The intersection of wellness, fashion and technology
Chris Hafner, President of Newton Enterprise Consulting, tell us about a new wellness paradigm and his interest in advocating the formation of a nascent Wellness and Technology Industry. He expresses hope to create a conversation amongst multiple disciplines, including fashion, wellness, healthcare, technology, financial technology, as well as insurance. The ‘over 50’ age category will grow by 34% by 2039; in comparison, the ‘18-49’ group will only grow by 12%. Current health systems cannot handle today’s illness and injury rates as facilities are not being developed fast enough to take on the aging population. Furthermore, supply of healthcare workers is also not able to keep up with demand; therefore it is imperative to promote wellness. Mr Hafner believes that we have enough science and technology available to us today to allow for innovative developments, giving the example of DNA testing. He believes that the GIANT Health Event is really unique in bringing together multiple disciplines from a variety of industries in one place where they can discuss global innovation and technology to improve health care and outcomes.