Patient Experience

In Healthcare We Trust…Or Not

By Roger Mummert
ROB Content Director

April 3, 2019

“Decoding the Consumer” was the topic of the Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit this past month at Vision Expo, and kudos to my Jobson colleagues Marge Axelrad and Andy Karp and their team for another great symposium!

They brought to the stage of the New York Times Center two dozen presenters and panelists who took us on a deep dive into the collection, analysis and application of data.

By the end of the day, we were up to our eyeballs with data on data. What did it all mean?

Well, as researchers say when asked what all the data means: “We can’t say for certain; we need to collect more data.”

And, in our fast-changing environment of electronic health records, patient portals, chatbots and artificial intelligence, surely we will.

In an informative keynote presentation at the Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit, global retail expert Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research, offered a detailed look at how the cross-currents of retail and technology are shaping the customer experience.

But the unrestricted collection of personal data, and the subsequent marketing of it, create perils that we have only begun to contemplate. Witness:

  • Google is fined $57 million by the European Union for data collection without informed consumer consent over usage.
  • Facebook is repeatedly cited for data breaches that expose the personal information of hundreds of millions of users–and reveal Facebook’s underlying role in marketing the data they continually collect.
  • China is challenged on its participation in building a G5 global communications network, made its national policy that its tech companies are required to report data to its government.
  • Apple’s CEO Tim Cook warns: “We are collecting too much data on people.” Apple launches a consumer ad campaign promoting its edge in protecting consumer privacy, saying, “If you care about privacy, shouldn’t you secure the device that holds your whole life, your phone?” Yet Apple, itself, is cited for security weaknesses and continually upgrades iPhone security.

We’re been hit by a tsunami of mistrust about data.

One of the most interesting discussions at the VM Summit began with a comment from Jim Ryan of United Healthcare: “We have a serious challenge with trust.” And heads nodded up and down the row of panelists. He cited the Edelman Trust Barometer that ranks consumer trust in healthcare companies above pharma companies, but below oil and gas companies.”

A notable takeaway from the Edelman Trust Barometer: Trust is tangible, and trusted companies outperform their sector by 5 percent, on average.

But to solve a problem like consumer mistrust of healthcare, we need a whole boatload more data. Unfortunately, a lot of that data is coming in negative. Consider a New York Times article, “Warnings of a Dark Side of A.I. in Health Care.” 

The article begins by lauding the ability of AI to detect diabetes in a retinal scan, something ODs now see routinely, but it cautions that AI systems can be hacked and used for evil. For example, AI could be misdirected to manipulate scans, yielding false positives—for billable results that doctors or hospitals could profit from. Even more alarming, AI can essentially learn to cheat.

Wow. How quickly the amazing upsides of technology are paralleled by horrifying downsides. 

The discussion of data collection and consumer privacy–patient privacy, in particular–dominated conversations throughout Vision Expo week. And, thank God, there were positive moments.   

ROB sat down for an in-depth video session with Moshe Mendelson, OD, co-founder of Eyecare Live,  a platform for the HIPAA-secure exchange of data and communications between doctor-patient and doctor-doctor.

(Watch for the upcoming video series in ROB.)

We discussed the upsides of data collection and exchange, and in particular, the recent approval of reimbursements for doctor-to-doctor consults on patient issues.

“There are many times when I want the expert opinion of another doctor who specializes in a condition I see in my patient,” said Dr. Mendelson. “But that exchange must be done in a secure environment.”

This underscores that in our data-saturated world, one constant remains: What do patients want from their doctor? They want excellent care–from a doctor they can trust.

 

Look for a detailed wrap-up of Vision Monday Global Leadership Summit 2019 in upcoming print and digital issues of Vision Monday.

 

Roger Mummert is Content Director for Review of Optometric Business. Contact: Rmummert@jobson.com.

To Top
Subscribe Today for Free...
And join more than 35,000 optometric colleagues who have made Review of Optometric Business their daily business advisor.