The regulatory burdens in healthcare are nothing to sneeze at (although I’d imagine driverless cars take quite a bit of regulatory work, as well). But there is something else going on with Google’s iciness toward healthcare. This could be the downside of Google’s philosophy that “work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun.”
Mr. Brin dismissed the possibility of much-needed innovation in healthcare because “it’s just not necessarily how [he wants] want to spend [his] time.” It’s an honest answer, but a perturbing one. It’s the type of language one might use to describe jury duty, not innovative work (backed by some of the company’s nearly 50,000 employees) that could improve people’s health. It’s also interesting since Google competitor Apple has really delved in with HealthKit, something Apple describes as “the beginning of a health revolution.” It’s consumer friendly, but can also help clinicians collect data from third-party wearables and apps, such as that from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.
As much as tech innovators are hailed as healthcare’s potential saving grace, with their data mining, analytics and abilities to deliver innovations that soon become indispensible (imagine a day without Google), it is important to remember this behemoth of a company started as a search engine. Google has grown by leaps and bounds, sure, but the interview at the KV CEO Summit suggests a fundamental gap in how people in healthcare and how people in technology pursue work. Not all people, of course. But healthcare has little room for people who pursue work that is only cool, fun or they feel is worth their time.
This interview also raises some larger questions: Is one industry at fault more than the other for the slow pace of innovation in the healthcare industry? How can healthcare be more accommodating to entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley? Will it ever be an industry perceived as creative, fun or cool? (And if it can, should it be?) Or should tech whizzes like those quoted above start approaching work with less concern about fun?
Healthcare is riddled with problems. Depending on where you sit, its perceived shortage of fun and coolness is either a big one, or childish complaint from people who can make big investments but chose to focus their attentions elsewhere.
