Change has been so ubiquitous in the past two years that it's really the only remaining consistency... Well, that and the virus. We've learnt just how quickly our modus operandi can alter thanks to the advent of the pandemic and the various surges of infections. Simultaneously, our technological capabilities have grown and been bolstered by our desire to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and prevent greater loss of life.

Digital transformation coupled with a global health crisis has meant that healthcare's digital transformation has hit the accelerator with force and new digital health tools abound.

Big tech with its big profits is poised to make great strides in the healthcare industry. With vast user bases, big tech companies can scale and undercut costs, harvest their growing health data, and create the latest and greatest health technologies. But are we ready for big tech to become big health?

The World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020‒2025 positions digital health as a game-changer in emerging economies, where mobile connectivity is transforming the healthcare landscape. Moreover, the international digital health market is predicted to see a 37.1% increase in growth in 2021 and to grow to USD 508.8 billion by 2027.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020‒2025 positions digital health as a game-changer in emerging economies.

Healthcare has become consumerized, creating opportunities for new entrants into the space to overshadow traditional healthcare providers with low-cost, convenient solutions. In addition to this, implacable administrative burden has created the opportunity for big tech to streamline processes with artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

A recent study by Jane Thomason finds that big tech "already has the advantage of a massive consumer base, data and analytics which enable them to understand consumers", alongside "complementary technologies, like wearables, that will drive the consumerization of healthcare". Thomason predicts that this development will likely be swift and claims that it's already posing a threat to regulators desperate to keep up with the times.

A CB Insights report found that both investor and executive attention to healthcare peaked over the past year alongside the pandemic. Venture capital funding to healthcare companies also surged in 2020, and big tech began to transition into healthcare related products.

Food for thought 💭: The big tech giants, such as Meta (previously Facebook), Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple, have shown interest in the healthcare industry, investing in deals worth a cumulative $6.8 billion since the start of 2020.

Global healthcare spend is expected to rise greatly - with an anticipated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.9% between 2020 and 2024. And the US accounts for 45% of global health expenditures.

So far some of the major healthcare initiatives commenced by big tech corporations include the following:

Big tech companies can become big health companies by leveraging their data and using advanced analytics to deepen their understanding of medical conditions and their treatments and preventative measures. They also have a large consumer base with which to work and from whom to gather this crucial information.

There are many ways in which the digital realm could be used to improve our medical services, from the use of data to the proliferation of complex technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), drones, and blockchain. Digital health encompasses a variety of applications, such as:

There are many ways in which the digital realm could be used to improve our medical services.

Digital health solutions are already being implemented by governments, public organizations, private companies, and consumers. It's only a matter of time before more countries hop on the train of digital health solutions. Moreover, advances in digital technology have the potential to:

The adoption of digital health solutions is expected to play a vital role in overcoming several historic challenges facing the effective delivery of medical care. However, much of this relies upon individuals' and institutions' willingness to share information.

The WHO encourages the sharing of health data for the purpose of public interest, with a caveat that you must have the patient's consent and ensure that you share in a way that is built on trust, protects patient privacy, secures digital systems, and protects against inappropriate use. However, hospitals and academic institutions remain reluctant to share their data with other parties.

One of the reasons that healthcare data isn't made more digitally accessible is fear that the data will be misused. But, if we can ensure that there is a way to safely share medical data, the benefits would be immense. As Thomason says:

"Medical data is in abundance but is not readily accessible to researchers, drug companies and tech companies. Up till now, it is estimated that there are 3 432 health datasets available on data.world. It is predicted that the leading healthcare organization in 2025 will be the one which has the most accurate, complete and representative health and medical data and that genuinely operates with transparency, trust and integrity."

Medical data is in abundance but is not readily accessible to researchers, drug companies and tech companies.

Around 30% of the world's data volume is being generated by the healthcare industry, and the CAGR of data for healthcare is expected to reach 36% by 2025. To make the most of this data, it needs to be shared widely so that medical practices can improve globally.

Tech companies moving into the healthcare industry need to find a way to make products that provide privacy and protection of personal healthcare data and gain the trust of their users alongside the health benefits they offer. Blockchain technology could be a viable route for this.

In an article about Bitcoin and the future of money, I explained that Bitcoin works within a decentralized system that records transactions in a distributed ledger called a blockchain. A blockchain consists of a single chain of discrete blocks of information which are arranged in chronological order. Any kind of contract between two parties can be established on blockchain as long as both parties agree on the contract, and this can be immensely useful when it comes to building trust between patients and healthcare providers or healthcare providers and the broader public.

Sure enough, blockchain-based marketplaces which allow for the monetization of health data are beginning to emerge. One such product is Longenesis, an end-to-end solution for biomedical institutions, patient organizations, and research partners and sponsors, which enables direct communication between all interested parties. Longenisis enables both safe data curation and compliant, consent-enabled biomedical data use for research, focusing on legitimate ways to promote collaboration between biomedical institutions, patient organizations, and research partners. This kind of initiative is key to gaining medical institutions' and academics' trust when it comes to sharing important medical data.

A blockchain consists of a single chain of discrete blocks of information which are arranged in chronological order.

But before we get too carried away here... It's not all sunshine and daisies if big tech turns into big health. While the accumulation of data could potentially lead to new forms of data monopolies driving more personalized services, this could also result in higher switching costs, customers being locked into a specific provider's platform, customers having reduced choices, or customers being stuck with a particular provider's policies.

Prior to our concerns with big health, big tech has already been criticized in terms of:

When you add health data into the mix, this could influence livelihoods, incomes, and sustainability. Moreover, for big tech firms, healthcare is only a part-time job. Their core mission is to sell software and hardware. While healthcare is a big opportunity for big tech companies, it's unlikely to become their primary focus. And selling technology is markedly different from selling healthcare services.

Some people also worry that the use of big data in healthcare could undermine doctors and leave patients turning to technology for answers to their medical queries rather than to licensed medical professionals. And, as advanced as today's tech may be, it can't replace doctors just yet. The human touch remains crucial to healthcare, as it does in the accounting industry.

Thomason writes that the immense volume of data and the ability of technology, such as blockchain, to enable data owners to monetize their data will lead to the development of health data marketplaces. Health data marketplaces would monetize health data and make it accessible for scientific investigations.

The human touch remains crucial to healthcare.

Uncovering insights from health data sets would benefit patients, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers in terms of:

However, we need greater investment into healthcare data technologies to ensure that the data market we move towards is interconnected, interoperable, and accessible in real time. We also need to ensure that data sharing is secure and results in improved outcomes for patients.

For many people, the phrase "big tech" is laden with negativity, with the idea of a conspiracy of billionaires dominating the digital landscape. The Harvard Business Review debates whether we should rein in big tech, The Guardian debates whether we even have the ability to rein in big tech, and The New York Times tells us that big tech has outgrown this planet. So, the question may well be, do we want these excessively wealthy, potentially out-of-touch tech giants to dominate the realm of health as well? Is it not enough to let them have control over our digital landscapes and the future metaverse?

Just because technology is progressing rapidly doesn't mean we have to use it for everything, does it? Or does resisting technological takeover in the realm of health make us counterproductive Luddites?

Ideally, we want to find ourselves in a world in which vital medical discoveries are shared globally so that diseases can be cured, treated, and prevented with greater efficacy, life spans can be increase, and quality of life can be improved. And if new technologies like blockchain or the offerings of various tech giants offer us these things, why not make the most of them?

What do you think? Will big data turn into big health? Would that be a good outcome?