Industry Outlook
Exploring the Future of the Pharmaceutical Industry and the Healthcare System – The Benefits of Electronic Health Records Becoming a Reality
Joris van Dam IT Director, Health Information Technology, Janssen Research & Development
Abstract
The widespread adoption and secondary use of electronic health records (EHRs) hold great promise for generating efficiencies in the pharmaceutical research and development process and for transforming the healthcare system overall. Illustrative examples and initial study results are provided on the use of EHR data in drug development, patient adherence, translational research, preventative care and transformation of the healthcare system. These respective programmes and approaches demonstrate great progress and hold tremendous promise. A major challenge will lie in combining these approaches in a common and connected environment for secondary usage of healthcare data. Such environments will support pharmaceutical organisations, healthcare providers, patients, payers and policy-makers in developing and adopting evidence-based solutions for improved and sustainable health outcomes for overall populations.
Keywords Electronic health records (EHRs), eHealth, mHealth, healthcare IT, translational research, drug development
Disclosure: Joris Van Dam is an employee of Janssen Research & Development, a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and holds shares in Johnson & Johnson. Janssen Research & Development participates in the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) eHealth Records programme, and provided a development grant for the extension of the Mobile Technology for Community Health (MOTECH) platform. SymCare Personalized Health Solutions, Inc. is a Johnson & Johnson company. Received: 1 July 2010 Accepted: 23 September 2010 Citation: Drug Development, 2010;5:58–62 Correspondence: Joris van Dam, Turnhoutseweg 30 2340 Beerse, Belgium. E:
jvandam2@its.jnj.com
While a commonly accepted view on the future healthcare system is yet to emerge, a number of generally acknowledged trends already exist that are shaping that future system. The costs and timelines for developing new and innovative medicines are continuing to reach unprecedented heights.1
There is an acute need for generating
efficiencies in the drug development process, both to make cost savings and to increase speed to market. The type of healthcare services demanded by the market has been changing.2
The
proportion of the population in older age groups will grow faster than the total population in many developed countries. As life expectancies rise and families are less able to care for their older family members, demand for long-term care will rise.3
The emerging
paradigm of personalised medicines supported by the application of evidence-based medicine demands the development of targeted medicines and therapies, with superior risk-benefit profiles for well- defined patient subpopulations.4
shift of focus from ‘curative care’ to ‘preventative care’.5–7
The Benefits of Electronic Health Records are Becoming a Reality
Based on recent discussions with opinion leaders from the healthcare industry, PricewaterhouseCoopers9
claims that ‘Using [EHR] data for
secondary purposes is one of the most promising ways to improve health outcomes and costs’. While that report continues to explore the need for and requirements of a framework to support such secondary use, how that would lead to improved health outcomes and reduced costs is discussed below.
There is a continued and increasing Finally, the
healthcare system has been following many other industries towards a globalised healthcare industry.8
This article includes examples of how the use of electronic health record (EHR) data is already supporting and enabling these trends in the healthcare system. It also highlights how the usage of EHR data can help drive the transformation of healthcare systems. Throughout this article, the term EHR is used to generally denote any type of electronic record that contains personal health data, irrespective of what system those records come from and who controls the content and use of that record. One could use the term EHR to refer
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Electronic Health Records for Better Drug Development – Reducing Costs and Timelines Pharmaceutical research and development is an information business; it does not as much produce medication and therapies as information on the efficacy and safety thereof. As such, a tremendous opportunity presents itself to generate efficiencies in the pharmaceutical research and development process by unlocking the ‘silos’ of data contained in EHR systems.10,11
It is important to note that re-using EHR data for clinical research purposes is anything but straightforward. Data collected for and during clinical trials are typically highly standardised in a format that lend themselves for analysis and interpretation (such as the Clinical
© TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2010
to a record stored in a hospital’s electronic medical record system (EMRS), a patient-controlled health record (PCHR) managed through the Internet or even a discussion between peer patients in an online community.
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