This month’s published document for The Orange Pages discusses the problems plaguing our domestic and worldwide health care systems and the potential solutions offered by Clayton M. Christensen in his new book The Innovator’s Prescription.
A major flaw the author sees in the current health care delivery system is that most medicine is practiced on an intuitive basis. That is, a very intelligent and well-trained physician serves as the central collection point for observations, test data, scans, etc., and decides the appropriate therapy to treat what in many cases is a broad and presumptive diagnosis. According to the author, in our haste to discover one-size-fits-all blockbuster products, we have failed to develop specific diagnostic markers that will tell us which patients will respond to which drugs. Christensen foresees an era of precision medicine with more emphasis on matching diagnostic testing and therapeutic intervention to improve on our current hit rate. Another example of precision medicine is the transition to electronic patient records – a move that is absolutely necessary if health care is to be delivered efficiently.
As the cost of health care continues to spiral upward, with expenditures largely supporting inefficient medicine, it is not a question of whether Christensen’s vision of precision medicine will become a reality, but of how and when. Smart health care companies had best start scenario planning in this direction, since medicine is already becoming less promotional and more rational. The book also points out, rather compellingly and practically, that this transition will also have significant impact on the roles of health care marketers and marketing researchers.
To download the complete February 2009 discussion on The Innovator’s Prescription, please click here.
The monthly issue-based discussions that we publish in this newsletter
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