The Cost of a Risk Sensor in a Virtual Medical Center

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You get a risk sensor. There's a couple that have been approved now for home use. And you continuously monitor vital signs. If you want to have machine vision with a webcam, basically you have the device. That deep phenotyping of that person who, understanding everything about that person and all their conditions,. You're getting an alert as to whether there's a problem that's arising predicted to arise before it happens.

Cardiologist and author Eric Topol talks about his book Deep Medicine with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Topol argues that doctors spend too little face-to-face time with patients, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is a chance to emphasize the human side of medicine and to expand the power of human connection in healing. Topol surveys the current landscape of the application of technology to health care showing where its promise has been overstated and where it is having the most impact. The conversation includes a discussion of the placebo effect and the importance of the human touch in medicine.