Healthcare is Broken: Here’s How We Fix It

You've heard many times that the healthcare system is broken. Maybe you've said it yourself. But what is the solution? During the SXSW Conference we're opening up a dialogue during the Health & MedTech Track where we'll focus on the advances in the medical field as well as the healthcare industry and the impact of new technology as it enters the space.

There's been a disconnect in the care that we need and the care we receive – but these sessions are out to change that.

Let's Find the Health in Healthcare

It turns out that we don't actually want health CARE. We want HEALTH. That decoupling — between what we need and what the system provides — is tearing us apart physically, mentally, and politically. To make change, we need a new perspective guided by the voice of the people the system is supposed to serve, the expertise of the provider, and the unique role government can play to focus on keeping us healthy, while also allowing for innovation and choice in care if we get sick. In the midst of 2020 health care discussions, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed – an epidemiologist and former Detroit Public Health Commissioner – walks us through how we as leaders in health and tech can be part of the solution during Healing Health Care: 2020 and Beyond.

Prescription drugs are more than a hot political topic right now. The development pipeline promises breakthrough therapies that will revolutionize American health care, but will also force us to re-evaluate how to pay for these drugs and whether our system is sustainable. Dr. Scott Gottlieb (American Enterprise Institute) and Caitlin Owens (Axios) explore these ideas in The Future of Prescription Drug Prices.

In May, the hormonal birth control pill turns 60. While this innovation transformed society by giving women the ability to determine if, when, with whom, and how many children to have, research on better ways to manage fertility hasn't really moved beyond hormones. Many women use hormonal methods despite the side effects, however, these methods neither delight nor adequately protect women from unintended pregnancies where 45% of annual pregnancies in the US are unplanned. We need more investment in contraceptive research to develop hormone-free products that delight both men and women throughout their reproductive journeys. What are the latest innovations in contraceptive products for men and women and what will it take to get these products to market? Beyond Hormones: Designing Contraception to Delight Both Men & Women brings together Tanum Davis Bohen (The Bohen Group), Nadja Mannowetz (YourChoice Therapeutics), Stasia Obremskey (Rhia Ventures), and Frederik Petursson Madsen (Cirqle Biomedical) to answer this question and more.

More on Continuing Tough Conversations in Healthcare

Though these sessions come from various places across the 22 Tracks of Conference programming, they expand further on different ways that technology is revolutionizing how we improve our health.

• Healing Health Care: 2020 and Beyond | Health & MedTech
• Male Fertility: The Hidden Sperm Crisis | Health & MedTech
• A National Movement to Address the Opioid Crisis | Health & MedTech
• Overdose: 7 Elements to Fixing the Opioid Crisis | Health & MedTech
• Rehumanize Care: Communicate, Relate, Innovate | Health & MedTech
• Emotional Health–Impact Teens, Affect the World | Health & MedTech
• All of Us Will Die -Why Won't We Talk About It? Meet Up | Health & MedTech

Browse More Health & MedTech Track Sessions

For more sessions that cover the intersection between new tech and the healthcare industry browse through the Health & MedTech sessions.

This Interactive Track gives primary access to Platinum and Interactive Badges while Film and Music Badges enjoy secondary access.

Browse all sessions on the SXSW Schedule and add events to your Favorites list to start planning your SX adventure.

Browse Health & MedTech Sessions

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Featured Image by Holly Jee