CER - You build it and they will come!!!
Secondly, the Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 was awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material Graphene". With my healthcare IT lens, I predict that Graphene will revolutionize and transform the entire healthcare industry. From Bio-devices to anti-bacterial solutions, from integrated circuits to new ways of monitoring and collecting patient's PHR data, Graphene will be the game changer. Graphene will bring an innovative revolution among our next generation of scientist and researchers.
Now let's come to the challenges of today's world where questions in many people's mind are on the subject of $1.1 billion "Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)"!!! What can CER do to improve the nation's health? How are we going to institutionalize the sharing of health data across many different entities without exposing IIHI and PHI, not violating and jeopardizing security and privacy of individuals? How are we going to convert CER data into medical informatics that can help consumers, clinicians, purchasers and policy makers to make scientific informed decisions on the first 100 priority items suggested by Institute of Medicine (IOM) supported by facts that will improve healthcare at both the individual and population levels? What will be the role of Social Media Networking in the creation of CER? Since communities such as "Patients like me" and "Cure Together" are already sharing information with each other and discussing outcomes, risks, etc. Will there be any role for Health Vault, Google Health, or EHR on Facebook in the CER?
I think regardless of all these questions and concerns, CER will only be successful if all parties (consumers, patients, healthcare providers, caregivers, and insurers, public and private healthcare sectors) are jointly and actively involved in defining the goal of CER, which should be better healthcare outcomes for all of us by "providing the right treatment at the right time and at a aright cost" and not just better payment methods for our providers. However, so far the priority list seems to be very scientific and research driven and rightly so, but will it answer the basic questions, why our youths have growing number of obesity and type 2 Diabetes? Why 1/3 of our nations' teenagers have serious stress disorder? If we can make CER really relevant to our day to day health concerns and issues, then chances are that CER will emerge as part of our healthy life style management tool and yet not another data exchange initiative.
