Impacts of Technological Change
Technological advances will continue to radically change how we live and work in the 21st Century. What do you think will be the most important impacts of these changes on you in the next five years? The next 10 years?
Add your thoughts or post your questions for Arnold.
Arnold Brown, WorldFuture 2011 Speaker, "The Six Hottest Technologies Shaping the Future: And What They Will Do For You and Your Organization"
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Arnold Brown's latest Futurist article
WFS members, log in to read Arnold Brown's most recent article in The Futurist magazine, "Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society" (March-April 2011 issue):
http://www.wfs.org/content/march-april-2011
(Cindy Wagner is editor of The Futurist.)
Technological advances and health care
Arnold, I believe the convergence of innovative technologies, rising healthcare costs, and an aging population will have the greatest impact on Americans and employers in the coming decade...U.S. policy / heath care coverage will most likely play catch-up to technological advances.
Thanks for the great question!
Tech advances
Excellent point, Dee. New healthcare technologies are increasingly expensive -- see, for example, the latest cancer treatments. An aging population more extensively uses more expensive healthcare. Put those together with how difficult it is politically to cut or limit costs, and most of the possible outcomes are not good. One possible outcome: a healthcare system that is even more two-tier than it is now. The wealthy will get expensive cures; the rest will get a mix of palliative care and prevention
Healthcare communities
Yes, yes, I absolutely agree with your points.
What do you think of healthcare / health treatment communities such as PatientsLikeMe?
http://www.patientslikeme.com/about
Do you think these types of communities will increase and become more technologically sophisticated given the very real scenarios you outline above?
Healthcare communities
This kind of thing may be our best hope for innovation in healthcare and cost control in the future, Dee. Government is, at best, only partially effective. The healthcare priesthoods are increasingly concerned with self-preservation. And the technology imperastive will continue the cost acceleration. The unique American ability to form voluntary associations to deal with community concerns could be one of our best approaches.