Episode description

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch is joined by guest Oliver Canfell, a Research Fellow in Digital Health at The University of Queensland and clinically trained as an Accredited Practising Dietitian. 

In this episode, Oliver shares his journey from being confronted with the reality of patients struggling with obesity to their realisation of the need to treat people earlier and pursue a PhD in research to prevent unhealthy weight. 

The conversation covers the successes and challenges of public health, the concept of precision in public health, and the role of digital health in predicting and preventing health issues. 

Key Takeaways:

- The concept of precision in healthcare is about using new types of data to target individual factors, whether social, behavioural, genomic, or related to the environment and infrastructure.

- Digital health, particularly AI, allows for precise identification of individuals or groups at risk, enabling early intervention and prevention of health issues.

- The shift from a break fix system to a predict-prevent system focused on consumer health is the next healthcare revolution.

- Real-time data generation through digital health tools can provide more efficient and precise insights for policy-making and intervention.

- The prevention of chronic diseases is a major global health challenge, and digital health has the potential to play a significant role in preventing and managing these diseases.

Check out the full episode and show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.

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