Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of Stevie’s Vinyl Emporium and Implantable Health Chips in Philadelphia, gave a remarkable speech on January 2014 at the TEDx Conference: What Healthcare Will Look Like in 2020? He is one of the pioneers for Leaders of the Optimistic Future in Healthcare Revolution and is a well-respected, transformative leader who promotes healthcare and higher education.
Briefly summarizing his speech, he started by discussing how healthcare appeared before 2014. He revealed that there was no management, no budget, and no real amendments until Obamacare. 37 years later after his last speech in 1977, Dr. Stephen Klasko still finds no improvement within the healthcare system. You might wonder why there is such little progress made, in spite of technological advancements of the Internet and the smartphones.
He was very optimistic when he predicted the next decade from now until 2024. He mentioned that his inspiration came from a sneaker commercial that quoted:
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men and women who find it easier to live the world they’ve been given rather than explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact, it’s an opinion. Impossible is temporary, impossible is nothing.”
Now, Dr. Klasko is ready to challenge the impossible. He mentioned three main goals:
- First, to create “docs of the future.” Other than basing med school application by GPA and MCAT scores, the focus should be placed on employing doctors who are “empathetic, commutative, and creative.” An article stated that there is a “lack of empathy, and poor communication drive in many malpractice cases,” but luckily the focus has shifted to teach students more about art and observation. Along with simply giving out an accurate prescription and going through stricter education requirements, doctors are now expected to form an emotional patient-physician relationship. There are increasing numbers of Empathetic programs which future doctors can undertake, and the outcome is expected to be quite satisfactory.
- Next, to enhance the patient experience and offering options of telemedicine. Patients can easily access a doctor and obtain a prescription without waiting in line. This easy access and affordable treatment have helped both employers and patients with the new range of services. This global health market is predicted to grow to $34 billion by 2020, which ensures a greater population having access to healthcare. Telemedicine has made our technological era much more advanced, offering millions of people a cheaper and more efficient healthcare system to improve patient outcomes.
- Lastly, recognizing the ability to use other industries’ resources such as mathematical modeling. We were able to create a predictive analysis of retention for patients after seeking care. Now doctors are accountable for consumer performance and extend their services, so patient’s don’t get readmitted back to the hospital. Dr. Stephen Kalasko mentioned that 28% of patients have to return to the hospital due to lack of proper follow-ups. With greater emphasis on doctor’s performance and better feedback, there is more accountability to provide a higher standard for healthcare. Precision medicine aims to achieve medical revolution to individualized therapies and aid “patient stratification, monitoring, and treatment designs.”
The perception here today is that we are currently under the premise of a healthcare revolution, with the help of various technological developments. Philadelphia is the epicenter for a community of physicians who are ready to take on new systems built with compassion and creativity. The next decade will surely surprise us with all these transformations to make our public health system much more advanced and opportunistic.
