Can we really solve medical issues through digital mediums? Well, according to new UK healthcare start-up Big Health, the answer is a resounding yes.
Big Health are taking on Big Pharma with a form of 'Digital Medicine' that uses cognitive behavioral software programs to tackle a range of chronic disorders like insomnia. The market opportunity for these types of smartphone based applications in the UK is driven by long waiting lists for CBT, otherwise administered on a face-to-face basis by the national healthcare service.
Big Health’s first product, Sleepio,
sets out to cut through sleep myths and digitally deliver an
evidence-based CBT program for insomnia sufferers.
The friendly face of Sleepio’s CBT course is a virtual therapist
called The Prof — accompanied on occasion by his narcoleptic dog Pavlov —
who steps the user through the program, sending personalised emails and
SMSes to keep them engaged and on track with the remote delivery
mechanism.
At the core, Sleepio's aim is to make a proven
CBT program less arduous than trying to self-administer from a book, for
example, and cheaper and therefore more accessible than a bona fide
in-the-flesh therapy session.
This is all very novel, but the the critical question going forward for Big Health and other aspiring digital health companies is whether or not these types of medical solutions will fully capture the hearts and mind of consumers. I have my reservations about the efficacy of digital medicine but most of all the extent to which prospective patients will be able trust a service that challenges the conventions of human-based administration.
------------------------
http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/21/big-health/
http://www.bighealth.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment