil, and those were not even stored or analyzed later on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-768x432.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52083\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383.png 1820w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nina, look at grandpa’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fwiki\u002Fdigital-tattoo\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">digital tattoo\u003C\u002Fa> on his arm!\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Can you imagine that instead of this tiny and shiny metal lamina, doctors used as huge and expensive equipment as this living room? Measuring the electrical activity of your heart (ECG) or measuring blood pressure took time and effort – even for physicians. Medical devices were huge and scary like computers a century ago and patients had to travel to the machines to have very complex examinations, such as the so-called CT scan, by which various photos are taken from the otherwise not visible parts of your body or the MRI which examines parts of the body with the help of a magnetic field. There was also the problem called radiation, which means that invisible but harmful energy waves reached the body of the patients.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Printing organs was just an idea for the future\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>And back then doctors could not even print an organ if you needed one. A malfunctioning heart or kidney was considered a life-threatening condition, and new organs could only come from other human beings. So, please don’t get scared, but people had to use the hearts and livers and lungs and kidneys of others who just died. And as these organs were not specifically printed for you, sometimes they did not even work properly. The scientists had been thinking about printing tissues but had a hard time figuring out \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwyss.harvard.edu\u002Ftechnology\u002F3d-bioprinting\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">how to do it\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And some people could even go blind. Forever\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Do you remember when Mr. Simmith had all that trouble with his eyes last year? And he had to have his neurons checked, and the lab has grown him a bionic chip with his neurons populating it, and he had it implanted. And now his eyes are working as well as before, and he can read everything easily. This was not like that when I was young. Some people could actually have so much trouble with their vision that they went completely blind. Oh, that means that they don’t see anything at all. Nothing. It was because in the 2020s, they could not just easily connect the biochips with your neurons. Some scientists have been \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mayoclinic.org\u002Fdiseases-conditions\u002Fdry-macular-degeneration\u002Fmultimedia\u002Fbionic-eye-video\u002Fvid-20133293\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dreaming about it\u003C\u002Fa>, but nobody could do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No supercomputers analysing all the data in seconds\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>You know, Nina that you can ask things from your little tablet, and it will eventually find you an answer? Right, I told you already that there is a technology called artificial intelligence through which devices learn a lot about you – like you do about the letters in first grade – and they eventually will give you the solution to problems that might arise. It takes just seconds to find those answers. Now, can you imagine that doctors back in the day had to do searches in huge databases (like \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpubmed\" target=\"_blank\">Pubmed\u003C\u002Fa>) to find the information somewhere in hidden studies? They had to mine the database themselves and artificial intelligence could not help them? That it would last days or even weeks to read through the irrelevant data to find the right answer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And the same pill for everyone, without it being personalised to your genome\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Also, do you remember that the other day mommy and I went to the pharmacy with you and you observed how the 3D printer machine \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fphys.org\u002Fnews\u002F2024-05-easy-pill-swallow-3d-paves.html\" target=\"_blank\">printed the pills prescribed by your doctor\u003C\u002Fa>? Now, listen. In the 2020s, medicine was produced by pharma companies who had made the same drugs for decades and made the same dosage for millions. Everyone received the same pills – there was no personalized medicine. So, you and Gregor would have got the same, even if you had some kind of allergy and Gregor wouldn’t. Back then \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0378517324003740?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">researchers believed in 3D-printed drugs\u003C\u002Fa>, but most everyday folks have never heard of them. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What Kind of Medications Can 3D Printers Create? - The Medical Futurist\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fg0jkNl7Dj3Q?start=3&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I think I also told you some stories about the tiniest bits of our body, the DNA and how with the technique of genome sequencing as they call it, you can get to know more about hidden weaknesses in your organism and use that “secret” data in healing you. Right, Nina? But there was no chance of knowing so much medical information about the person in the 2020s, thus grandpa could have received a drug in a dosage that would have led to serious side effects if he were too sensitive to the particular treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New drugs were tested on animals and humans\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I remember how the invention and innovation of new treatments and healthcare methods took forever and the authorization of regulatory agencies even more – some patients literally died while waiting for a new cure. Back in the day, clinical trials were long and unbelievably expensive. Moreover, drugs were tested on patients – not on algorithms and physiological models, but on real people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And hospitals were run by humans, not supercomputers\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>You not only had to stay in hospitals but infections were commonly acquired while being hospitalized. As there was no algorithm to supervise the process of care, people made mistakes repeatedly. In the 2020s, medical errors were the third most common cause of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Hospitals were run by managers, not supercomputers. Every decision was subjective and not backed by huge amounts of data. Also, physicians worked in an unquantifiable way. Actually, nobody knew whether they were successful or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I recall that epidemiology studies were slow and it took a lot of time to deal with a new infection and develop vaccines in case of epidemics. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cancer was considered dramatic\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Cancer was considered a dramatic life event and not a chronic disease for decades. There was no effective cure or treatment for a long-long time. And even if there were some personalised treatments, people had to pay for them, and only rich people could get them. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Health insurance companies mostly lacked any kind of quantified data. They only knew the age and gender of their insured patients and that’s how they made business decisions. And one of the most important factors: patients were not equal partners of physicians, as they prescribed treatments without asking them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nina? Are you listening?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>How come she always falls asleep when I talk about the past? I think these stories are better for her than fairy tales. As I was looking at her face with her eyes shut, breathing smoothly in and out, I thought maybe it is for the best that she fell asleep, I have some information about the 2020s which I could not share with this sweet child anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Well, that’s how I imagine\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>it will be when my future self talks to my grandchild about healthcare and medicine in ‘the barbaric era’ of the 2020s. Okay, sometimes she won’t fall asleep but asks me to bring her some ice cream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The point is that I’m optimistic that when I will talk about healthcare in the early 21st century to my grandchildren, they will find many of my stories amusing because they are so unrealistically remote from their experiences. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Today, patients are still not equal partners with their caregivers; innovative treatments are not affordable in many places worldwide; and prevention is not even in the top 3 priorities. People do not use cheap sensors to get to know their own health better. Physicians still have to dive into dozens of publications to stay up-to-date when there are millions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>To sum it up, all the technological progress I see as The Medical Futurist makes me say we still live in a barbaric era of healthcare and we have a lot of work to do – such as \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fthe-promise-of-crispr-gpt-specialized-chatgpts-could-transform-medicine\" target=\"_blank\">embracing disruptive technologies\u003C\u002Fa>, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F3-reasons-why-patient-design-must-replace-the-patient-centricity-illusion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">empowering patients\u003C\u002Fa>, digitizing \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fthe-evolution-of-clinical-documentation-from-paper-to-ai\" target=\"_blank\">healthcare information\u003C\u002Fa> or \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Flifestyle-medicine-could-be-the-key-for-digital-health-adoption\" target=\"_blank\">shifting focus from treatment to prevention\u003C\u002Fa> – to fulfill at least some of the fantasies above so that the conversation with my granddaughter decades from now might have a similar tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"rendered":201,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>Can you image there were times when people had to wait for other people’s death to have a new liver instead of just printing it? When drugs are not personalised to your genome, and peple could die of cancer?! \u003C\u002Fp>\n",30365,{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":27},[32,205],515,[207,41,208,209,210,211,212],519,275,308,313,355,425,[],[],[216,217,218,53,219,54,220,221,55,222,223],2605,4103,4111,1631,1693,1715,1979,2281,[225,14,59,60,61,62,63,65,226,227,73,228,229,230,231,232],"post-13916","category-science-fiction","tag-gc4","tag-healthcare","tag-medical-education","tag-medicine","tag-personalized-medicine","tag-technology-2",{"id":202,"alt_text":27,"caption":234,"description":235,"media_type":79,"media_details":236,"post":257,"source_url":258},"Medical drone on its way to the hospital","We collected what trends and technologies will have an impact on the future of emergency medicine.",{"width":237,"height":238,"file":239,"sizes":240,"image_meta":256},1920,1080,"2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations.png",{"medium":241,"large":244,"thumbnail":247,"medium_large":250,"1536x1536":251},{"file":242,"width":109,"height":110,"mime-type":89,"source_url":243},"reverse_innovations-370x208.png","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-370x208.png",{"file":245,"width":112,"height":113,"mime-type":89,"source_url":246},"reverse_innovations-768x432.png","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-768x432.png",{"file":248,"width":107,"height":107,"mime-type":89,"source_url":249},"reverse_innovations-150x150.png","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-150x150.png",{"file":245,"width":112,"height":113,"mime-type":89,"source_url":246},{"file":252,"width":253,"height":254,"mime-type":89,"source_url":255},"reverse_innovations-1536x864.png","1536","864","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-1536x864.png",{"aperture":118,"credit":27,"camera":27,"caption":27,"created_timestamp":118,"copyright":27,"focal_length":118,"iso":118,"shutter_speed":118,"title":27,"orientation":118},null,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations.png",{"cta_type":260,"cta_color":27,"subtitle":27,"related_books":261,"related_posts_footer":265,"related_posts":20,"key_takeaways":269},"subscribe",[262,263,264],24759,24762,37033,[266,267,268],55791,15279,13255,[270,272,274],{"title":271},"\u003Cp>To shape the future we desire, it’s worth occasionally “looking back,” considering which aspects of the present need change when viewed from an ideal future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"title":273},"\u003Cp>In today’s healthcare system, we can identify numerous practices that our (great)grandchildren might perceive as incredibly barbaric.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"title":275},"\u003Cp>Let’s explore what might astonish a child born a few decades from now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"yoast_wpseo_title":277,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":278,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":195},"Looking Back At Today’s Healthcare In 2060 - The Medical Futurist","Can you image people had to wait for other people's death to have a new liver? And drugs were not personalised and you could die of cancer?!",{"self":280,"collection":285,"about":287,"author":289,"replies":291,"version-history":294,"predecessor-version":298,"wp:featuredmedia":302,"wp:attachment":305,"wp:term":308,"curies":319},[281],{"href":282,"targetHints":283},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F13916",{"allow":284},[139],[286],{"href":142},[288],{"href":145},[290],{"embeddable":26,"href":148},[292],{"embeddable":26,"href":293},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=13916",[295],{"count":296,"href":297},48,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F13916\u002Frevisions",[299],{"id":300,"href":301},56239,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F13916\u002Frevisions\u002F56239",[303],{"embeddable":26,"href":304},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F30365",[306],{"href":307},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=13916",[309,311,313,315,317],{"taxonomy":168,"embeddable":26,"href":310},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=13916",{"taxonomy":171,"embeddable":26,"href":312},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=13916",{"taxonomy":174,"embeddable":26,"href":314},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=13916",{"taxonomy":177,"embeddable":26,"href":316},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=13916",{"taxonomy":180,"embeddable":26,"href":318},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=13916",[320],{"name":184,"href":185,"templated":26},[],1785514479190]