FHC #65: Diving deep into Amazon and Apple’s healthcare ambitions

This Fixing Healthcare podcast series, “Diving Deep,” probes some of healthcare’s most complex topics and deep-seated problems. On today’s episode, Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr talk about two of the world’s biggest tech companies and their potential impact on American healthcare. Later in the episode, the hosts revisit the three biggest threats facing healthcare and discuss solutions that can and must be implemented in the next two years. For more information on these topics, check out Dr. Pearl’s latest healthcare columns on Forbes and LinkedIn. For listeners interested in show notes, here’s a time-stamped discussion guide: AMAZON VS APPLE [01:08] How much of an impact has technology had on medical practice in the 21st century? [01:55] Don’t doctors want to be at the cutting edge of technology? [03:38] How are tech companies trying to penetrate healthcare’s $4.1 trillion market? [04:18] What is the unwritten rule of health technology? [05:32] Is Apple breaking or following this unwritten rule? [07:45] Can Apple make a meaningful difference on human health? [08:50] Can Apple profit in healthcare without fundamentally improving health? [11:21] What could Apple do differently? [12:35] What would be the impact of a medical device created by Apple? [15:14] Why hasn’t it happened yet? [16:00] How is Amazon’s healthcare strategy different? [17:03] What’s Amazon’s long-term goal? [17:44] Hasn’t Amazon failed twice before in this space? [18:39] What happened with Haven and Amazon’s telehealth platform? [19:42] What’s the biggest hurdle Amazon will need to overcome?   HEALTHCARE’S 3 BIGGEST THREATS [23:20] What is healthcare’s “perfect storm” and is it heading our way? [24:39] Where will the impact be the greatest from the three “mega forces”? [25:42] What options do hospital leaders have to temper the storm? [27:34] What’s the first action needed? [28:25] How, exactly, could hospital leaders quickly to reduce cost, increase access and improve professional satisfaction? [30:24] Could the right hire actually decrease the cost of care? [32:05] What’s the second action needed? [33:25] How might this concept be applied to the work that doctors do? [34:42] What’s the third action needed? [36:44] Why haven’t these changes been made yet and what’s next? * * * Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders. Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn. The post FHC #65: Diving deep into Amazon and Apple’s healthcare ambitions appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.