The Learning Health Care Sector

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I believe the future health sector will be designed to generate and apply the best available knowledge for every single patient, every healthcare professional and every company. IBM is supporting this ambition by providing advanced data analysis, cloud solutions, and cognitive technology for the healthcare and life science industry.

Digital technologies, services and solutions have in recent years turned the music, film, media, banking and retail industries upside down – and the overall healthcare and life science industry faces an equivalent transformation.

Until recently, the amount of data and information we produced would far exceed our ability to make use of it. But now, a number of technologies have become so well-developed and widespread that something as complex as healthcare can be improved and, in some cases, delivered by digital solutions.

It is impossible to read and understand all documents, patient records, and reports, as well as to examine each image and video, and to hear every sound. Yet through these data and information sources, some of the answers, discoveries, and innovations are found. Therefore, companies are increasingly using data, cognitive technologies and cloud solutions to develop and improve their products and services.

Cognitive technologies are gaining momentum

Cognitive technologies are currently in a rapid development, characterized by a number of general characteristics. Cognitive technologies can work with all types of data and information sources, and moreover they can transform these into insights that are meaningful to the users. These new technologies can continuously incorporate new data and information, and interact with users in an easy and natural way.

Cloud technology makes it possible to use data across organizations, countries and continents. With assistance from IBM, as a pharmaceutical company, you can ensure scalability, security and agility within a framework, which works in full compliance with the rules and frameworks that characterize the life science industry.

Future healthcare

One of the next major developments in healthcare and life science will be driven by firstly, an interest, an opportunity and a need to democratize data; and secondly, advanced data retrieval and analysis tools will be perpetual. This development will create a learning healthcare sector: a healthcare sector that continuously and systematically evaluates and incorporates all relevant information, including data on all actions, consequences, and outcomes.

The basic framework will consist of a combination of all relevant data and information sources, including health data, citizen data, and other health-related data, as well as the ability to create useful insights based on this data.

When insights continuously incorporate learning from all available data sources, a whole new situation will be created, since any discussion with patients, payers, and providers will be based on complete transparency in relation to any aspect of delivering health. This has wide ranging consequences: from prescriptions of therapy to documenting value creation for patient, citizens and for society – a development, which will have a huge impact on the entire healthcare sector.

Watson is helping to drive the development

Today, the life science industry has the opportunity to access advanced data analytics, cloud solutions and cognitive technology, including solutions that support the many different processes in the life science industry – from the initial processes of pharmaceutical development to analyses of real-world data.

A wide range of health-related solutions and options are already offered based on IBM’s technology and access. An example is IBM’s cognitive computer solution, Watson, which is able to read and analyze all types of data, to form insights based on the data, and to use this data in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, health professionals, researchers, and patients.

IBM’s value for the life science sector is our expertise in data, cloud technology and cognitive solutions, as well as our industry experience in applying these technologies. Data is increasingly a valuable and indispensable resource, and in terms of collecting and managing data, IBM already provides value through collaboration with customers and partners in the life science sector, with partnerships such as the one with Novo Nordisk focused on finding solutions for diabetes and with Lundbeck on psychiatric and neurological disorders.

f you want to learn more, please do not hesitate to contact me at Henrik.Rindel.Gudbergsen@ibm.com.