Technology and Diagnosis

First of all, I would be uncomfortable, to say the least, to convey that I think the biggest fish to fry in getting a healthier nation is the advancement of technology. Is it important? Yes, and very beneficial, but our biggest problems we bring upon ourselves. If we could get more people to say "where's the gym" versus "supersize me", we could curb many of our ills. As others have pointed out, technology can really be a two edged sword. Now, instead of eating right and exercising, people seem to be more willing to pop a pill to control their blood pressure, or 10mg of a statin drug to lower their cholesterol, etc. etc. But since we're asked to keep this to technology, and many other excellent concepts have already been discussed, let me suggest that perhaps we could develop better diagnostic tools and software. I watch a LOT of "Mystery Diagnosis" types shows, documentaries, etc. and I'm amazed at how many times people go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, sometimes for years. Needlessly suffering both physically and financially, and having endless trips to the E.R. And then finally, through some series of events, another doctor sees the symptoms and immediately recognizes what the problem is. And these aren't always just rare and difficult conditions to diagnose. Perhaps a comprehensive, collaborative software effort could be made to create better diagnostic tools. Let me put it this way - if you can think it, it can go into a computer and have decision making software guide you into possible diagnoses, or at least different ways of thinking. I'm not suggesting this is a replacement for having a doctor diagnose an issue, but it could, over years, evolve to be a great tool. But no one single entity could really provide this - I think it would have to be a large scale collabarative effort. Perhaps that, and not the technology, is the biggest hurdle. As I inferred (and countless others have for generations) before: man's greatest enemy is himself.