Perspective: loyalty cards as a health early warning system

We frequently argue that the answer to nearly all of our sustainability challenges lies in a multitude of solutions, not in the big silver bullet. The "this is going to fix everything" solution is normally either a dead end or an over simplification. Sandy Jayaraj has explored one of the multitude of healthcare solutions in a recent blog for The Sustainable Investor. This is part of series of blogs looking at linked topics as varied as how the insurance industry can create impact and how hospitals can be made more sustainable.

So what is this solution - its using loyalty card data, in this case to help to spot the early signs of ovarian cancer. A study of almost 300 women found that women who were subsequently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, made more purchases of indigestion and pain medication, compared to women who did not have the disease. Interestingly this change in purchasing behaviour was seen as much as eight months before diagnosis.

Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK, with approximately 7,400 women diagnosed each year and over 4,000 deaths. Twenty percent of diagnoses are in emergency departments (ED). 93% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer survive their disease for 5 years or more if diagnosed at the earliest stage. This survival rate drops dramatically to only 13% when diagnosed at the latest stage.?The findings from this study suggest a potential early warning system enabling the identification of cases at an earlier stage and therefore improving survival rates.??

No one, as far as we are aware, is suggesting this is the total solution, but it can have a role in a suite of measures. Looking more widely, the use of alternative data to supplement traditional analysis has really gathered pace in the last 10 years. And, the use of data and digitisation (including the use of electronic medical records) more broadly in healthcare has enhanced the effectiveness and efficiency of it - from the coordination of blood-work and scanning to enabling geographically disparate multi-disciplinary teams to work together.?

We are just at the beginning of this theme. Our understanding of how our environment impacts our health & wellness is slowly improving. And the industry is beginning to explore potential game changers such as virtual wards and early hospital discharge, where rather than keeping patients in for observations and taking up expensive resources (bed, staff, equipment etc), they could be sent home and monitored virtually.?

Change will happen slowly, this is not an industry that can follow the "move fast and break things" approach. But for those who care about where their capital gets invested, in terms of actually making a difference on the ground, this is not a bad place to look.