Anecdotes From GE, Intel Healthcare News

posted by Bill Kircos on April 02, 2009

Working in the Intel media relations department often affords me some unique opportunities to sit in with top execs on a number of print, broadcast and online interviews.

In today's case, I spent a lot of time with Paul Otellini and GE Chair and CEO Jeff Immelt. There is a lot of coverage on today's announcement between the two companies, but I thought I'd highlight a few things that stood out from those interviews.

First, a lot of reporters asked how much money Intel and GE would potentially make. In our press release and prepared speaking points, we said the home health care market is about $3 billion today, but could about double by 2012.

What Paul and Jeff added, however, is that the truth is, no one knows for sure what it will or can be, nor how much or fast it will grow, nor what type of product or solution(s) will win. But both agreed that there is a near crisis especially in aging populations like the US and Japan for care giving and affordable, yet high-quality and efficient healthcare.

That statistic is undeniable, and that's why every government in the world is looking at technology to help out. And it was very apparent to me that GE and Intel share some of the same culture of risk-taking and making big bets even when the future looks cloudy or unpredictable. Heck, Intel just announced a $7 billion plan to build more chip-making factories here in the US - during the worst economic crisis since the great depression.

Paul had an interesting analogy on whether the nascent in-home health care area could grow. He pointed to, of all things, digital music - something we all take for granted today. That market went from zero, to somewhat decent, to Apple creating a device and download store to BOOM, explosive growth and a new norm. Digital music is now a gigantic market, thanks to technology and smart ideas, engineering and marketing. Now healthcare is 100X more important and complex than music, but I thought the analogy of how the right technology can create a big market was a good one.

Jeff also said some other interesting things. For example, when the hospitals were tackling the Y2K problem back in 2000, GE learned that a wide majority of systems inside hospitals were not only old, but sold from companies that no longer existed. He said that it's inherent that companies like Intel and GE insert themselves into the healthcare conversations going on, and that it also makes for good potential for new business growth for two big WW brands like Intel and GE. GE has been in the healthcare business since 1910...99 years. (Infant Intel as a company has only been around for 40). I think GE understands healthcare, and I think the almost decade of Intel ethnography and R&D research is also very helpful.

Another interesting application of technology talked about was measuring a human's swaying. Apparently all of us do that to a small degree. Well, sensors someday may be able to measure that, and report when older adults are swaying more than usual, signaling some type of anomaly or problem. A GE product already alerts people if someone falls.

One last one that rang true with me. Doctor visits are what, 5-30 minutes long. In that short time, a doctor makes an assessment on blood pressure, symptoms, etc. I for one get a little nervous there, and also make sure I fast, etc. What if doctors could have 30 or 90 days of statistical analysis beamed from the home versus that one five minutes in time? Could they make a better diagnosis with more information and data?

Both CEOs also emphasized one other point that I think we can all agree on. In-home health care is inherently less expensive than going to hospitals. And regardless (and more importantly), those who are sick are spending time in their homes near family and friends and familiar surroundings, not strange hospital beds.

Here's hoping that the US, and governments around the world, pay even closer attention to in-home healthcare and how technology and technology standards can make things more efficient, less expensive and possibly even higher quality for sufferers.

 

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tagged: alliance, ge, growth, healthcare, intel, partnership