Certific’s Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Dr Jack Kreindler talks about the most pressing problems in healthcare today and what the cures could be. He also sheds light on what our medicine cabinets will look like in the future, and why the infamous blood testing startup Theranos seemed suspicious to him from the start.
If there is anything good that can be said about the COVID-19 pandemic, it's that it ushered in a new era in medicine. Suddenly, it became commonplace to consult with your doctor online. However, there was also another, somewhat bigger and more consequential shift. In the case of at-home testing, it quickly moved on from the "definitely not" phase to becoming almost a daily routine for large numbers of people.
People were able to administer COVID-tests on themselves, their children and grandparents in the privacy of their own homes. And basically, this shift happened overnight. "It has served as a massive catalyst. We quickly realised that there are many procedures that do not require physical infrastructure, and each one of us can easily test themselves," said Dr Kreindler.
Co-founders Jack Kreindler, Taavet Hinrikus and Liis Narusk created Certific to facilitate mutual trust between patients and service providers, while also empowering patients to be less dependent on doctors, the health care system, and available office hours. At the same time, they also wanted to safeguard one of the most valuable assets for doctors – their precious time.
"I am a doctor myself and every day I deal with both very routine and extremely complex cases, and I would prefer to have more time to deal with the latter," explained Dr Kreindler, one of the pillars of Certific’s vision for the future. When asked if patients will cease to have contact with doctors, he quickly reassured us that telemedicine does not mean that in the future people would have to communicate only with robots. "For example, such procedures as chemotherapy will never be self-administered at home. However, there are many procedures that people could successfully handle themselves, given adequate and proper guidance. Afterwards it is possible to ascertain whether the results warrant a visit to a medical professional or whether they can start treatment without leaving home."
"For example, such procedures as chemotherapy will never be self-administered at home. However, there are many procedures that people could successfully handle themselves, given adequate and proper guidance. "
Dr Jack Kreindler
When it comes to at-home testing, it is impossible not to mention the infamous case of Theranos, a health startup that cheated millions of dollars from Silicon Valley investors by promising to revolutionise blood sampling. "I'm sure there will be other startups in the vein of Theranos, wanting to break barriers in biology and physics, but some things are simply impossible,' said Kreindler resolutely.
However, Dr Kreindler is confident that in the foreseeable future our medicine cabinet will undergo some significant changes. At home, each of us will have a small box, either battery-powered or plugged into the wall, storing all the necessary medicines and medical devices in comparable conditions as in a proper clinic. If you develop a health problem, you will be able to test yourself at home, and do your own symptom analysis. You will also be equipped with a measuring device to carry out the necessary measurements, and the score will indicate whether you need to see a doctor, sign into a hospital, or if a prescription will suffice. "It is quite possible that you will already have the medicine you need in the cabinet. Thus, your home medicine cabinet will become a professional self-care device. That’s what I imagine for the future," said Dr. Kreindler.
"I'm sure there will be other startups in the vein of Theranos, wanting to break barriers in biology and physics, but some things are simply impossible."
Dr Jack Kreindler
Although medicine is increasingly moving towards prevention to identify more serious diseases at their initial stages or even before the first appearance of symptoms, Kreindler is confident that the treatment aspect of medicine is not going anywhere. According to him, the most pressing problem is serious and deadly – there are simply not enough doctors to provide treatment. "Therefore, we need to train patients to handle simpler procedures on their own," wondering if, after taking multiple COVID-tests every week, people would be open to taking a stool test at home once every six months for the purposes of detecting certain types of cancer. "I really do hope so. Especially when we talk about cancer prevention. Self-administered tests are feasible, and it will make a real difference in saving lives."
Finally, the visionary doctor assured us that testing at home is in no way more dangerous because thanks to technology we can provide guidance and teach people how to do these things, while also ensuring quality. Thus, in 90 percent of future cases, a person's initial communication with the medical system will have them doing most of the work themselves. "We must start doing a lot more ourselves. I cannot stress this enough, there is a growing shortage of doctors – we cannot 3D-print them."
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