Why the Tech Industry Won’t Disrupt Health Care

Because health care delivery is heavily data-driven but lags in adopting new technologies, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that it is ripe for digital disruption. Indeed, it’s obvious that U.S. health care badly needs significant change: It costs too much, its quality isn’t what it could and should be, and as for access, millions of people live hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital and/or don’t have a primary care doctor.

But does that mean that new tech-savvy entrants, armed with powerful digital tools and novel business models, could displace and demolish incumbent health systems with their better-faster-cheaper ethos?