The world depends on healthcare. From birth until death it is a core tenet of life, and as such, it is one of the world’s most complex industries. Healthcare technology refers to the various tools, devices, software, and systems that are used to diagnose, treat, and monitor patients' health, and it plays a core role in improving healthcare outcomes and accessibility. It allows for early detection and diagnosis of diseases, facilitates accurate and non-invasive treatments, and helps in monitoring patients' conditions over time. Technology in healthcare also allows for more effective treatment options and greater patient comfort.
Switch Health is a health technology company that focuses on three core competencies: diagnostics, logistics, and digital technology. It is Switch Health’s goal to make diagnostic testing more accessible and, when possible, decentralised so that a person may perform many tests self-collected at home under the guidance of a healthcare professional via video. Switch Health also partners with a variety of different logistics partners to deliver its diagnostic kits and services, this has also enabled the company to translate patient experiences into over 235 languages to increase patient accessibility. Switch Health has also developed a patient platform that is accessible and can keep records in one place, perform telehealth for the patient guidance, and receive and later access test results.
“One of the biggest benefits of our platform is the ability to engage with a more accessible, potentially less invasive alternative to a test collection method that may have required one to attend a traditional brick-and-mortar clinic. This can be particularly challenging for those based in rural and remote areas. ,” says Marc Thomson, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Switch Health.
An example of this in action would be Switch Health’s HPV test. In areas of North America today specific high-risk strains of HPV, if undiagnosed and subsequently unmonitored, can lead to cervical and throat cancer, among others. Currently, the main method of detecting HPV is to have a pap smear to analyse the health of the cervix. This requires visiting a clinic, and having a small amount of cells collected from the cervix. These are then sent to a lab where results may take weeks to arrive. The discomfort with the pap smear and the growing number of people without a family physician is a large factor in people not being screened. Now, it is possible to do this compliantly from home with a self-collected vaginal swab, with the guidance of a healthcare professional. This is just one example of self-collected tests which can be dropped off and then picked up for analysis at a certified laboratory. This approach provides patients with a level of autonomy in both their health care and comfort.
“When you have a ‘clean slate’, which we did, we were able to just build with a digital-first mentality.” says Marc Thomson. We were able to incorporate modern 2020 era expectations from a product and user experience standpoint and plan to continue building on that.”
The world depends on healthcare. From birth until death it is a core tenet of life, and as such, it is one of the world’s most complex industries. Healthcare technology refers to the various tools, devices, software, and systems that are used to diagnose, treat, and monitor patients' health, and it plays a core role in improving healthcare outcomes and accessibility. It allows for early detection and diagnosis of diseases, facilitates accurate and non-invasive treatments, and helps in monitoring patients' conditions over time. Technology in healthcare also allows for more effective treatment options and greater patient comfort.
Switch Health is a health technology company that focuses on three core competencies: diagnostics, logistics, and digital technology. It is Switch Health’s goal to make diagnostic testing more accessible and, when possible, decentralised so that a person may perform many tests self-collected at home under the guidance of a healthcare professional via video. Switch Health also partners with a variety of different logistics partners to deliver its diagnostic kits and services, this has also enabled the company to translate patient experiences into over 235 languages to increase patient accessibility. Switch Health has also developed a patient platform that is accessible and can keep records in one place, perform telehealth for the patient guidance, and receive and later access test results.
“One of the biggest benefits of our platform is the ability to engage with a more accessible, potentially less invasive alternative to a test collection method that may have required one to attend a traditional brick-and-mortar clinic. This can be particularly challenging for those based in rural and remote areas. ,” says Marc Thomson, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Switch Health.
An example of this in action would be Switch Health’s HPV test. In areas of North America today specific high-risk strains of HPV, if undiagnosed and subsequently unmonitored, can lead to cervical and throat cancer, among others. Currently, the main method of detecting HPV is to have a pap smear to analyse the health of the cervix. This requires visiting a clinic, and having a small amount of cells collected from the cervix. These are then sent to a lab where results may take weeks to arrive. The discomfort with the pap smear and the growing number of people without a family physician is a large factor in people not being screened. Now, it is possible to do this compliantly from home with a self-collected vaginal swab, with the guidance of a healthcare professional. This is just one example of self-collected tests which can be dropped off and then picked up for analysis at a certified laboratory. This approach provides patients with a level of autonomy in both their health care and comfort.
“When you have a ‘clean slate’, which we did, we were able to just build with a digital-first mentality.” says Marc Thomson. We were able to incorporate modern 2020 era expectations from a product and user experience standpoint and plan to continue building on that.”
The world depends on healthcare. From birth until death it is a core tenet of life, and as such, it is one of the world’s most complex industries. Healthcare technology refers to the various tools, devices, software, and systems that are used to diagnose, treat, and monitor patients' health, and it plays a core role in improving healthcare outcomes and accessibility. It allows for early detection and diagnosis of diseases, facilitates accurate and non-invasive treatments, and helps in monitoring patients' conditions over time. Technology in healthcare also allows for more effective treatment options and greater patient comfort.
Switch Health is a health technology company that focuses on three core competencies: diagnostics, logistics, and digital technology. It is Switch Health’s goal to make diagnostic testing more accessible and, when possible, decentralised so that a person may perform many tests self-collected at home under the guidance of a healthcare professional via video. Switch Health also partners with a variety of different logistics partners to deliver its diagnostic kits and services, this has also enabled the company to translate patient experiences into over 235 languages to increase patient accessibility. Switch Health has also developed a patient platform that is accessible and can keep records in one place, perform telehealth for the patient guidance, and receive and later access test results.
“One of the biggest benefits of our platform is the ability to engage with a more accessible, potentially less invasive alternative to a test collection method that may have required one to attend a traditional brick-and-mortar clinic. This can be particularly challenging for those based in rural and remote areas. ,” says Marc Thomson, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Switch Health.
An example of this in action would be Switch Health’s HPV test. In areas of North America today specific high-risk strains of HPV, if undiagnosed and subsequently unmonitored, can lead to cervical and throat cancer, among others. Currently, the main method of detecting HPV is to have a pap smear to analyse the health of the cervix. This requires visiting a clinic, and having a small amount of cells collected from the cervix. These are then sent to a lab where results may take weeks to arrive. The discomfort with the pap smear and the growing number of people without a family physician is a large factor in people not being screened. Now, it is possible to do this compliantly from home with a self-collected vaginal swab, with the guidance of a healthcare professional. This is just one example of self-collected tests which can be dropped off and then picked up for analysis at a certified laboratory. This approach provides patients with a level of autonomy in both their health care and comfort.
“When you have a ‘clean slate’, which we did, we were able to just build with a digital-first mentality.” says Marc Thomson. We were able to incorporate modern 2020 era expectations from a product and user experience standpoint and plan to continue building on that.”