TWC Thoughts, Week 6

BioBusiness Revolution: Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences (Past, Present and Future) 

Today’s lesson is the first of a two part lesson on BioBusiness. BioBusiness is defined as commercial activity based on an understanding of life sciences and life science processes. It covers a wide range of industries including Biomedical, Agri-veterinary and environmental sectors. Prof then shared with us that BioBusiness constitutes over 30% of the world’s GDP but employs over 40% of the world’s labor force. The figure is skewed by more than 50% of the BioBusiness work force being employed in low wage subsistence farming in developing countries. Then we went on to the specific BioBusiness sector and found that unsurprisingly in the healthcare sector, US is the largest spender on healthcare again with only 5% of the world’s population.

Then we went into the area of Biomedical BioBusiness and we found out that across the board, the life science patent approvals has increased rapidly since it was founded in the 1980s. This is because people know that toolkit evolved from Biotech can be used to solve many problems in other sectors, and it is lucrative as well.

Thereafter we went into some of the key drivers for innovation and change in Healthcare. They included changing patterns of diseases (from infectious to chronic) and also increasing incidence of heart diseases and obesity in countries such as India. Also as R & D takes place, scans on our bodies have become more detailed and accurate as ever. We went from normal visual observation (swelling, redness) to x-rays images (scan for fractures etc in bones) to currently, MRI and CT scans where soft tissue damage can actually be observed through images! As a beneficiary of these changes, I definitely feel that these advancements can only be good for us.

We are also in a midst of a revolution in healthcare and medical sciences where many changes are currently taking place which will change our lives drastically. Examples would include Pharmaceutical industries producing specific types of drug for people with a particular genetic make up so that they do not suffer the side effects of more mainstream drugs(such as paracetamol)

Key Take Away Points 

During lesson we discussed how the advancements in ICT can revolutionise the healthcare industry. Waiting time for patients can be not only be cut down but also totally eliminated when teleconferencing takes off between the doctor and patient. This will also save precious travelling time for patients and bring great convenience to patients that have difficulties travelling. The technology is already available and it’s up to the industry to make use of it. As I was one such patient, I can truly relate to this situation. Late last year I underwent a shoulder surgery and on my way to recuperation, I had to go for regular visit to the specialist’s clinic. Although I had an appointment scheduled in advance, the specialist never fails to make me wait for more than an hour. And when it’s my turn to be examined, I will only do some simple actions to see the strength and mobility of my shoulder. These actions could easily be done through teleconferencing or even through the phone. Come to think of it, I could made use of my time a hell lot better. Hence, I feel this form of medical care will definitely take of as we become increasingly busy individuals.

On another note, I also felt the article from reading two was interesting as it discusses about moving on and changing with the times as old IP laws become obsolete in the sense that it is an obstacle in development. The current old IP thinking of protecting our own technology and not letting others use it is selfish and counter-productive to development as it prevents further innovation. We are entering new IP era where IP is used to sustain and maintain collaborations and partnerships so that knowledge gets to those who need it more to produce and disseminate new products and services. Hence we must adopt this new form of IP that encourages innovation and development so that we can progress.

Issues for Discussion

Not sure if this has been discussed before but nonetheless I still want more answers so here goes. Like the use of solar energy, this telecommunication kind of healthcare as mentioned above has been in the pipeline for quite a number of years already. However, the local healthcare sector is still showing no signs of moving into it. Could it be that vested interest of certain stakeholders are preventing us from developing or is there other reasons? I certainly feel that it is the former. This waiting time, inconvenience, and inability of older folks to travel will be discouraging patients from seeking regular medical care. And this will be our bugbear as we seek to move towards a top notch medical hub.

Personal Ratings for Session

Yet another beneficial topic that I can relate to. However it’s a little dry at times. 8/10.