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Why Machine Learning Could Lead to Profits For Healthcare

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are in vogue right now–likely the most popular technology terms on the whole of the Internet.  The applications of these technologies have been predicted to revolutionize almost anything, from what we eat to how we show to how we process massive amounts of data in the Enterprise.

Healthcare is no exception to this rule, with physicians detecting cancer with deep learning and hospitals finding new efficiencies by using the technology, but there is a deeper need driving the adoption of machine learning technology in healthcare: the need for speed.

No, this is not an intentional, cheezy reference to a 1986 cult-classic film, it’s a real need, brought on by the Amazon problem: consumers (who are also patients) need things faster and more accurately than ever before. On a less “problem” driven note, so do health care professionals. Solving highly complex healthcare workflows and science-based challenges means that the more tasks we can transfer with confidence to computers, the better.

One still has to go to medical school or nursing school. One still has to receive ACLS certification and practice in blood draws. But the more leeway healthcare professionals and institutions have to move things online, likely the better, and it’s going to make healthcare better.

 

Preventative Care

Ever heard that adage “get a second opinion?” All too often today, that second opinion comes at either great cost, or is an iffy factoid absorbed from the Internet. When it comes to emerging healthcare issues on an individual basis, having accurate, actionable, preventative care information is crucial.

Machine learning and empower medical professionals to understand with extreme specificity the exact medical needs of a patient.

Let’s say you have a patient who comes in with high blood pressure, cellular stress and modest obesity. A machine learning algorithm can take these and all other patient data into account and create a heatmap of data that can inform a physician of their likelihood for future problems if these trends continue. This could eventually expand as deeply as familial genetic information, providing a much, much deeper patient picture than was ever possible before.

This makes preventative care more effective, and that lead to tremendous prevention of pain and suffering as well as cost savings. It simply makes sense as a broad-based application.

 

Deep Care and Research

Charges by the likes of Joe Biden and others to do big things in healthcare, such as solving cancer, are common these days. Revolutions like these are on the scale of antibiotics and vaccinations, and are considerably more complex and difficult than almost any other medical challenge tackled to date.

Machine learning is the only way forward. There is too much genetic and other data to compile or program by traditional means. Machine learning models can not just cut workloads for researchers and “deep care” physicians like oncologists down dramatically, it actually drives results that aren’t possible through human analysis.

Take clinical trials for example. Essential to the development of new drugs and treatments, there has been a century-long problem of matching trial participants with trial treatments. Machine learning can mine healthcare databases on both the drug and patient side to make this match so seamless. There is so much of this data that there is no way a given physician or trial group could hope to be more effective that a computer at this process–and it matters a lot in terms of results and outcomes.

No, we won’t solve cancer in a day this way, and we likely can’t promise remarkable results only through the application of these new technologies–but there is great confidence that they will make a difference.

 

At the Hospital

Hospitals are technology powered marvels, and machine learning is just the type of efficiency driver that they tend to adopt. From monitoring individual patient beds to streamlining management and billing, applications of machine learning could introduce cost savings and efficiencies that everyone could benefit from.

This is particularly important as we move away from the individual clinician model of medicine to group- and hospital-based physician care. How fantastic would it be to have even a scheduling system that understands patients and can help prioritize appointment setting and flow of information between departments and specialties.

The application of machine learning makes sense in so many ways. It will be interesting and exciting to see the applications and reap the benefits.

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3 Unique Industries to Invest In

The new year is often seen as a time of change or renewal. It is an opportunity to take a look at things in people’s lives or businesses and reevaluate them. One of the things you may take the time to look at and consider is your investments. There are new opportunities appearing all the time. Companies continue to release new products, government policies are enacted or updated, and industries evolve to match popular trends.

There are several industries with new developments on the horizon, and now might be the right time to invest in them. Here, we’ve gathered three industries to keep an eye on in the upcoming year:

Artificial Intelligence

Just a few years ago, “artificial intelligence” seemed like something that was only possible in science fiction series like Star Trek, Doctor Who, or maybe The Twilight Zone. Recently, however, several tech giants have started their own initiatives or formed partnerships in a serious effort to develop software that can think and make complex decisions on its own.

When investing in artificial intelligence, there are actually so many different initiatives in development that it’s necessary to narrow it down even further. For example, companies have already begun implementing in medical devices, mobile devices, and even cars as the race to create a self-driving vehicle continues. Two of the most popular devices sold this past Christmas were the Google Home and Amazon Echo smart speakers, both of which listen to user requests and attempt to interpret them in context. Meanwhile, the healthcare industry is predicted to grow faster than any other market in the field of AI in the near future, with AI being developed to help care for patients, enterprise imaging, and even discover new drugs.

Vaping/E-Cigarettes

Cigarettes and other traditional forms of tobacco have grown more and more unpopular over the years, and many smokers have been looking for an alternative. Many people have been turning to e-cigarettes and “vaping” as a different option, whether it is part of a lifestyle change or simply to avoid the stigma that traditional cigarettes bring with them. E-cigarettes and vape mods are battery-powered devices that hold cartridges of liquid nicotine, or “vape juice,” which the devices heat.

The industry has grown rapidly in recent years, with the number of retail outlets for these devices increasing to about 8,500 in April of 2016. According to an analysis from Wells Fargo, sales of the devices and supplies related to them got as high as $3.5 billion.

ESports

ESports, also known as competitive gaming, is a booming industry already, but in the next few years, it’s set to explode. According to research firm NewZoo, the eSports arena could surpass $1 billion dollars as soon as next year. Meanwhile, ESPN reported that there were 205 million people watching and playing eSports in 2014—enough that the eSports population would form the fifth largest country in the world, right behind Indonesia. Since then, the number has increased dramatically each year.

Streaming services like Twitch (owned by Amazon), YouTube, and Facebook Live have dedicated considerable resources to build up the eSports industry. Meanwhile, game developers like Blizzard, Valve, and Riot Games have promoted the competitive gaming scene by partnering with companies to hold world championship tournaments and even form complete leagues around their various products.

Traditional sports franchises have even begun investing in eSports. In September of 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers purchased a majority share in Team Dignitas. Meanwhile, that same week, Apex, a group which includes several NBA team owners as well as former NBA star Magic Johnson, purchased Team Liquid, a leading team across many different eSports.

Brands will also occasionally sponsor individual players, rather than teams. At the moment, professional gamers will seem to switch teams at the drop of a hat, and individual players carry more weight behind them than the teams they have joined. With upcoming initiatives like Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch League, an attempt to make the competitive scene of their popular Overwatch first-person shooter more like traditional sports leagues, that may change. In the system Blizzard has proposed, players would sign more formal contracts and receive a steady salary and benefits rather than depending on the winnings from each event to pay the bills.

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5 Rising Technologies That Are Impacting the Stock Market

Trading stocks involves finding good corporations with solid management teams, products and a strategy to make ample profits. The entire process of analyzing how these businesses fit into the global economy is being revolutionized with a number of powerful technologies. These 5 technologies change how the world is viewed, how the companies are valued and how the stocks are traded.

Faster, Smarter & Anywhere Money Making

Successful stock traders have key advantages over others. Although technology can’t predict the future, the huge technological advancements of the 21st Century with its digital currency revolution has allowed regular people to have a much better chance of predicting financial outcomes.

Technical traders want to be able to respond faster than others and have a variety of technologies to make this a reality (smart phone apps and HFT). These technologies allow people to succeed anywhere they are, just like the vape box mod. You don’t need to have a large vaping set up at home. You can accomplish your goals on-the-go. Together, these are five of the technologies, impacting the stock market.

1. Smartphone Apps

Smartphone apps allow you to trade stocks, bonds or Forex on a remote Caribbean beach while enjoy Piña Coladas. The best financial apps allow you to receive alerts, view charts and execute trades remotely.

2. High-Frequency Trading (HFT)

The top global banks have been continuously profitable for many, many quarters. Their secret? High-Frequency Trading (HFT) algorithms. The top traders can execute their trades in microseconds with HFT. Investopedia has reported that between “2009 and 2010, anywhere from 60% to 70% of U.S. trading was attributed to HFT.” HFT has become the norm.

3. Siri Trades

Did you know that Siri (the Apple artificial intelligence) can make restaurant and airline reservations? It is becoming downright scary. Of course, Siri might be used for trading stocks, sometime soon.

As cute as it is to ask Siri questions, some might also ask her for stock advice. Her picks would probably be better than throwing at a dart board.

4. Is BitCoin Bad?

What used to have a bad reputation has suddenly become an important commodity. Have you figured it out? Many top investors have decided to take this route within the market. Nothing has really changed with digital blockchain currencies, like BitCoin, except now this elite 1% own shares. You might want to get on board the BitCoin train before it leaves the station.

5. Web Bot is Good

Much of Western society is about psychology. The most successful stock traders understand the “herd mentality.” The Web Bot is an accumulation of analytics tracking keywords on the World Wide Web. It actually makes predictions, using the results of psycho history.

The concept is similar to Google Analytics. You can look up how often certain keywords are used online. When you do an overall analysis, you might be able to find hidden trends.

This is also how marketing works. Corporations already have a lot of information, accumulated from cookies placed on your home computer. This geo-location information allows them to recommend videos on YouTube, restaurants in your town or car insurance for your new SUV.

Some have argued that the WebBot (created by Clif High) has actually made a couple of successful predictions already. How similar will 2018 be like 2008? What does the WebBot say?

Combined Technology Provides Advantage

By combining all of these technologies, stock traders can gain a distinct advantage over the competition. The billionaires are already using these technologies to increase their speed, knowledge and ubiquitous stock trading acumen. The astute will invest in these technologies to level the playing field.

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