Disrupting the power balance between doctors and patients in the digital era

Abstract

The primary way of identifying symptoms of impending disease, and when it is time to seek care, relies heavily on a patient's own perception of how they feel. This reliance on a disease reaching a threshold at which subjectively recognised symptoms are produced creates a situation in which many patients identified as at risk for disease are already experiencing chronic disease. Thus, substantial delays can be seen from the first noticing of symptoms to accurate diagnosis. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the inadequacy of subjective approaches for early detection of disease and control of the spread of infectious diseases. The capabilities of wearable devices and smartphone sensors to collect high-dimensional objective information and return this information to patients offers an opportunity to disrupt our current ways of detecting, classifying, and treating disease. Yet, current definitions of, and approaches used to detect, signs and symptoms of disease are misaligned with these new digital approaches.