The End of Corporate-Controlled Care? AI and Patient Access Fuel Personalized Medical Intelligence

The $5 trillion cost of healthcare has pushed Americans to the brink. Despite calls for consumers to take a more active role in reducing healthcare costs, the ugly truth is that the information required to do that is controlled by corporations. 

The whole system is designed to start every doctor’s visit from scratch, conceal costs, and inflate the bills to justify higher premiums year after year. It survives challenges by limiting transparency, stifling innovation, and withholding patient medical records. 

It’s time to replace this system with one that works for patients and invites disruption. We need to put control back in the hands of patients, allowing them to own their health records, make independent decisions, and switch to fair and transparent alternatives.

Imagine a patient-controlled information system that delivers the data and knowledge for patients to actually become smart healthcare buyers. They could investigate health concerns before they land in the emergency room, ask informed questions about their health and treatment, and compare not just the cost of care or service at a given facility, but also the quality of care delivered. They could send their medical records — digitally — to the providers they believe are best positioned to address their health concerns and gain the answers they need to move forward.

Access to information is the new currency in healthcare

It’s no secret that healthcare’s system for information sharing is defective. We don’t own even a copy of our medical records, which are scattered everywhere — and millions of records are lost and stolen every year. Patients, clinicians and researchers pay the price every day, from delays in treatment resulting from data that is missing, misplaced or difficult to access, to breakdowns in care coordination and more.

Moreover, even when consumers have access to their own health information, they might not understand it. The amount of data contained in a sleep apnea test alone can be difficult to sift through. So can annual laboratory tests, some with 20 or so results. When a result is tagged as abnormal, consumers are left to wonder: “Is this something to worry about?” If it is: “How concerned should I be?”

There’s also the confusion that comes with not knowing how to put disparate pieces of medical information together to get the big picture. We’ve been taught that this is a job for doctors, who then tell us what to do based on this information. But this attitude of, “Just trust us! We know what we’re doing,” is also a form of knowledge blocking.

Patients and their families are dependent on medical professionals for answers on their time, in the manner they choose. For those with complex conditions like Conor Eissing, 13, who has a rare brain condition associated with the gene DYNC1H1, working through developmental delays, seizures and feeding issues has been a struggle for him and his family since he was born. There have been more questions than answers.

Putting medical knowledge in the hands of consumers

In the past two years, the barriers that protected the corporate-controlled information system have fallen. AI is the latest leap forward that’s changing the game for families like the Eissings. These changes open the door for patient-controlled information systems that are far more useful than “Dr. Google” for seeking medical information — an approach six out of 10 consumers rely on.

On Oct. 6, 2022, legislators broke the data ownership barrier by granting patients non-negotiable rights to their healthcare data. 

Six months later, ChatGPT 4.0 smashed the medical knowledge barrier with the ability to break down medical jargon for patients — using words and images —a nd even provide reliable answers for medical decision-making and diagnosis. It also showed it could deliver answers to patients’ questions with empathy and cultural competence — even better than some doctors.

Pairing AI with direct access to medical records is the third step to gaining personalized medical intelligence that can help explain a diagnosis or treatment option. This positions patients and their families to ask the right questions to ensure they understand their health and treatment options — and that their doctor has explored all options, too. It also gives them a basis for determining whether they need more specialized support and, if so, from what type of physician or facility. 

Patients and family members, including Eissing’s mother and others caring for children with complex conditions, would be able to request detailed medical records, enabling them to ask specific questions and better advocate for the appropriate care.

With data and knowledge, everyone can be a better healthcare purchaser and a more informed patient, with improved ability to actively manage their health. By breaking down barriers to medical information and insight, we can dramatically ease the patient journey for consumers, providing the personalized advice and resources they need when it matters most.

Photo credit: ipopba, Getty Images

Bo Holland is founder and CEO of AllClear ID, which recently launched Health Bank One, the world’s first digital health bank. Health Bank One gives patients full control of their health data, just like a traditional bank does with money. Over the past 30 years, Holland has helped build four software companies — two went public, one was acquired by one of the leading national banks, and in 2004, he founded AllClear ID to solve customer identity problems. Under his leadership, AllClear ID has become the world leader in helping businesses protect their customers’ identities after suffering data breaches. Prior to AllClear ID, Holland built application servers at Citrix, databases at Pervasive Software and purchasing card systems at Works.

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