Predicting the post-pandemic future

Predicting the post-pandemic future

By Andrew Thorn, EVP, Head of Planning, Ogilvy Health

What will the world look like post-pandemic? Since the Renaissance, science and technology has dominated our view of tomorrow. As we look back many predictions have come true, but generally technology has moved even faster than anticipated. Another one of my favorite authors is H.G. Wells. He nailed many technologies (movies and air conditioning) well before they were invented. But he underestimated by a factor of 5× how long it would take to get there. So, please keep this in mind when considering the future of telehealth, wellness technology (i.e., in-home monitoring), and online channels of communication. Not only are they coming, they will be here even faster than you thought. Get on board the all-digital train as fast as you can.

Historically, though, the most egregious errors in prognostication have been the failure to anticipate major social change. Futurist bias toward predicting technological versus social progress has been an Achilles heel. Baseball legend Hank Aaron recently passed. When considering his legacy, it’s painful to remember the hate directed at him, but it is intrinsically linked to the happiness he brought to so many others. And it is far more important.

The pandemic has accelerated the inception of all sorts of gadgets and gizmos. They are all fun to talk about. But, while technology can assist as it becomes more pervasive, the existing technology gap exposes even greater health disparities. 

The number of Americans without broadband access is well over 40 million. And that doesn’t account for people who live in areas with broadband infrastructure, but who can’t afford it, which adds another level of socioeconomic concern. The technological disparity is even more alarming when overlaid against the record numbers of patients for whom insurance, and therefore medical access, is an unscalable barrier. This population may be those completely without insurance – which COVID has seen climb to record numbers. Or, it may be those with limited insurance who are not actively seeking care or have insurance lapses that affect care. Even before the pandemic, research showed that more than one-half of Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance had delayed or postponed recommended treatment because of cost. This is particularly alarming when considering patient populations with oncological conditions where delay can have dire consequences. Consider that both Blacks and Hispanics are much less likely to be diagnosed with many cancers at an early stage and undergo curative treatment than Whites.

It would seem that the pandemic has cast a spotlight on important issues that affect the patient population as a whole. But these issues even more acutely affect those who go underdiagnosed and undertreated due to socioeconomic and technologic inequities.