HOW TO TAKE CARE AFTER COVID 19

We are living quite unprecedented times,

the pandemic is going on, our lives have changed significantly, and it seems it's going to be like that for quite some time, so it makes sense to talk about how we will be able to predict the future of health care; please don't worry I'm not talking about the far-fetched future here let's talk about just the next few months, the next few years it would still help a lot in deciding how to care better for the patients we have today, I think one of the most useful things in trying to predict the future is by reading and watching science fiction because what science fiction does is that first, it makes us ask questions that we normally wouldn't ask in our days like what if humanities destination is not on earth, what if an algorithm can provide empathy or what if medical technology could be the cure for all and second it makes us emotionally prepare for whatever is coming next it happened to me too,

I was six years old kid when I got a book from my mother about the scientific method and there I remember falling in love with that method, the idea that we don't understand something like a disease a technology something that we discover in nature, and then we do research about it, and then we understand it, I think it's still the most beautiful process in the world there, I decided that I would dedicate my life to doing research and being inspired by some books and movies from that time I was quite certain that by the time I would go to medical school I would use really advanced technologies in my studies from virtual reality to devices obtaining health data and artificial intelligence and of course none of these things happened I studied anatomy and pathology like anyone else from textbooks and two-dimensional images but a few years ago I came across a device offering mixed reality it was it seemed too good to be true, so I had to try the device myself it was a head mouthed device which I put on there was only one button called start, so I clicked on it and there it happened a holographic image of a human body appeared in front of me I could look around it had a beating heart did my finger movements quite simply.

I could just remove bones or muscles or nerves I could dissect a human body without physical limitations and the form of the height smell and I felt like this is it I met science fiction you know the technological sublime that feeling when it tells you that things can get much better because here is this technology that can make things better first, I'm sure that you will all meet science fiction in your lives, but also I think the pandemic has changed our lives so much that normally now it feels like every day we are meeting something new every day there is a change to the lifestyle that we have to the health care that we provide, so it feels like meeting science fiction every day, and it can be frustrating on the long term it leads to anxiety because if life is all around only changes it's really hard to get adjusted to that, but what happened because of the pandemic is that the rate of adoption about advanced technologies has changed now we can faster adopt them because otherwise we wouldn't be able to provide or receive care at all, so it seems like there have been some technologies that have been coming out of science fiction into our lives just a few examples there are countries where medical drones can deliver supplies to people in need like in Rwanda where road conditions are not so great they use medical drones to deliver medications and devices to people in need and these drones can fly for

two days they are gaps automated, and they can fly in almost any weather condition; this is quite something new, like out of a science fiction movie because of the pandemic, we have seen an amazing rise in remote care visits way before the pandemic for decades we have been talking about the importance of adding telemedicine care to a normal doctor-patient relationship that it would be a great way to support what they do after meeting in real life for monitoring and long-term support premedical care would be great, but there had been some rejections some lack of incentives lack policies, but now it's different in many countries either they provided care remotely, or they couldn't provide or receive care at all so in countries like Spain the UK and the US we have seen really skyrocketing numbers about this telemedicine visits,

The third artificial intelligence AI

is being used to predict the next outbreaks by public health officials AI is being used by some countries like Germanic to reorganize medical supplies within the country it's quite clear that in future pandemics, we won't have a chance to prepare efficiently without using some sort of artificial intelligence-based systems these systems are also being used and are being studied for the use of medical decision-making how to care better for patients by checking all the data out there and millions of medical studies, a feat you know no human being can do so these technologies are coming out of science fiction into our lives, but I'm sure you get the same feeling as I do, that I don't feel like we meet these technologies in our everyday practices there is a reason for that if anyone focuses on the next technologies I'm afraid they are on the wrong track because what has been going on in the

21st century in healthcare is a sort of cultural transformation it's much more important how the traditional hierarchy of doctor-patient relationship is transforming into an eco-level partnership how the passive patient can become a proactive empowered patient how the burnt out physician who is forced to do administration in 60 of their time can become empowered e-physicians than which microchip or fitness smartwatch can come out next year we have to embrace this cultural transformation otherwise we are on the wrong track here I know it's difficult because it's easier to focus on the technology Then all these cultural changes but just let me give you one example when in a study they gave patients virtual reality devices me feeling that the patients might feel better by staying at the hospital because they can fly over Iceland in a Mr world nothing happened but when their physicians could act as coaches during the process describing the potential expectations and the outcomes and the side effects it helped the pain scores were reduced and patients felt better you see, if we just give technologies to physicians or patients nothing will happen, but if we use technologies that can

support a doctor-patient relationship

then we are on the right track in a world where patients can obtain so much information about themselves we can use fitness smartwatches to measure our fitness levels we can track sleep and use a smart sleep alarm for waking up at the best time we can measure stress levels, we can have a genetic test from home learning about what medications we have we might have a side effect for what major medical conditions we have a risk for we can have a microbiome test from home learning what diet we should have based on the bacteria living in the digestive system we can have at home lab tests even focusing on Covid, so now there is no ivory tower of medicine any more patients can access almost the same amount of information, and it's straightforward to feel left alone in this without a partner physician they are doomed without technologies they cannot measure data,

so we are building here a really new kind of network, a network of the doctor-patient relationship aided by advanced technologies so when we talk about the point of care where patients can receive diagnosis and treatments, this is the place that everyone knows worldwide, and we must transform this place into this patience digital health makes patients the point of care this is the long-term vision that we all fight for researchers technologists innovators policymakers patient and medical organizations we fight for the chance that healthcare can become democratized because patients get access to care no matter where they live, what language they speak or how much money they've got this is the long-term mission of digital health, but we won't be able to reach it if we don't embrace the cultural components of this change the pandemic has indeed led to the faster adoption of these technologies but

If you keep on focusing on the technologies, I'm afraid nothing good will come out of it; on top of that, if we follow the recommendations of the scientific and medical community, then we might get over this in a year or two. We can benefit from this larger adoption of digital health technologies. Still, if we don't, if we decide to protest against scientific facts, then I'm afraid we will live like this with all these social measures and masks for over a decade. This is the decision we have to make now. If we make the right decision, digital health will finally bring healthcare into the 21st century. Thank you so much for your attention.