Written By: Dr Reshma Nayak | Updated : August 6, 2013 11:41 AM IST
Picture this - 40-year-old Mayank is at the peak of his career when he is diagnosed with diabetes. While most people would fret at what caused it and how one should deal with it, Mayank was confident that he could lead a happy and fulfilling life while living with diabetes. And that's because he knows how technology can help him achieve this.
As per the doc's instructions, he keeps a close check on the calories he consumes (yes, there's an app which tells you how many calories that plate of pani puri or that sneaky jalebi contains). In addition to his calories, he keeps track of his daily activity with a 'button-like' trendy tracker he could wear anywhere. And it isn't just trendy, it works like magic - just place it on the screen of your android phone or on iOS and all your activity is synced to the app on your phone. And his friends on the health social network inspire him to keep going!
If you think Mayank is smart, his diabetologist's smarter! When Mayank visits him, the doctor uses an app on his iPad not only to display several instructions but to record the entire conversation for Mayank to hear again, when he needs to. He also tracks all of Mayank's calorie and activity data online with a service that syncs, analyzes and presents it to him. The service also provides Mayank with daily feedback on his diet and activity.
Second scenario: Geeta is a happy-go-lucky housewife. She never in her wildest dreams thought she could be diagnosed with breast cancer. The oncosurgeon suggests she undergo a mastectomy. She quickly opts for a second opinion from a top oncosurgeon in the US at an 'online hospital'. Not only does she video consult her oncologist for a second opinion, she also orders the blood tests and the medications she has been advised on the same site.
The scenarios described above are not something out of a sci-fi movie. All of these products and services written about are either already present or are taking shape thanks to some very innovative companies in the field of healthcare. They, along with many more companies, were featured at the Health 2.0 conference in Bangalore this year held on the 9th of February at the CMR Institute of Technology. Organized for the second time in India, the event was a great success and saw healthcare entrepreneurs, investors, hospitals and tech companies come together to collaborate and solve problems in the field. The team has been organizing the event at San Fransisco, Berlin, Paris and Dubai since 2007.
Many thanks to James Mathews (Chairman, Health 2.0 India) , Indu Subaiya, Pascal Lardier and others from the Health 2.0 team for making this a grand success. I promise to bring you more on each of these promising healthcare companies and how they could change the face of healthcare as we know it, forever.
You can read more about the event here.
