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Silicon Valley Is Too Focused On Taking the Easy Path in Health Care (cnbc.com)
Silicon Valley investors are increasingly looking at health space, but they are mostly eyeing for opportunities on the fringes of the traditional health care system to avoid long and complicated regulatory cycles, an analysis on CNBC shows. As a result of this, these start-ups will not help low-income and chronically ill patients who need innovation most. From the article: Founders often talk about about how challenging it can be to break into the multi-trillion dollar medical sector. Health care startups face regulatory hurdles, long sales cycles and a high burden of proof -- and that means it can take more than a decade to make a return. As a result, many venture-backed entrepreneurs are looking instead at opportunities on the fringes of the health care system, such as cash-only health services that don't require insurance or tests and apps that aren't regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For tech investors, these opportunities hold the chance of an outsized return in five years or less. That often valuations on par with consumer Internet start-ups. [...] Many entrepreneurs acknowledge this, but justify their approach by promising to focus on more at-risk groups once they've nailed the product.
They've figured out that the regulations they're always pushing for make it near-impossible to compete with established companies and hurt innovation.
"No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session." -- Judge Gideon J. Tucker
I bet you three fiddy that Silicon Valley wants to tackle these problems, but its the INVESTORS that control the pocketbooks of Silicon Valley that don't want to take the risk on. The long game, pfffft, what's that? Humanity? Pffft!
Because the US is a third world country.
The modern countries on this planet provide health care instead of selling it.
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
The current situtation in healthcare is stupid.
I sent my genome to a server in eastern europe to get a detailed health report because the FDA won't let 23andme present all of the information. Doctors are actively fighting this democratization of information. Fuck them.
AI and machine learning have done a better job at diagnosis than humans for decades, but aren't widely used. WHY?
Fuck the system. I will get the images, and the data - or sensors that I own will - and they will be processed outside of the reach of the FDA.
Procedures? Medical tourism is a thing.
Nobody has a more strongly vested interest in me being alive than..me.
The internet is coming for medicine, the same way it came for software "sales", music, movies, and retail.
What a time to be alive!
..don't panic
Most of the "health" startups seem focused on weeding out the weak, as in "let X voluntarily track your activities and single you out for unaffordable health premiums if you aren't young/healthy/kid-free enough to meet our wearable device targets." So yes, if it seems that the chronically ill are being pushed off the map, well it's by design.
" promising to focus on more at-risk groups once they've nailed the product"
I totally believe you, pal.
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