Health

You’ve heard of Watson, IBM’s supercomputer that beat out human contestants on “Jeopardy.” However, its practical uses are in healthcare. Watson-based systems are already assisting medical professionals as they read information and plot treatment plans.

The Affordable Care Act and the Massachusetts healthcare reform law that laid much of its groundwork under then-governor Mitt Romney both attempted to get more Americans covered by fair and affordable health insurance.

With the population of nearly every country getting older, the number of seniors developing serious illnesses such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, dementia and diabetes is projected to grow. Caring for our senior citizens increasingly will be the responsibility of medical professionals, as well as of family caretakers.

CeCe Moore is a genetic genealogist best known as the consultant for the PBS television series “Finding Your Roots.” Her work is frequently featured on ABC’s “20/20” to reunite people of unknown parentage with their biological relatives.

There are many reasons people try to eat healthy. Some people try because they have to, for instance if they have a health issue. Others do so because they “want to” (e.g., they want to feel better in a swimsuit.) Each of these can pose an opportunity for a brand or product to fill that need, if the brand can learn some new habits, too.

There are many reasons people try to eat healthy. Some people try because they have to, for instance if they have a health issue. Others do so because they “want to” (e.g., they want to feel better in a swimsuit.) Each of these can pose an opportunity for a brand or product to fill that need, if the brand can learn some new habits, too.

The commentary around the announcement of the Cigna-Express Scripts deal noted that more than 300 different influences impacted a patient’s decision to refill a prescription. Unfinished prescriptions, broken diets and incomplete therapies are one of the healthcare industry’s biggest challenges. There are incentives for the patient, the pharmaceutical companies, the insurers and doctors to solve the problem.

If you want to understand the future of healthcare, it’s best to follow many different industries at once. That’s because we’re on the edge of a great convergence, bridging the internet of things, artificial intelligence, collaborative robotics, genomics and voice-based interfaces. GenPop asked best-selling futurist Amy Webb to give us some ideas of things to watch.