May 14, 2025

The Power of Patient Data & The Future of Health Tech with Microsoft's Peter Lee and Dave deBronkart

The Power of Patient Data & The Future of Health Tech with Microsoft's Peter Lee and Dave deBronkart

This week on Second Opinion, we're sharing an episode from Peter Lee's Microsoft Research Podcast with guests Dave deBronkart and Christina Farr. They examine how AI has transformed healthcare since GPT-4's launch two years ago, with Dave and Chrissy sharing insights on patient empowerment through AI tools and the evolving digital health business models in specialized care areas.



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LINKS:
The AI Revolution in Medicine, Revisited: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/podcast/the-ai-revolution-in-medicine-revisited-empowering-patients-and-healthcare-consumers-in-the-age-of-generative-ai/?OCID=AIRevolutionPod_SecondOpinion
e-Patient Dave: https://www.epatientdave.com/
Patients Use AI: https://patientsuseai.substack.com/
Meet e-Patient Dave (TED Talk): https://www.ted.com/talks/dave_debronkart_meet_e_patient_dave
“Let Patients Help”: A Patient Engagement Handbook: https://www.epatientdave.com/let-patients-help/
There's about to be a lot of Al capital incineration: https://secondopinion.media/p/there-s-about-to-be-a-lot-of-ai-capital-incineration
A letter to my kids about last week: https://secondopinion.media/p/a-letter-to-my-kids-about-last-week
The AI Revolution in Medicine: GPT-4 and Beyond: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/the-ai-revolution-in-medicine-gpt-4-and-beyond/


Christina Farr's Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/



FOLLOW:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterlee4
https://www.linkedin.com/in/epatientdave/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinafarr/

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:
Dave de Bronkart's Segment:

  • In 2007, Dave was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer with a 24-week survival expectation.
  • His doctor recommended an online patient community, which proved crucial to his survival.
  • The community had firsthand experience with treatment side effects not in medical literature.
  • Dave's oncologist acknowledged that Dave's preparation through the community was vital for survival.
  • Dave always verified patient community information with his clinicians before acting.
  • Dave sees AI as revolutionary for patients to explore health questions without consuming doctor's time.
  • Dave believes AI won't replace doctors but will help patients resolve more issues independently.
  • Dave argues AI needs access to all patient data to perform optimally.
  • Dave advocates for regulations ensuring patients can access their own medical data.


Chrissy Farr's Segment:

  • Chrissy observes AI startups struggle because healthcare systems can't effectively integrate their tools.
  • She prefers businesses using AI within their care delivery stack over standalone AI tools.
  • Healthcare tech works best during "naturally high engagement" moments like pregnancy or cancer diagnosis.
  • Health systems struggle to justify new technology investments due to financial constraints.
  • Women's health is fertile for digital innovation due to multiple engagement points.
  • Text messaging services offer better experiences than friction-heavy apps.
  • Many consumers are shifting to cash-pay subscription models for basic healthcare.
  • Short employee tenure (under 4 years) challenges employer healthcare investments.
  • Elder care technologies present significant opportunities, including AI for fall detection.
  • Healthcare change can come from both outside advocates and inside employees.