| As
healthcare costs continue their unabated rise, it is widely
believed that solutions will present themselves if individuals
are empowered to manage their own health and healthcare purchasing
decisions. |
| This
view is rooted in the American belief that free markets drive
efficiency and effectiveness. Millions of dollars have been
spent with overall results mixed, at best. With numerous success
stories, we are approaching the tipping point between the era
of passive consumption and that of active participation. |
| Right
now, five mega-trends are converging to make that tipping point
occur: |
- Individualization
of medicine: Physicians have begun tailoring solutions to
the physiology of the individual they are treating as well
as the disease they are confronting.
- Emergence
of extraClinical care: The acute care model is slowly giving
way to a model in which individuals manage their own health,
outside of a clinical setting.
- Proliferation
of information: With more people collaborating more often
about more subjects, there is unprecedented growth in knowledge.
- Deployment
of the data infrastructure: Everyone is connected to and
through the world-wide-web.
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