SXSW Moments: Future Health
The Forrest Four-Cast: May 6, 2019
Did you miss something at SXSW 2019? Want to relive the magic? Look to this space over the coming weeks for links to video and audio replays of some of the most incredible experiences from this year’s event.
The practice of medicine has been in constant evolution for more than a hundred years. And despite all the deservedly critical attention surrounding Elizabeth Holmes and massive fraud of Theranos, sometimes new technologies emerge with true potential to redefine the field. SXSW 2019 documented some of the contenders.
A Better Future through Digital Health
The U.S. health care system is big, complex, at times difficult to navigate, and expensive. The good news is that a fix is within our grasp: It’s digital, and consumers are willing to embrace it as long as it meets their needs and provides the level of quality they expect. Journalist Katie Couric moderates this discussion between David Ko (President and COO, Rally Health, Inc.), Sarah Martin (VP, Product and Consumer Innovation at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina) and Vickie Strickland (Director, Health Strategies and Resources Delta Air Lines) covering strategies for advancing the promise of digital health.
Beating the Hype of AI in Healthcare
If headlines are to be believed, the coming of artificial intelligence in healthcare is either non-existent hype or will be so disruptive that it will destroy healthcare as we know it. This session aims to dispel common myths of over- and under-hyped AI predictions by offering two examples of startups who have developed healthcare applications of AI: IDx, the first company to obtain FDA clearance for an autonomous AI-based diagnostic, and 3Derm, a company navigating these regulatory waters. Find out how to bring an algorithm out of the lab and into the marketplace without cutting corners or breaking the bank; how to spot appropriate healthcare applications for AI; how to minimize algorithmic bias; and look at the future landscape of diagnostics.
How To Change Your Mind
A renaissance is underway in the scientific study of psychedelics, both as a mode of therapy for mental illness and as a tool for understanding the mind. Tim Ferriss takes up these issues and more in a conversation with Michael Pollan, the author of “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics teaches us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.”
Leveraging Our Own Biology for Longevity.
Most people don’t realize that there’s no greater form of health preservation than the ability to use your own biology to live healthier, longer. As we age, our healthy biology rapidly deteriorates and becomes less effective. By rejuvenating our body with our own younger biology, we stand to elongate both healthspan and lifespan. The science behind longevity has seen exponential advancement, with hundreds of clinical trials showing success in stem cell rejuvenation for animals. This has sparked excitement for human applications, spanning from cosmetic restoration to the treatment of age-related diseases. This panel explores how technologies are allowing us to invest in the health of our future self and roll back the clock on aging cells.
How Blockchain Can Tackle the Opioid Epidemic.
More than 115 people in the U.S. die every day after overdosing on opioids. The crisis is fed by the ready availability of prescription painkillers and cheap heroin, and the inability to monitor the transition from pain management to use disorder. Could blockchain, or other technologies, be used to bring transparency and accountability to the misuse of opioids — to help stem the tide of this national crisis while protecting the integrity of the patient and providing them the care they need? Join a panel of doctors, social entrepreneurs, and technologists who are working to combat this epidemic.
Healthcare’s Digital Disruptors: Hope vs. Hype.
Peer into any medical bag and you may see a stethoscope, which came into use 150 years ago, and a blood pressure cuff — a 135-year-old technology. While these tools advanced the practice of medicine, today’s technologies hold enormous promise for improving the health and well-being of countless lives. But what about the patient-physician relationship? How do we optimize innovations to sort hope from hype? This panel explores bridging the digital divide to improve the quality of healthcare, lower costs and make healthcare more human through technologies such as predictive analytics, machine learning, and precision medicine.
More Memories from SXSW 2019
Change is Coming
Urban Mobility
It’s Time for Sports!
Saving the Ocean
Military Matters
Women’s Health
Social Media Power
Telling New Media Stories
Motherhood
Marvel’s Magic
May the Fourth
Women in Tech
Growing Unicorns
Thriving at Work
Making a Difference
Fighting Fake News
Disaster Response
Hacking Democracy
Pete Buttigieg
Kara Swisher
Arlan Hamilton
Do these audio recordings inspire you to get involved in a SXSW session next year? Enter your forward-thinking speaking proposal for March 2020 via the SXSW PanelPicker. Speaking proposals for next year’s event are accepted via this interface from July 1 through July 19.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
