NHC 2019 Science of Patient Engagement Symposium Highlights Using Data Science, Technology, and Patient Engagement to Personalize Health Care

By Silke Schoch, Senior Associate, Programs

On October 28 and 29, the National Health Council (NHC) held its third annual Science of Patient Engagement Symposium in Washington, DC. The theme for this year’s Symposium was “Using Data Science, Technology, and Patient Engagement to Personalize Health Care”.

The Symposium was opened by a keynote from Robert Califf, MD, MACC, Vice Chancellor for Health Data Science, Donald M. Fortin, MD Professor of Cardiology, Director, Duke University and Advisor, Verily LifeSciences. Dr. Califf presented sobering statistics on reduction in life expectancy for many in the US and challenged attendees to consider how technology can be used as a way to reach people who are difficult to access due to geographic location, economic status, and those at risk for deaths of despair (such as death from drugs, alcohol, or suicide). He noted that “Google has the scale, reach, and technology available to help address public health issues such as depression,” and that technology presents an opportunity to reach underserved populations.

The luncheon keynote “Emerging data technologies: changing medicines and health services” was delivered by Javier Jimenez, MD, MPH, Vice President, Global Head, Real World Evidence and Clinical Outcomes, Sanofi. Key themes from Dr. Jimenez’s presentation included:

• Real-world data (RWD) and evidence generated from RWD is becoming critical to understand and help improve patients’ outcomes
• Increased availability of patient-level data makes Machine Learning/Advanced Analytics a critical tool to augment, accelerate, and enhance drug development and health care management decision making
• Patient benefit, fair patient treatment, and patient autonomy are basic ethical principles to apply Advanced Analytics in health

Other sessions included:

• A panel discussion, “Partners’ Perspectives on the Value of a Patient-Researcher Partnership,” which was moderated by Eleanor Perfetto, PhD, MS, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, National Health Council and featured Julia Slejko, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, University of Maryland and Jamie Sullivan, MPH, Vice President, Public Affairs, COPD Foundation.
• A “Fireside Chat: A Vision for Personalizing Health” which included Heidi Dohse, Senior Program Manager, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Google Cloud, and Marc Boutin, JD, Chief Executive Officer, National Health Council.
• A panel presentation with Eric Racine, PharmD, MBA, Vice President & Head, Public Affairs & Patient Advocacy, US External Affairs, Sanofi, who moderated a panel on “Patient Engagement: What is Needed for Personalized Care Management?” This panel featured Maya Hanna, MPH, PhD candidate, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and Tom Workman, PhD, Principal Researcher, American Institutes for Research and introduced important patient engagement terminology.
• A panel on “Personalized Care Management to Achieve Outcomes Important to Patients” which was moderated by Jason Harris, Director, Public Policy, Lupus Foundation of America and featured Guy Eakin, PhD, Senior Vice President, Scientific Strategy, Arthritis Foundation and Valerie Barton, MA, Chief Strategy Officer, People-Centered Research Foundation (PCRF).
• A panel on “Real World Evidence as a part of Personalized Care Management” moderated by Matthew Pickering, PharmD, RPh, Director, Research & Quality Strategies, Pharmacy Quality Alliance. It featured presentations by Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, JD, MD, Director, Office of Medical Policy, Center for Food and Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA and Danielle Lavallee, PharmD, PhD, Research Associate Professor, University of Washington Department of Surgery.
• A panel which explored “Data Security & Ethical Use” and was moderated by Matt Makara, MPH, Director, Research & Scientific Affairs, Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation. Panelists included: Peter Blenkinsop, Esq., Partner, Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP, Anne Marie Stanley, PhD, Senior Manager, Science, Regulation & Policy, Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP, and Ilse Peterson, MPH, Senior Manager, Strategy & Alliance Development, Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP.
• The final panel of the day was titled “Artificial Intelligence & Predictive Analytics” and was moderated by Elisabeth Oehrlein, PhD, MS, Senior Director, Research & Programs, National Health Council. The panelists included: Michael Kattan, PhD, Chair of the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Kelly Myers, Chief Technology Officer, Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation, and Aalpen Patel, MD, FSIR, Chair, Department of Radiology, Vice Chair, Informatics & Quality, Department of Radiology, Medical Director, 3D Imaging and Printing Laboratory, Geisinger Health System.

Presentations from the panelists and speakers can be found here.