Developing Economic Strategy for
Healthcare Bio and Information technologies
September 25, 2007
At the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, Maryland

LEAD SPONSORS:  Biotechnology Council, U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology

The major technological breakthroughs in disease diagnosis and treatment in the health care industry since the 1970’s have been significant, but have also come with a price: health care spending now constitutes nearly one fifth of the U.S. economy.  In 2002, U.S. health care spending was nearly $2 trillion and is expected to exceed $4 trillion by 2015.  Until now, the emphasis in health care has been on diagnosis and treatment.  The current pattern of escalating health care spending will only continue unless there is a major paradigm shift toward a more proactive approach for prevention of disease in concert with diagnosis and treatment.   This can only happen with the development of breakthrough biomeasurement, bioinformatics, and health information technologies that can be integrated with current efforts to improve health care delivery.  There is a need to address the economic implications of such developments.
 
The BioTech Council and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will conduct an inaugural Conference on the economics of a 21st Century Integrated Health System (EIHS). The goal of 07-EIHS is to initiate dialogue on developing a strategic plan for the Nation to address the growing need for new technologies to help avert the impending economic crisis in healthcare and improve quality.  Additionally, we plan to discuss methods and tools to help policy and decision makers understand the economic realities of Bio and Information Technology investments for making informed high value decisions to improve the quality of care and wellness while minimizing costs.  This will benefit patients and the society by improving the quality and convenience of care, controlling health care costs and increasing access to affordable and effective healthcare in the world.

CONFERENCE SCOPE: 

Full Day Conference September 25, 2007
            Location:  NIST Campus

The conference will bring together key government, industry, academic and research leaders and patient advocates to discuss mechanisms for assessing the economic benefits and opportunities of Bio and Information technologies in the life sciences.   The goal is to help attendees understand the economics of Bio and Information technology and learn useful approaches for evaluating promising technologies.  Attendees should gain an appreciation and understanding of key factors that drive the development and implementation of these technologies in the life sciences markets and the mechanisms for evaluating the cost-benefits of these technologies.

Charge to Conferees

• Identify the economic realities and gaps in current investment priorities for biomeasurement (biochemical and imaging), bioinformatics and health information technologies needed to drive the paradigm shift to a patient centric, integrated, distributed health care delivery system that promotes consumer empowerment and enhances quality.  
• Develop a long-term strategic investment plan to address the identified gaps.