Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Creative Destruction of Medicine by Eric Topol (Book Review)

Doctors Beware!
Every revolution shows the incumbents in poor light - they look foolish, stubborn and indecisive. Eric Topol shows how breakthrough growth in mobile phones, wireless technologies and genomics, and their convergence is revolutionizing Medicine and Healthcare but the current 'high priests' whether it is doctors or the bureaucracy dont seem to be getting it. Nevertheless the flow seems to be irreversible as informed consumers empower themselves and push for new solutions that will provide better care, cheaper and more effective medicines, and democratize the healthcare system. Topols' stories about the shortcomings on the current system are scary and he is very tough on the members of his profession. Other players in the ecosystem like the Pharma companies also do not escape his sharp criticism. He will not be making many friends with this book - however it will be tremendously useful to the readers in multiple ways - as an individual on how to plan for your healthcare, as a student on planning your career, as an investor or entrepreneur for understanding opportunities that would create revolutionary wealth!. For people in the healthcare profession this should be a wake up call. I would urge all to read this book.

1 comment:

Paul Sonnier said...

Sam,

Excellent and concise statement on the significance of Dr. Topol's tome! I am also a believer in his message, so much so that I recently changed the course of my wireless health-focused group on LinkedIn to align with the super-convergence Dr. Topol describes as creating "new medicine". I know of no other thought leader at present time who presents such a cogent and compelling analysis of what is happening now and what the future holds for medicine, healthcare, and consumer health.

Anecdotally, it's worth noting that Dr. Topol uses the tools he talks about, e.g. I found your post via his Tweet!

Best regards,
Paul Sonnier

Founder, 8,500+ Member Wireless Health group on LinkedIn
Strategic Advisor, Popper & Company
Advisor, Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance
Mentor, Blueprint Health
Co-chair, Healthcare Communications SIG at CommNexus
Twitter: Paul_Sonnier