It’s a new year, but the same themes. Patient needs must drive innovation and process change if we really hope to influence outcomes. We need to grapple with direct marketing of all health care to consumers - drugs, devices, cosmetic dermatology and dentistry etc. We are the culture of new, shiny, more-is-better thinking and we have marketing engines in all health care services that meet this demand. We can focus regulatory attention at better practices or reducing such tactics and the incentives for overconsumption. For our part, we need to become better consumers - asking questions, seeking better opinions, willing to use less. At the same time, expectations that digital innovation (and innovators) not only strive, but also succeed in meeting needs of complex patient populations is spot on. If we can’t ensure that health care actually cares for those most in need, then what’s it all for?
