Understanding our medical test results – a simple, people friendly idea.

Understanding our medical test results – a simple, people friendly idea.

Today’s consumers demand transparency from every service they purchase yet healthcare has been slow to adapt to this demand. In a recent interview with national broadcaster Newstalk, Full Health CEO Paul Mc Carthy spoke to George Hook who referred to healthcare as “the last vestige of secrecy”.

The issue of clearly communicating medical test results stems in part from the heavily numerical data produced by labs. Consumers simply cannot be expected to understand what these results mean, much less use the results to make lifestyle changes to improve health. Doctors have traditionally had the mundane task of deciphering this information manually and relaying the results to the health consumer.

The concept of engaging healthcare consumers with information that caters to all levels of health literacy is not new. At TED MED in 2010 Thomas Goetz promoted the idea that “the crux of this is giving people information in a form that doesn’t just educate and inform them but actually leads them to make better decisions.” Mr. Goetz proposed simple graphical health reports that engaged and informed as an obvious first step.

Converting complex test data into people friendly reports empowers health consumers to take steps to avoid serious illness. Undiagnosed underlying threats can go unnoticed and untreated unless identified and clearly explained at an early stage. This can lead to acute conditions such as stroke and heart attacks 80% of which are entirely preventable.

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Health and wellness screening is a logical first step for many people who wish to take a proactive preventative approach. It is a point at which if empowered with simple, informative people friendly information and recommendations they can start to make the changes to live a longer and healthier life.

To address this issue the central focus at Full Health is converting complex medical test data into people friendly reports that educate and empower today’s health consumers.