The topline numbers in the US healthcare industry are noteworthy: The total U.S. healthcare expenditure was more than $3.5 trillion, per the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. At that level, it accounted for 17.9% of gross domestic product (GDP). The U.S. spent about $9,990 per person on healthcare. Japan, with a longer life expectancy (83.1 years vs. 79.1 years) and universal coverage, spent just $3,816 per person. 85 publicly-traded healthcare companies made $47 billion in profit on $545 billion in global sales. Pharmaceutical companies generated 22% of the revenue and 60% of the profit.

Those levels of spending and profit make the industry ripe for disruption in all areas and processes. This streamlining creates opportunities to connect previously disparate data sources and deliver higher degrees of personalization, consistency in care, overall capacity utilization, patient satisfaction, and outcomes.