Almost 50,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK and Ireland every year and almost half a million men are now living with this disease. September is prostate cancer awareness month. While it’s true that men and their families are increasingly aware of the dangers posed by prostate cancer, it’s not clear that these men have the information they need to choose the treatment options that best fit their needs.
How can men find their best ‘quality of life’ after they are treated? Further, as clinical trials are an important marker for quality, and sometimes the only way to gain access to potentially life-saving interventions in cancer, how can men access them, if and when they need to? There is a serious information gap here. But how can this be true in an era of digital transformation?
The internet’s favourite medic is ‘Dr. Google’. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are taking over, and smart robots are in hospitals… some even assisting with prostate cancer surgeries! We are surrounded by data and information, but lacking in critical knowledge, insights, understanding of what our best options are and how we can find them for ourselves as patients, as well as for our families and friends. What is the connection between quality and value, as it applies to healthcare? How do we get the information we need?
Healthcare systems themselves are not in ‘good health’. They suffer from a variety of chronic and seemingly intractable issues such as: lack of access, delays in diagnosis and treatments, costly and sometimes fatal medical errors, and eye-watering rises in costs… to the point at which healthcare’s very sustainability is in question. Radical change is needed, but many of its existing actors seem unwilling or unable to change. Who or what will bring about this transformation?
We believe patients themselves can help drive the change we need in healthcare. In an era where digitisation has radically altered daily activities – from banking/personal finances, through travel, entertainment, accommodation – the handheld device is ubiquitous and at the centre of almost everything we do, yet healthcare adoption has lagged way behind. This needs to change. The technology exists to allow patients take much needed control of their healthcare decisions, and become more active and discerning ‘consumers’ of good healthcare. National and international legislation is coming to regulate healthcare informatics, and ensure it is safe, transparent and available. Novel platforms are emerging which will put the patient at the very centre of decision making, and empower them to seek the care that best meets their own ‘personalised’ needs. Whyze Health is at the forefront of this drive.
Connecting patients with their healthcare providers, and if necessary, the research community, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Whyze allows patients to take control of their own data, in a safe and secure trusted platform. In an era where care is often distributed across multiple doctors, clinics and even cities, there is a need to connect the data that is necessary and allows much more freedom to choose. There may be new drugs or other therapies available only through research programs which might also be vital, especially in the patient with cancer.
We deployed our platform in a cohort of men treated with brachytherapy (implanted radiation) in Ireland, and studied the impact of the platform in 117 patients treated. The study was published in conjunction with the Health Innovation Hub of Ireland (HIHI). Parameters like patient engagement, ease of use, and anxiety reduction around treatment options were all positively impacted, signaling the societal benefit of this technology. Overwhelmingly, the men surveyed endorsed the approach, and indicated a willingness to share their data (anonymised) with the wider medical community including researchers.
I am proud to be a Co-Founder and serve as Chief Medical Officer of Whyze Health. I see us at a tipping point in healthcare, with an urgent need to incorporate the vast benefits of digitisation, including AI. But this transformation needs patients at its core. If not, we will lose an opportunity to shift the emphasis in healthcare away from the status quo, to one in which quality of care and value for money is at its centre. In the words of Prof. Michael Porter, Harvard Business School, a leading change advocate, “if we are not focussing on value (in healthcare) we are failing, no matter what we are doing”.
This is our opportunity. We are asking patients to join us in this transformation.
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Prof Frank Sullivan MB MRCPI FFRRCSI MSc
CMO Whyze Health