Digital Health and the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future

We are living in a time when technology and clinical advances hold the promise of Dickens’ ghosts, bridging the past, present and future to guide us through personalized journeys of wellness and redemption.

One of my favorite stories is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Set during the wintry holiday in Victorian London, the tale has universal themes that transcend any specific religion, culture or time period.

Ebeneezer Scrooge, the aging protagonist, is a wealthy man who has shut himself off from the world emotionally. He browbeats his employee Bob Crachit, a modest, loving family man who can’t afford treatment required to save his ailing son, Tiny Tim.

On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by three supernatural ghosts representing the past, present and future. They whisk the curmudgeon on a magical journey across time and space. After a series of startling revelations, Scrooge channels empathy he didn’t know he had. He visits Crachit on Christmas day a man transformed, generously devoting himself to Tiny Tim’s recovery and other charitable acts.

Dickens was a mass-market author who wrote for a public audience familiar with holistic notions of health, inherited from philosophers like Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. In these teachings, human life consisted of mind, body and soul. Material, physical, mental and emotional health were all vital, inter-related parts of a person’s well-being.

Each of the main characters lack one vital aspect of this whole, threatening the inter-generational survival of the community. It is only the intervention of the time-bending ghosts that restores the health of the population.

We are living in a time when technology and clinical advances hold the promise of Dickens’ ghosts, bridging the past, present and future to guide us through personalized journeys of wellness and redemption.

The Ghost of the Past

In 2023, the Ghost of the Past is enabled in our ability to gather and synthesize data from ancestral DNA, formative experience and environmental signals that influence epigenetics. We know that SNP analysis can highlight risk alleles that help interpret factors like our ability to metabolize carbs during sleep or our proclivity to over- or under-produce dopamine influencing moods and cognition. Like Scrooge walking through the past, coming to terms with his origins, we can use these insights to correct course for a better future.

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The Ghost of the Present

“In the present is the whole of time,” according to the philosopher Krishnamurti. Practices such as mindfulness ground us in the moment, providing a release from past memories and future anxieties. Clinical studies show the positive impact of meditation apps as varied as depression and cardiovascular disease.

Physical activity is another practical way to action in the here and now. Whether its VO2 max, strength resistance training or a simple walk in the park, fitness aided by technology prompts in the form of phones, wearables can enable constructive habits.

What measured gets improved. Device manufacturers are continuing to drive down the cost curve with products like continuous glucose monitors, empowering people with tools to avert a costly future with degraded quality of life. People who progress to type 2 diabetes, for instance, spend over 2.5 times on medical care.

The Ghost of Christmas Future.

At the climax of The Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s final visitor takes a play of Machiavelli’s philosophy, “It is better to be feared than to be loved”, showing the old man the terrifying future that awaits him if he doesn’t change. This probably isn’t the right approach for everyone. But whether we use the aspirational carrot or the threat of a looming stick, it is hard to disagree we have too few resources focused on educating people about how today’s choices shape health tomorrow. By some estimates nearly 75 percent of U.S. health care costs are treating preventable conditions. Yet only 3 percent of health investment focuses on prevention.

The holiday season is a time to be grateful. As a digital product lead at Hoag Health Systems, I am proud to be part of team pioneering health products that seek to redefine the consumer health experience towards transformative action. For my readers in Southern California, I encourage you to consider trying out our newest service: Compass.

Compass is an on-demand, virtual primary care system centered on pro-active strategies for longevity, increased quality-of-life and chronic disease prevention. If you are looking for a digitally-enabled partner in our wellness journey, it’s the perfect present for you and your loved ones in Southern California.

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