Name: Take health care off the mainframe
Uploaded: 2010-03-16T09:04:00Z
Duration: 16 min 24 s
Description: At TEDMED, Eric Dishman makes a bold argument: The US health care system is like computing circa 1959, tethered to big, unwieldy central systems: hospitals, doctors, nursing homes. As our aging population booms, it's imperative, he says, to create personal, networked, home-based health care for all.

At TEDMED, Eric Dishman makes a bold argument: The US health care system is like computing circa 1959, tethered to big, unwieldy central systems: hospitals, doctors, nursing homes. As our aging population booms, it's imperative, he says, to create personal, networked, home-based health care for all.

Take health care off the mainframe

Relying on hospitals and clinics for every health need is outdated and unsustainable, especially as the world now has more older people than ever before. New technologies can quietly monitor behaviors in daily life, like a phone reminding someone to take medication or tracking changes in voice as early signs of disease. In 1,000 households across 20 countries, sensor networks reveal risks and patterns that traditional visits miss. Moving half of all healthcare into the home could save money, improve lives, and prepare for the coming age wave.