Technology for Patient Centricity
Placing patients at the heart of healthcare
Patient-centricity has emerged as a paramount aspect of the US life sciences industry. Patients are now seen as active participants in their own health journeys, and their individual needs and preferences are being considered more than ever before.
New technologies have played a significant role in driving this shift towards patient-centricity. They can provide patients with greater convenience and autonomy and enable healthcare providers to deliver more personalized care by tailoring treatment plans to each patient's unique needs. From wearables and remote monitoring devices to patient portals and AI-driven insights, these technologies are helping to transform healthcare into a more adapted experience where patients’ cells and genetic predispositions provide key information for better long-term outcomes. This streamlines administrative tasks for both patients and healthcare providers while fostering increased collaboration and engagement between the parties.
According to CorEvitas, one of the pioneer companies in the real-world evidence (RWE) space in the US, precision medicine has always been a crucial area for the pharmaceutical industry, primarily in R&D to help develop better drugs and to improve diagnostic tests. “Many of our bio samples are also used by diagnostics companies to improve diagnostic tests,” detailed Ray Hill, CEO.
Illumina, leading the developing of DNA sequencing and genome technologies, has also highlighted the importance of patient’s data to expanding genomics, inform pre-disposition and improve treatment. “This technology platform can be used to decode and analyze the genetic elements of any living organism, including humans, plants and animals. Recently, there has been an increase in demand for this technology as more biotech and biopharma companies seek to better understand the genetic code and how to leverage it,” seconded Nicole Berry, head of Americas Region for Illumina.
“Pharma has traditionally been a lagger in terms of technology adoption, but we do have customers implementing new factories and automating most of their processes. This is a giant leap for future-proofing manufacturing processes.”
Steve Tallant, Senior Director, Solution Marketing Group at Systech, a solutions division of Markem-Imaje
AI is being used to analyze vast amounts of patient data and identify patterns and trends that would be difficult for humans to detect, thereby facilitating pre-clinical discovery, improving the accuracy and usability of data, as well as the effectiveness of medical solutions. “The final goal is to allow humans to focus on what they do best, bringing creativity and specialization to the industry,” posited Angelo Stracquatanio, CEO and co-founder of Apprentice.io, a cloud-based platform for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Karius, a life sciences company that uses next-generation sequencing technology to identify over 1,000 pathogens from a single blood sample, acknowledged that there is still a need for a doctor to have personal contact with patients to get specific data. “With new technologies, with new machine learning and with AI, we have to put the data in front of the person who talks to the family and make sure that they have the information they need to make a more informed choice,” said Alec Ford, CEO of Karius.
Premier Inc. plays a critical role in the healthcare industry, uniting an alliance of more than 4,400 US hospitals and health systems and approximately 250,000 other providers to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Premier applies technology-enabled tools and data ontologies in the field of oncology to help health systems standardize practices among the various patient touchpoints. This can be accomplished through early patient identification. Premier’s recently launched PINC AI™ data combined with natural language processing (NLP) technology that is well suited for uncovering details that can help identify which risk factors and clinical signs and symptoms are most predictive of subsequent disease development. “A tangible example is a study we did in the New York market. We had a hypothesis that people were getting lung scans because of Covid-19. Based on the radiology report, many people could have incidental pulmonary nodules (IPN), which could be an indication of early-stage lung cancer,” stated Denise Juliano, group vice president, life sciences of Premier Inc. “By applying NLP technology, we were able to identify patients with IPNs and flag them for intervention before potential lung cancer progression.”
“With new technologies, with new machine learning with AI, we have to put the data in front of the person who talks to the family, and make sure that they have the information they need and the tools they have to make a more informed choice.”
Alec Ford, CEO, Karius
“Daily complete de-identified datasets can have a profound impact in helping the life science industry find cures faster, and can enable every clinician anywhere to be an expert. This way, they can diagnose patients more quickly and recommend the best treatment.”
Terry Myerson, CEO, Truveta
Managing patient data poses several challenges, including data privacy and cybersecurity concerns, particularly when using cloud technology. The healthcare industry grapples with inaccessible, fragmented and unorganized data, which can lead to misinformation. To combat this, Truveta and Pfizer are collaborating to establish accurate data systems.
Truveta was founded with a mission to use available data efficiently for the benefit of the healthcare and life sciences industry. The company unites health systems from different parts of the US, all committed to sharing de-identified data to support researchers in their quest to find cures more rapidly, expedite clinical trials, improve patient care and outcomes, and promote equity in healthcare.
One of the primary objectives for the upcoming years is to develop strategies for sampling to ensure that patient populations are diverse and representative. Partnering and training are essential components for future progress, and the US life sciences industry is adapting to these new requirements to overcome the challenges. While technology can enhance care precision, collaboration between humans and technology is necessary to provide the best possible care to patients as the industry looks toward the future.
Article header image courtesy of Janssen