Since I work on a financial account, it's cool to see something outside of banking that could impact everyday life just as ATMs did. Hence, I heard about an interesting device involving Medicine 2.0: The Virtual Practice Project.Massachusetts General Hospital is developing this computerized kiosk that physicians hope can help bring some relief to the healthcare system. The kiosk will be able to track a patient's medical history, weight, pulse, blood pressure, and other vital signs. It'll even perform simple blood tests for glucose and cholesterol. The Project is a small Windows computer with a few attachments -- a blood-pressure cuff, a scale, to start. The goal is to decrease the wait time at doctor's offices and the time the doctor usually needs to assess your problem.
The new product is intended to appeal to people who don't typically go to a doctor until they are sick. Diagnoses still have to come from your doctor, but you'll be able to find out if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a host of other symptoms. The results would be stored in a system for your doctor to access during your visit.
Testing is scheduled to being in June in the UK. If it goes well, you may see a kiosk at the supermarket, pharmacy or your local Wal-Mart sometime down the road.
It'll be interesting to see which companies might be interested in advertising on the idle screens. Is an ad asking a customer to check their financial health a stretch?
Madi Benjamin
Strategists & Planners
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