New technologies are enabling healthcare information and services to reach people on a global basis. The industry is on the cusp of technology-based value-adding changes that will reform how people think of healthcare.
By Karen White

The healthcare industry is on the cusp of radically changing patient care systems and personal health monitoring through technology. The first goal is to improve the prediction and prevention of chronic disease, but technology will add value in other ways.

The value-adding proposition includes improved monitoring of existing medical conditions, earlier and more accurate diagnosis and treatments, the reduction in the use of pharmaceuticals, enhanced self-directed health and wellness, and global access to healthcare for underserved populations. Technologies that enable the transformation center on the collection of massive amounts of data flowing from sensors and machine learning algorithms that convert data into a...