Ep 42 of Pomegranate Health published in December 2018. Listen via any podcasting app or stream directly from here.
Cervical Screening–Less Is More

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Digital disruption” is what happened to the taxi industry at the hands of Google Maps and Uber or to the music industry with the onslaught mp3 files and digital sharing platforms. Democratizing technology is changing delivery of healthcare too and the expectations of consumers. What is the role of physicians in this brave new world?

This podcast and episode 43 revisit the theme of ‘disruption’ from the 2018 RACP Congress. Disruption is what happened to the taxi industry at the hands of Google Maps and Uber. Or to the music industry with the onslaught mp3 files and digital sharing platforms.

Democratizing technology is changing delivery of healthcare too and now permits remote consultations, automated dispensing, or even algorithmic diagnostics.  The public also has access to more information, and even today, “Dr Google” is variously described as a tool or a hindrance.

More importantly, consumer expectations are different to what they were twenty years ago. As Professor Des Gorman explains, the health system is a service industry like any other, and those working within it need to have a better understanding of the people who sustain that service. New delivery models are springing up all the time which may offer efficiencies and greater satisfaction in some consumer groups.

Consumer advocate, Jen Morris, tells a story from the UK, where a man was able to bypass red tape around approval of prophylactic HIV therapy simply by setting up a website. She explains how clinicians shouldn’t see the internet as a threat, but as a tool for enhancing consumer engagement. And how health literacy is more about navigating systems than it is about understanding biomedical fundamentals.

Guests: Professor Des Gorman FAFOEM (University of Auckland; Executive Chair, Health Workforce New Zealand), Jen Morris

Written and produced by Mic Cavazzini. Recording assistance in Auckland from Richard Smith and the University of Auckland, and in Melbourne from John Tjiha of Paper Radio.

Music under licence from Epidemic Sound (‘Simmering Anxiety’ by Christian Andersen, ‘Into the Bone’ and ‘Frustration in Disguise’ by Jimmy Wahlsteen, ‘The Sky Changes 2’ and ‘Calculate Journey’ by Gunnar Johnsén ); and Free Music Archive (‘To be Decided’ by Mystery Mammal, ‘Highway to the Stars’ by Kai Engel and ‘Waiting’ by David Szesztay). Image under licence from iStock. Executive producer Anne Fredrickson.