Ira Pastor, ideaXme exponential health ambassador and founder of Bioquark, interviews Robin Farmanfarmaian, medical futurist, bestselling author, professional speaker, and CEO and Co-Founder of ArO.
Ira Pastor comments:
In 2019, we are spending over $7 trillion around the globe on healthcare. $1 trillion goes to pharmaceutical products, $350 billion to medical devices, $200 billion new life sciences R&D, and on and on.
We tend to forget how much consolidation has occurred in these different healthcare segments. The world’s 10 largest pharmaceutical companies control 60% of that trillion dollar market. The top 8 insurance companies in the U.S. control over 50% of all individual patient coverage. In 43 countries, which account for 3/4 of the world’s population, patients only have appointment times between 5 – 10 minutes with their primary care physicians. As patients, we know what it’s like to feel somewhat separated and insignificant in this system.
We usually talk on this show about the future, and the amazing technologies and products coming down the pipeline for more dramatic things, such as complex regeneration, disease reversion, radical life extension and so forth, but it’s equally important to speak on how we as individuals and patients can put ourselves back in the driver’s seat and not just be an afterthought in the equation.
Robin Farmanfarmaian
Today’s guest, who knows a lot about this topic, is Ms. Robin Farmanfarmaian. Robin is a medical futurist, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and professional speaker. She focuses on the future of integrated medicine, the changing role of patients in healthcare decision-making, as well as how technology will change the way we experience and interact with medical facilities and physicians.
Robin is interested in big data, wearable technology, 3D printing and the access to and usability of, personal healthcare information.
She is the author of The Patient as CEO: How Technology Empowers the Healthcare Consumer, an education tool and resource for healthcare professionals, the tech industry and patients, as well as The Thought Leader Formula: Strategically Leverage Your Expertise to Drive Business & Career Goals.
Robin’s Career
Robin has worked, or is currently working, with twelve biotech and bio-medicine startup companies. She’s currently the CEO and Co-Founder of ArO, Applied Reality Overlays, which has developed technologies for corrective eyewear that dynamically correct and maintain vision in real time, without the need to obtain new eyewear every time a prescription has changed.
She’s served as COO at Arc Fusion Programs, which puts on a variety of events around the fusion of health, science and IT. Robin has also served as VP at INVICTA Medical, a sleep apnea medical device and post anesthesia acute care company; and is Co-Founder and on the Board of Directors at Organ Preservation Alliance.
Additionally, she serves on the Adjunct Faculty and Conference Advisory Board and is the Founding Executive Producer for Exponential Medicine at Singularity University, which focuses on disruptive game-changing exponential technologies to revolutionize the practice of medicine and radically transform healthcare and the biomedical industry.
Ms. Farmanfarmaian is an avid philanthropist in her community, a Trustee and a member of the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Ballet, a volunteer coordinator for San Francisco Opera’s BRAVO! Club and a member of the Advisory Council, and has contributed time to many other charities.
She is on the Advisory Board of V2Ventures SXSW; an Advisory Board Member at Alacrity, a patient services startup company; Advisory Board of Doctella, Impact Pediatric Health, Advisory Board of AARP Health Innovation and many other groups.
On this show we will hear from Robin:
About her background and where she grew up. How she became interested in the convergent area of health, science, and info technology. How a misdiagnosis at the age of 16 changed her perspective on “being the boss of her own health care.”
The developing theme of “the era of the patient,” which she lectures extensively about. Finally, we’ll learn about her work at Applied Reality Overlays and at the Organ Preservation Alliance.
Credits: Ira Pastor interview video, text, and audio.
Follow Ira Pastor on Twitter: @IraSamuelPastor
If you liked this interview, be sure to check out our interview with Kim Guest, co-founder of Isoshealth!
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