“The technological disruption that is happening with health care is not that different than the way Amazon changed publishing and Apple’s iTunes disrupted the music industry,” says KQED’s senior science editor Andrea Kissack, the blog's creator. “It’s already having profound effects on everything from health care costs to medical research.”
“More than $4 billion has been poured into the digital health sector in recent years. But despite growing popularity, the industry faces many challenges,” notes Farr. “There are government regulation issues, doctors' interpretations of vast amounts of consumer-gathered data and the accessibility, reliability and security of consumer data, to name a few. We’ll be helping the public navigate all of this.”
Future of You will cover the promises and challenges of the digital health revolution with a wide range of stories, including topics like Apple's announcement this week to open its iPhone software for medical research, how retail giants like Walmart are going into health care to offer lower cost alternatives, what’s behind President Obama’s new “Precision Medicine Initiative,” and how digital health startups are trying to fix an often costly, inefficient medical system.
KQED will be reporting on these issues at the upcoming South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival in Austin, TX, which is renowned for featuring a unique convergence of original music, independent films and emerging technologies with industry leaders in attendance. At the conference on March 16, Farr is also moderating the panel discussion, “Uncertainty: Predictive Analytics in Healthcare.”
Support for KQED Science is provided by HopeLab, The David B. Gold Foundation, S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, The Vadasz Family Foundation, Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, serves the people of Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. Home to the most listened-to public radio station in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program, and as a leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.
As other news organizations have shrunk, KQED, and its network, NPR, have expanded efforts to cover the issues and events that are important to Californians and the rest of the nation. As the most trusted source of news in the Bay Area, KQED is a multiplatform operation with offices and bureaus in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno and Los Angeles. KQED News programs include KQED NEWSROOM, current affairs specials produced in collaboration with The Center for Investigative Reporting, The California Report, Forum, 18 news daily broadcasts on KQED Public Radio and the popular blogs News Fix, State of Health, Mindshift and The Lowdown. Stories from all KQED news programs are featured online at KQEDnews.org.
