Serial Entrepreneur Reeve Benaron on the Intersection of Health Care and Tech

COVID-19 changed nearly every aspect of our daily lives, including how we receive medical care. Healthcare providers had to change their protocols overnight to continue operations, and many invested in a digital-first approach to patient care. Nearly three years after the pandemic first started, healthcare technology company Intrivo's co-founder and co-CEO Reeve Benaron believes the intersection of healthcare and technology offers hope for humanity. Intrivo is a healthcare technology company that uses its artificial intelligence platform and manufacturing prowess to bring healthcare home for more people

"When I started looking at health care and started looking at technology and mirroring those together, I started seeing that there was something that we can really do on the digital side to evolve and advance humanity," Benaron, a prolific health care and advertising technology entrepreneur who specializes in strategic partnerships, strategy, and M&A, says. 

Just like how tech juggernaut Amazon started with books, Benaron's company, Intrivo, started with COVID tests. Benaron says that the future of health care is personalized, data-driven, and proactive. Reeve Benaron shares his thoughts on how technology and healthcare can work together to advance both the healthcare industry and humanity as a whole. 

Truly Personalized Health Care

Today's healthcare system treats patients like a number. But through the power of technology, health care can become more personalized and human-centered.

For example, Reeve Benaron believes DNA testing can help personalize at-home health care. "In order to live a longer life, you have to really have an understanding of your genome," he says. "Personalization is not a one-stop shop. I think that there is a lot that goes into personalizing. I think at the heart of it is our DNA and genetic makeup."

However, this isn't just about personalizing based on DNA. Everything from diet to lifestyle choices can affect people's health. Fortunately, technology is developing in a way that allows providers to synthesize data from multiple sources. The result is a more personalized treatment plan that patients haven't yet experienced - but soon will. 

Reeve Benaron on Data-Driven Digital Logistics

Technology needs a lot of data to make medical logistics work properly. At scale, Reeve Benaron says better health care is similar to predicting the weather. "The reason why that's important is for things like natural disasters, especially when it comes to hurricanes, when it comes to tornadoes, when it comes to severe storms, the essence of it is to protect people," he says. "You need that data in order to predict outbreaks. I think COVID-19 is not going to be the last infectious disease that is faced by humanity. In fact, it's almost certain. I think that what we have to do is stop it at the root of the problem."

But Benaron believes data-driven digital logistics isn't just about acknowledging outbreaks. His team wants to address the next steps for patients who test positive. "The heart of data-driven digital diagnostics is the ability to take that data, segment it on an individual level, [and] treat the person. Once the person knows what's wrong with them, treat the person and then notify on a wider scale what it is that's wrong to stop the spread from going any further," he says.

Proactive Health Care With Technology

"I think that the problem with the health care system now is that people are not going for regular checkups," Reeve Benaron says. During COVID-19, many people skipped preventive screenings, like mammograms and colonoscopies. But Benaron dreams of a future where technology makes proactive, preventive health care more accessible to people in their own homes. "It's taking health care into our own hands in a proactive, fun nature, rather than a reactive, defensive nature because we practice reactive health care right now," he says. 

Of course, there's no replacement for the expertise of a doctor or a surgeon. "If you're having surgery, for example, you can't do a surgery at your home," Benaron says. Even so, it's possible to digitize many preventive healthcare screenings, which would save patients and clinicians more time and money - all while saving more lives. 

The Healthcare Revolution Is Here, According to Reeve Benaron

Although healthcare providers currently rely on technology to improve the patient experience, they haven't yet tapped the potential of healthcare technology. But not for long: Reeve Benaron sees a disruptive change on the horizon. "There is a health care revolution happening, whether we like it or not," he explains. While the future of health care and technology is still developing, it's clear that it will result in a net positive for patient outcomes.