Tech Tonics Paperback – September 26, 2013

[This review covers a few issues that other reviewers have not. And although it has been a year since the book appeared, it remains very relevant and thought provoking.]The book’s cutline--“Can Passionate Entrepreneurs Heal Healthcare with Technology?”-- crystalizes the larger issue discussed throughout this collection of writings from authors Shaywitz and Suennen: Why hasn’t there been an iPod or eBay or similar information technologyinnovation that revolutionizes healthcare?. Where is the Star Trek Tricoder that instantly diagnoses illnesses? Or why is it that, for the most part, healthcare IT innovations seem to be limited to simplistic consumer-focused tools?For anyone following innovation in healthcare, or more broadly new product development, this book is very engaging for its very direct criticisms of the healthcare IT products that we see too often, the dieting apps or medication reminder alarm clocks. The problem? It is simply very difficult to make meaningful improvement in healthcare, despite the many inefficiencies of the system. The authors are particularly critical of the idea that IT will replace physicians’ role as diagnosticians.Where do the good ideas come from? Author David Shaywitz, MD, notes that his view of innovation is not unlike Peter Sims’ position in his book Little Bets: How Breakthrough Discoveries Emerge from Small Discoveries, 2013, where a deliberate focus on exploration of new concepts is necessary because it’s impossible to just pick the winners, and then execute on the concept. Success is more likely to come from systematic exploration, coupled with relentless execution. The innovator’s breakout product built upon a “eureka” inspiration is far more rare. The authors acknowledge that improvements can come through basic IT functions like measurement and monitoring, but that “information itself is not a cure.”The problem for the Silicon Valley entrepreneur/innovator is that they don’t know health care, and it’s not like they can resolve this shortcoming on their own. Collaboration with healthcare’s front line is necessary but generally not pursued. The major segments of healthcare, pharma, devices, providers, payers (and patients) all have different problems to solve in addressing the fundamental tension of demand for health care that exceeds the available resources. How does a Silicon Valley IT innovator decide where to focus?Each of the 114 chapters was originally a magazine article or blog that the authors published between 2010 and 2013. And so at 388 pages, many chapters are just two pages, with the longer ones about six pages. But few, if any of topics covered in the book have been made obsolete by very recent industry changes. Bonus! When you buy this book you also get access to a pdf copy that is loaded with hyperlinks that the authors use to footnote the topic at hand and give immediate access to further relevant reading. An index would be very helpful in keeping track of the many issues, people, and events that are discussed. Maybe in the next edition.Michael Grambo, Linden,VA

The subject matter of this compendium of apparently previously published articles is of great interest while the authors are well known not only for their blogs but their insights into biopharma - plus they both write embarrassingly well. So - like others - 5 stars for the content. As to this being an actual book - zero stars - what you get when you order the print version is an oversized - probably custom printed version - of the e-book. Thus all the hyperlinks that are actually embedded in the text that add insight, context and additional information are unavailable in the actual print version. Hyperinks workaround is on the next to last page where you can send them an e-mail and get sent a pdf. Whether this is hyperlinked we'll see. In the meantime, the table of contents is not paginated, there is no index and no indication of where the various vignettes were originally published - e,g, Blogs, print media - or when.Update - publisher did not send the pdf despite request and I could not find a way to reach them - returned the "book" for refund from Amazon. A pity. Also hope that this is not the future of publishing

These two highly credentialed and very insightful authors have cobbled together (and I do mean cobbled together -- buy the ebook because the hardcopy, which I bought because I do most of my reading below 10,000 feet just days before the FAA lifted the restriction on e-readers, is incredibly awkward to read) wisdom in many different spheres of emerging healthcare trends and offerings.I found myself dog-earing (the one advantage of hardcopy) at least fifty pages to come back to. What's amazing is how, not just in one category but many, they can cut through the hype and separate the small number of innovations with "legs" from the large number that are e-solutions in search of problems, and offer counterintuitive (but apparently accurate, so far) views of Epic, mHealth, wellness, and gamification. (Car monitoring and mHealth-bah-humbug are my faves.)They also do it with some good humor, which is rare in this field.My complaint (besides the formatting -- if you do buy the hardcopy the publisher will send you a pdf upon request, which I would recommend) is that the essays aren't dated. I would like to know when they blogged which essay without having to google separately.

A fantastic collection of smartly grounded, expertly informed, and crisply written perspectives, insights, and references. I wholeheartedly recommend Tech Tonics to anyone innovating in health tech or even outside of health.To the novice, the book provides an immediate, essential understanding of key stakeholders in health care -- patients, providers, payers, pharma, and more. The novice will find no better place to begin.To the expert, Tech Tonics represents a valuable refresher and welcomed refuge of non-hyped prognostications. I particularly enjoyed several nuanced observations that I haven't seen publicly articulated elsewhere, e.g., viewing the capabilities (or lack thereof) of EMRs through the lens of the priorities/challenges of the executive customers running hospitals.My one problem with this book is that it wasn't around when I began in health tech 3-4 years ago, after 10+ years at Google, YouTube, etc. David, Lisa -- Can you fix this, please? It would have made my life much easier as one of the technologists "hoping to apply lessons from other industries and other successes to health and medicine" :)Kevin Yen