MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has made a name for himself as the world’s richest doctor and a controversial figure in medicine, but he’s also a fearless visionary.
He has gotten himself into hot water when reality didn’t match up to his promises, but he’s also sparked a lot of interest from healthcare providers around the country who are interested in his prescription for how to fix healthcare.
In a Forbes profile Soon-Shiong shared his vision for healthcare of the medical technologies of the future, which capture every end of the patient care continuum. The key is data and interoperability, using cloud-connected technologies to monitor patients from the moment they enter the clinic through discharge and then in the home. Computer systems will integrate the data to give doctors a robust view of the patient’s health and provide decision-making support while administrators monitor care costs and effectiveness.
Soon-Shiong’s vision is one that many healthcare stakeholders laud, but many also wonder whether he can pull it off, especially on his promise to deliver a 47-second supercomputer-generated genomic analysis.
"While he’s undeniably brilliant, Soon-Shiong is equally undeniably a blowhard, a view shared widely across the medical spectrum," Forbes’ Matthew Herper wrote.
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