FemTech Meets DiagnosTech: A Dialogue with Deirdre O’Neill


Rising applied sciences are prompting a revolution in girls’s healthcare via superior diagnostic testing. Within the sixth episode of Sheppard Mullin’s Well being-e Legislation Podcast, Deirdre O’Neill, Chief Industrial & Authorized Officer at Hertility Well being, make clear developments in girls’s healthcare and expertise with Sheppard Mullin’s Digital Well being Crew co-chairs, Sara Shanti and Phil Kim.

Way forward for Reproductive Well being

O’Neill shared perception into the alternatives and challenges forward for reproductive well being, highlighting on the outset that neither girls’s well being nor reproductive well being must be a taboo subject for dialogue. Such a taboo has been a historic trigger for impairments in progress and innovation. Reasonably, O’Neill argued that reproductive well being ought to concentrate on a complete individual idea, considering girls’s biometrics, way of life elements, affected person historical past, and menstrual patterns, amongst others. As well as, O’Neill emphasised that will probably be important to develop a dataset of feminine gynecological pathologies to enhance each the accuracy and effectivity of diagnosing circumstances. The foregoing are all steps to enhance diagnostic well being for ladies, which O’Neill refers to as “DiagnosTech”.

Essential Roles of Employers and Training

O’Neill highlighted that employers can play a job in increasing DiagnosTech. Employers in an more and more aggressive market have begun to acknowledge that addressing reproductive healthcare concerns via advantages packages generally is a highly effective device for retention. O’Neill famous that whereas employers could make guarantees with respect to reproductive well being advantages, it’s vital to recalibrate the narrative that workers (and significantly girls) should delay having a household to take pleasure in a profitable profession. This case may very well be improved by guaranteeing that workers are educated on reproductive well being and obtainable advantages together with reproductive well being screenings and informational sources. Additional, O’Neill emphasised that it’s not solely girls who profit from training on reproductive well being, as males even have a lot to realize from higher understanding how reproductive well being considerations can impression their co-workers, wives, daughters, and companions.

Rising Applied sciences

O’Neill delved into the scientific and technological developments spearheaded by Hertility Well being whereas additionally addressing the broader implications of DiagnosTech. Specifically, the supply of digital well being options within the reproductive well being area can assist sufferers to safe further info and therapy whereas avoiding a few of the discomfort of exposing sure intimate particulars that many keep away from discussing via in-person interactions. The truth is, coupling on-line well being assessments with hormone knowledge and AI-powered high quality management can work to advertise the accuracy of diagnoses.

The Backside Line

Whereas DiagnosTech and its rising developments current a lot promise, they face various challenges, together with regulatory compliance points. It will likely be extra essential than ever to rigorously navigate these hurdles, significantly within the extremely regulated healthcare business.

To take heed to this episode, click on right here.