internet of things ( IoT ) to radically improve patient services ? “ Several use cases of connected healthcare already exist ,” he says . “ From smart homecare and surgical robotics to wearables ( Fitbit etc ) and the new FDA approved smart pill ( Abilify MyCite ) alongside tele-monitoring to improve chronic disease care management – the health sector is embracing the IoT , and
ready to grow with it .” Babylon Health has become a market leader in the digital provision of GP services having made breakthroughs with artificial intelligence . “ Can you use a computer to analyse your symptoms and tell you if you have a meaningful problem or not ?” asks Dr Khemka . “ Tech probably can do that to a level of specificity , which is reassuring . But would you or I as human beings trust a computer to tell us if we have a serious medical condition ? Probably not .” He argues that while the tech might be there , the cultural acceptability of the use of AI in healthcare still has some way to go . “ The alternative at Aetna is the virtual healthcare model ,” he counters . “ This gives you better and quicker access to another human being where AI may help with the diagnosis , but it won ’ t be a case of ‘ computer says no ’. We ’ re just not ready for that yet .” Thanks to the wide adoption of wearables we ’ re getting lots of basic information on what people are doing to stay healthy . Innovations by Nike and Map My Run are tracking activity , sleep patterns and nutrition , helping us learn more about people ’ s wellbeing . However , Dr Khemka argues Bluetooth enabled scales and cardiac monitors linked to your smartphone are limited value widgets which won ’ t last in the market for
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