Ep 18 with digital medicine pioneer Dr Eric Topol

How high-definition medicine, tailored to each of us, will revolutionise the way we manage illness.

Dr Eric Topol is an eminent cardiologist, geneticist, and director at the Scripps Translational Science Institute (a test ground for pioneering medical sensors, wearables & other new tech). He’s authored two bestselling books about the future of medicine and his expertise has now hit the UK as he’s writing a review for the NHS on how staff can prepare for a more digital future; the kind in which doctors, nurses and patients could be using artificial intelligence, robotics, genomics and digital medicine.

In this episode of HealthHackers, Eric explains:

~ the potential power of medical treatment that is bespoke to you, rather than one-size-fits-all approaches
~ how having a “virtual coach” in your phone or smart speaker could one day prevent heart attacks, seizures and strokes
~ the future blood test that may be able to detect cancer before it has a chance to grow
~ the app that would process your macronutrients every time you take a picture of your meal
~ why obesity is not just down to eating too much
~ how treatment for T2 diabetes is “a mess” today
~ why screening everybody for a condition is “stupid” and “wasteful”
~ how your DNA and gut microbiome assessment would influence your future medical treatment
~ the purpose of gathering biological data about each of us from the moment we are born
~ how the NHS is leading the rest of the world in incorporating new technologies
~ the reason the UK is the world leader in genomics (DNA sequencing)
~ how we’ll be doing our own blood tests using our smartphones in years to come
~ his opinion of the biggest potential barrier to implementing cutting-edge health tech more widely
~ what Eric thinks of our free-at-the-point-of-use NHS system, compared to America’s paid-for structure

Get the show notes here: bit.ly/2QupeGi