The future of healthcare

In this episode of the Metric Stack Podcast, hosts Allan Wille and Lauren Thibodeau sit down with Duncan Weatherston, CEO of Smile Digital Health, a health data platform. Duncan shares his company's mission to transform global healthcare through innovative data sharing and healthcare data interoperability — and why that mission matters more now than ever.

What is healthcare interoperability?

Healthcare interoperability is the ability of different health information systems to exchange, interpret, and use data consistently. Duncan explains how the absence of shared standards has created fragmented, siloed health records that slow care and increase costs.

The conversation centres on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), a set of rules for exchanging FHIR standards electronic health care data. Duncan traces the origins and growth of FHIR and makes the case for why this standard is central to changing how healthcare information moves between systems, providers, and patients.

Breaking down data silos in healthcare

Duncan draws a compelling parallel between the rise of FHIR and the early days of the internet. Just as the internet required universal protocols to connect disparate networks, healthcare needs common terminology and standards to connect disparate systems. The challenge is enormous — but so is the opportunity.

He describes how health facilities across North America and Europe are already using these technologies to break down data silos and improve patient outcomes. The metrics tell the story: facilities adopting interoperability standards are moving the needle on cost efficiency and patient satisfaction.

The human impact of better health data

Duncan's passion for information technology comes through clearly — but what anchors the conversation is his focus on people. Better data sharing means faster diagnoses, fewer redundant tests, and care teams that have the full picture when it counts.

He also speaks to the equity dimension: when health data flows freely and securely, access to quality care becomes less dependent on geography or the resources of a particular facility.

What the future of healthcare looks like

Looking ahead, Duncan sees the convergence of three forces reshaping healthcare: medical knowledge, large language models, and patient data. Together, he believes these will create a system where consumers manage their health metrics and KPIs the way they manage their finances — through a mobile app, with real-time information and control.

The analogy is apt. Mobile banking didn't just digitize transactions; it shifted power to the individual. Duncan believes healthcare is heading toward the same inflection point. The result, he argues, will be better access to care for everyone — not just those with the resources to navigate a complex system.

Why this episode matters

Whether you work in healthcare, technology, or business leadership, the themes Duncan raises are universal: what happens when data is fragmented, what becomes possible when it isn't, and how the right standards can unlock value at scale.

This is a conversation about metrics in the broadest sense — measuring what matters in health, and building the infrastructure to act on it.