I have a new mantra that I’ve been repeating to myself these days, and that is that my health will not come at the cost of my career. It is often a morning reminder, when I’m struggling to start my workout around 6:30 AM. I’ll be the first to admit that my success at maintaining my overall health in the face of the pressing challenges of graduate school, research, team projects, coursework, and teaching – has been mediocre at best. My weekly goals typically include three thirty minute workouts, as much walking as possible (often to and from work, plus an afternoon bout), hydration throughout the day, and a ‘mostly’ vegan diet. Additionally I attempt to keep a strict sleep schedule, in which I go to bed at approximately the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. When this regimen is operating smoothly (ie, when my travel schedule permits, or the stress is not overbearing) I am able to wake without an alarm clock and avoid the hindrance of past bouts with insomnia.
One thing my weekly structure and health mantra is lacking is data. Despite the smartphone, fitbits, and various attempts of my own at quantified self – I have struggled with the lack of data that I can gather on my self, on my own body. Physician appointments are largely focused on acute tasks that have little to do with my overall well-being. The lack of any kind of systemic overview of my health by a physician is cushioned by our broken healthcare system and the fact that most blood tests that do not have a direct impact on a symptom I am dealing with must go through some preauthorization from my insurance or else I am paying out of pocket. But what if it didn’t have to be so difficult. What if I, as a consumer of health services, could buy the kind of data and systemic overview that I’m currently lacking?
The reality is, we have all been affected in some deeply personal way by health decline. We have relatives and family members and friends (or ourselves) that have been diagnosed with cancer, or Alzheimer’s, or ALS. We have watched the quality and richness of their lives degrade with the progression of disease. The things they used to love doing are no longer feasible. But what if we had a better way of capturing what general wellness or health really means, and capturing the early warning signs of disease – so that a person can maintain that health for as long as possible. This is the hope with Lee Hood and Nathan Price’s longitudinal health study, a dream formed and discussed and brought to reality over the last few years. Today they will announce the launch of Arivale, a company that will bring that dream to a greater audience, and I think the timing is absolutely right.
While we don’t yet know all the specifics, a future customer of Arivale can expect to collect a portfolio of health metrics on themselves like never before. This is 23andMe on steroids, with whole genome sequencing, microbiome sampling, and a biochemical geneticist’s dossier of blood work. And if that wasn’t enough you receive a personalized coaching call once a month about actionable items revealed from your data. The specifics of this ‘product’ if you will were tested and proven on 100 pioneers, many who have spoken publicly of the experience. Within the Hood Lab group many of us are itching to sign up. But I expect that future consumers will not just be scientifically-minded. I think we are coming into a new age of health, where it seems much more reasonable to invest in yourself. I’m thrilled by the digital health, personalized medicine, and ‘patient will see you now’ movements that are happening. It is such an exciting time.
I look forward to hearing the reactions about the new company – and I expect there will be positives and negatives. In the end however, I remain optimistic, and I look forward to the day when I can invest in my personal health as a customer of Arivale’s. To feel empowered – to be even more self-aware about how my diet, exercise, and sleep maintenance are helping me thrive and live a productive and happy life – is something I very much look forward to. Perhaps in the future, beyond those acute occurrences when we must rely on our physicians, we will be able to rely even more happily on ourselves for maintaining health and wellness.