A Technology Prescription For Primary Care's Ailments

Primary care in America is in crisis. Inaccessibility, shrinking resources and rising costs are causing people across numerous socio-economic groups to weigh the cost of a doctor's visit against the value of their health. The majority of us have innovative technology literally at our fingertips, making the lack of change in our primary care system all the more frustrating.

The Milliman Medical Index reported that the typical cost of health care for a family of four in 2018 is more than $28,000 per year. For a family that is doing well (i.e., earning the 2016 median income of $90,746 and receiving employer-provided insurance), the cost to the family is just over $12,000. For families earning less, the cost can be crippling.

Unfortunately, the increasing expenses don’t necessarily translate to better care. A Commonwealth Fund study asserted that the U.S. scores worse than all other developed countries on rates of chronic conditions, obesity and infant mortality. The study confirms what many see as the regression of primary care to “sickness care,” diluting what was once a relationship between doctor and patient to little more than a transaction. Primary care should not be something people buy at the drugstore or find online but rather a trusted source in both sickness and wellness.

The ongoing challenges in health care are juxtaposed against the evolution of digital health, where wide adoption of wearables and health apps has shifted how people track, access and leverage health data. We are keeping more aggregated health information than ever before, and technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated at detecting medical issues.

It’s clear that reinventing today's primary care is a necessity. And with our broader health care system in the early innings of digital transformation, it makes sense to lean on technology as a change enabler. To leverage it in the right ways and begin shaping a new path forward, the health care industry must examine several key factors, including the role of primary care doctors as health care's most valuable asset, the importance of consumer-centric models and rising costs.

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