Well, people have to put aside a little bit what we
have been doing for the last many years and really
be able to imagine a new future that will be better
for everyone.
Where patients will really benefit from the sharing
of their information, where physicians will get
feedback immediately about their patient and how they
fit into other experience and then where all of that
information can be combined to improve
health.
I am excited that we are seeing momentum to build
on the steps that have already happened.
But simultaneously, I want to bring into the
discussion a real acknowledgment that
rigorous evidence isn't easy to get.
And if one has large observational data sets,
in fact, if you don't know exactly all the confounds,
you can get the wrong answer also.
So we need rigor, we need attention to detail and we
need attention to data quality.
And some of the time we are still going to need
randomization which is a very good method of
reducing confounds and bias.
I think it is bringing together the stakeholders,
the leaders of government agencies, manufacturers,
physicians, patients, etc. to really rationalize
the way we use data to improve the effectiveness
and safety of medical products and healthcare
delivery in general.
This type of research that we are really focused on
with EvGen, it will solve many problems, but first
and foremost for me it will begin to solve what
to do for the individual patient, is best for them.
What I find most exciting about EvGen is its
timeliness.
It is we are at this moment where there is so
much data being created and the idea that we start
planning now on how we can leverage it is just
terrific.
I find the concept of potentially bridging many
projects that are already ongoing that have the
ability to one, enhance clinical trials, two
optimize evidence that will allow us to have
information to provide better services not only
for healthcare systems, but patients at large.
What I hope we see in five years is large healthcare
systems coming together to share information for the
common good.
That is what our patients want and healthcare
systems need to get beyond both the technical
barriers, but also some of their traditional cultural
barriers about sharing information.
How do I envision the medical evidence
generation landscape in five or ten years?
I think the first thing is that at the point of
clinical care, the care of this person is informed by
all of the people who had similar characteristics
who came before her and her care is reinvested in
the overall system of care.
That is what EvGen is all about.
The whole landscape for this is moving very, very
fast.
And so I don't know where it is going to be in five
years.
But one thing is for sure, there is going to be much
more data, there is going to be much more
accessibility of the data.
And if we don't get things like the interoperability
right and the patient centricity of this right,
we are going to miss an opportunity to do
something very profound to change the ability to
treat patients for the next 10, 20, 30 years.
In order for EvGen to rapidly advance,
collaboration from multiple stakeholders
focused around what patients need is most
important.
For the future of EvGen, first we have to be honest
in recognizing that there isn't a dichotomy between
the research setting and clinical practice setting.
It is a continuum.
And we have to get our systems ready for that so
that we can also learn from what happens in the
clinical practice setting.
It's a critical time right now to move EvGen forward.
Many people have the same idea, they would like to
see this happen.
For it to happen, though, we need to understand the
business motivations.
What is it that is keeping people from sharing data,
why is it that clinicians don't have enough time in
the clinic to get consent and to operate in a way
that gives us answers to critical questions for
patients.
And what can we do to give patients confidence that
the system will work in their behalf and that
their data will be treated with respect and
confidentiality.