A failing NHS drives the uptake of DIY healthcare

Back in 2013 I wrote a blog post titled Doctor Google and Nurse Pharmacy get new tools. This explained that self diagnosis and treatment is going to be big business as younger (and lots of older) people decide to be more interventionist about their own health. Much of this is being driven by the rising cost and falling standards of centralised healthcare be it provided by the state (the NHS in the UK) or the mega health industry in the US.

In the last 4 years much has happened to accelerate the uptake of DIY healthcare. In the UK the NHS has continued on its downward trajectory - longer waiting times and increased inefficiencies. In the US the cost of health has continued its upward trajectory.

This week's Marketing Week has an article about this problem that it introduces as

Treating patients like demanding consumers in order to deliver the seamless, trustworthy experiences they crave is helping a new wave of healthcare disruptors set themselves apart.

It is something of a no-brainer business opportunity. If you want to understand more about the rise of Dr Google, Nurse Pharmacy and their associated online services then it is explained in my new book This I Know. I identified DIY Healthcare as one of the future mega business opportunities - bet you don't know what the others are? Dick Stroud