Modern Health Care & Global Market Information – What’s the Connection?
March 13, 2017
Last week I was headquartered at one of the top hospitals in Georgia because a loved one was undergoing surgery. A hospital is a unique place for both patients and their anxious family. There are only two distractions for those in the waiting areas: observing the nonstop work flow of the hospital, and watching the television news.
After six days I could not help but begin to reflect on the wider issues facing health care in our country. One of these issues is that our healthcare is very good, and many people want to benefit from it. I spent the week at a top heart hospital in Atlanta where patients from all over the world were being treated. One of my long term “mega” investment trends is the ongoing growth of the global middle class. As people move to this population segment, they demand a higher standard of living, which means better food, water, housing and healthcare. The Atlanta hospital community has plans for expansion which total over $2 billion in new construction. Already a major hub and center in fields like communication and transportation, Atlanta is setting up to be a new global health care center.
A word of warning in this new age of hospital care, as a patient you better get ready to be bar code scanned more times than a can of beans. At every stage of treatment and evaluation, you will hear the beeping of a scanner. In addition, make sure you never forget your birth date, as it was the verification data needed for either getting an open heart surgery done or a bag of ice. If identity theft is a concern to you, do not go to a hospital. By my count, 237 strangers obtained my wife’s birth date last week.
I now believe there are three time zones in the world: regular time, airport time, and hospital time. Once imprisoned in hospital time, 3 am can easily seem like 3 pm. The one constant is knowing the global market is always open, or about to open, in different parts of the world. The TV was constantly on, so following the markets round the clock was easy. You can start with the west coast recap, ease into the Australian sunrise story, then shift into the Hong Kong and Singapore sessions, before returning to the US via the Middle East and Europe. As each new market opened, I watched how the money flowed and market prices changed.
Around the world in 24 hours, regular time and hospital time. I could not help but be disappointed by the boring nature of the trip. With few events of note, there was just a lot of talking which simply rehashed the same headlines many times over. It seemed a little like an old radio station when you would ask, are they going to play that song again and again and again? The business news today has become much the same.
