In this talk at the Quantified Self Public Health symposium, I argue that we must respect the context of people’s lives while designing health interventions, tools, and research projects. Not everyone is ready to stand naked in front of the bright light of numbers on a screen. Let’s be gentle in our approach, especially to […]
trends & principles
I’m leaving Pew Research
Believe it or not, 14 years ago, the idea of using the internet for health was a novel concept. That’s when Pew Internet published its first report about the social impact of the internet on health and health care, raising eyebrows across the U.S. Our data was cited in mainstream news outlets, in JAMA, and, […]
How did we get here? And where are we going?
Video of my talk in Sweden is now online (skip to minute 7 unless you speak Swedish): It’s a comprehensive summary of my research so far, as well as an argument for listening to patients and caregivers as we move forward into the future. I opened with an example that was inspired by a visit […]
McKinsey’s “Healthcare digital future” checks out
Stefan Biesdorf and Florian Niedermann of McKinsey wrote an excellent essay laying out 5 myths about health care and technology. It rings true so I decided to add my own evidence to their points: McKinsey Myth 1: People don’t want to use digital services for healthcare Pew Research has found that looking for health information is consistently […]
The internet spins both ways
Did you know some doctors once had a hand signal to warn their colleagues about internet-using patients? I talk about this and other health care history, plus a bit about the possible future (including some market opportunities), in an interview with Alex Howard: One study I cite in this segment of our conversation centers on […]
Health Datapalooza turns 5 (going on 15)
In my opening remarks for Health Datapalooza‘s final day, I tried to strike notes of “welcome!” and “let’s get real.” The adolescent meme got picked up, but without much context, so I thought I’d share what I said: The Datapalooza is five years old, but we are way past the kindergarten stage, when people outside the movement […]
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