StemCell Therapy

For centuries, medicine has largely relied on a single primary source of information for the diagnosis and treatment of disease: individual patients. This data stream has become increasingly complex over time due to advances in imaging, biochemistry and genetics, but it is still patient-based.

Now, a second stream is emerging that I believe is likely to impact the entire healthcare delivery system, both in terms of outcomes and economics: population-based data. The sources of this data could include census records, various government agencies and community health records. The information it provides could span neighborhood and housing conditions, economic stability, education levels, social and community conditions and the availability of healthcare. All of these could contribute to a three-dimensional view of the patient and provide insights into treatment options and the management of chronic conditions. In fact, research (via the National Academy of Medicine) suggests that social determinants account for 80% to 90% of "modifiable contributors to healthy outcomes."

This figure is more than an interesting statistic. It has demonstrable real-world consequences. For example, a Maricopa County, Arizona, program that incorporates social determinants played a significant role in a 67% decrease in suicides in its first three months. The data collected related to poverty, food and housing insecurity, and environmental exposures such as homes with lead paint. Efforts to reduce some of the problems that were discovered, such as delivering meals or installing air conditioners, were likely central to the programs success.

The amount of healthcare data is huge and growing. According to Research and Markets, it more than quadrupled to 700 exabytes from 2013 to 2017 and is projected to triple again to 2,314 exabytes by 2020. Its potential value to businesses is even more impressive. For example, EY estimates that the value of the U.K. National Health Service's datasets could be 5 billion (approximately $6.4 billion) per year and deliver around 4.6 billion (approximately $5.9 billion) of benefit to patients per year in potential operational savings for the NHS, enhanced patient outcomes and generation of wider economic benefits to the U.K.."

New Sources Of Patient Data

The amount of patient-based data is also growing due to new technology developments. Wearables are one prominent source of this new data. The Apple Watch, for example, can monitor and track heart rhythm with a level of sophistication that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago. Glucose monitors can be connected to smartphones to support behavioral changes in patients who need help managing their diabetes.

One of the most exciting developments to me is affordable genome sequencing. It was once a process that cost a thousand dollars or more, but one company recently offered it for $199. Access to this data is a very important development for personalized medicine, especially for cancer patients for whom targeted therapies based on genome analysis could mean the difference between life and death.

Data-Centric Business Models

The explosion in healthcare data has led to a number of data-driven business partnerships. Pfizer collaborated with Flatiron Health to use real-world data in an application for FDA drug approval. In another example, a large insurance provider created an app for smartwatches to help members track their actions so they can receive rewards for activities that improve their well-being. There is also a marketplace for anonymous data. Cloud-based HealthVerity Marketplace, for example, lets customers browse and license data from over 50 billion anonymized transactions.

More partnerships and vertical marketplaces for data will surely emerge over time.

Challenges Ahead

While the idea of data-driven healthcare is widely embraced, putting it into practice is not so simple. There are several barriers to widespread use of statistical data as a new weapon in the ongoing battle against disease.

The technical challenges of collecting and analyzing health data are not trivial. One 2010 survey (viaPR Newswire) conducted for a web-based electronic health record (EHR) company found that the average American patient accumulates records from 18 different providers over a lifetime. The data from many of those visits may be in incompatible formats. In my experience, data collected by governments tends to be in silos as well. As a result, I expect that a considerable amount of data integration work will be required before the data is even ready for analysis.

The twin concerns of privacy and security are also major barriers to data sharing. Generally speaking, patients may be willing to share their health data when it is for a good cause -- such as better outcomes for others. However, there is always the risk that such data will be used to discriminate against people with health conditions. In addition, there is the issue of security -- over 13 million healthcare records were reportedly exposed in breaches in 2018 alone. Another issue is that providers may fear losing a competitive advantage by sharing data.

However, none of these are insurmountable barriers. I believe digital data has enormous potential to influence outcomes for the better and to deliver business value. That potential will not go untapped. Patient data will still be extremely important, but I'm sure it will be enhanced by data from external sources in a win-win model.

Read more from the original source:
How We Can Improve The Healthcare Industry With A Healthy Dose Of Data - Forbes

This entry was posted on November 18, 2019 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Personalized Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |