To infinity and beyond : miracle medical breakthroughs

Of all the advancements that human kind has made throughout history, advancements in medical care is probably the most important. It not only has the ability to save lives where possible, but it provides a measure of longevity for loved ones who previously faced certain death when it came to critical illnesses.

Across the risk insurance spectrum, there seems to be an increase in the number of claims for early stages of critical illnesses with cancer topping the list.

One reason for this could be the fact that South Africans have become more proactive regarding regular check-ups that lead to early detection and treatment. This in turn means a greater chance of successfully treating critical illnesses in a less invasive manner.

A ‘moonshot’ within reach

reachWith the major advances in the medical fraternity regarding the treatment of critical illnesses, something as simplistic as a blood test can now detect the presence of various cancers.

Taking this one step further, I read an article written by Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, where he explains that Big Data, the ability to turn massive volumes of information into business, or in this case medical intelligence, will soon enable individuals to have access to highly personalised diagnostics, advice and treatment.

This is because major companies like Google and Microsoft are increasingly tweaking fitness tracking devices to stream more specific health information on a level that previously was only possible to obtain from a medical check-up.

Although this will go a long way to speed-up early detection of critical illnesses, to name but one advantage, there will also be significant challenges with regard to privacy and access to health related information.

The major obstacle

As Arthur points out, privacy will become a major obstacle and laws will probably dictate many things. This will include the use of information to health and life insurance companies in terms of what information may be collected, how it will be stored, and how this information will impact insurance products and premiums.

For individuals, having access to such specialised information about their own health can be dangerous and comes with great responsibility because if you are not a qualified medical practitioner, you are not in a position to self-diagnose and treat any critical illness.

The positive side

However, this type of access to health related information which can detect early onset of a critical illness, does have a lot of positive attributes.

Goldstuck highlights that access to this type of Big Data could assist medical practitioners to tailor specialised treatment even further, not to mention the more accurate insights that this could offer researchers during medical trials.

One of the biggest advantages for insurers could be the ability to liaise and recommend early critical illness treatment when initial anomalies are detected as a result of access to health related Big Data. This could lead to even higher levels of successful treatment in earlier stages of critical illnesses.

Positioning of risk benefits

This is why it is crucial for insurers to offer clients new generation critical illness benefits that can easily be positioned to accommodate Big Data, should legislation allow for this in future.

The fast-pace advances in the medical field with regards to early detection and treatment of critical illnesses, as well as changing client needs, should be top of mind for insurers when modern benefits are designed.

Along with this, early claim pay-outs must be in line with early detection of critical illnesses but affordability of cover should also be aligned with appropriate pay-out levels. Equally important is the fact that benefits should be structured in a simplistic manner which enables clients to make transparent choices based on their unique requirements.

Central to all of this must be the assurance to clients that they enjoy optimal breadth of critical illness cover.