o THE DRIVING FORCE
To bring together and keep healthcare stakeholders in harmony, some basic principles have to be respected and followed. Patients are the beginning and goal of the entire network and must always maintain ownership of their data. The download of each patient’s clinical data must follow the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and its use must be subject to informed consent. Patients must have the right to access their clinical data in real time and anywhere in the world. Doctors are responsible for generating clinical data, and must ensure the quality of the information uploaded.
Therefore, it is necessary to create a friendly and collaborative platform that saves time in capturing clinical data, adding meaning and making this activity enjoyable and constructive. Patients should be encouraged to continually monitor clinical data uploaded and contribute positively to checking its authenticity. A patient-centric care model requires a good doctor-patient relationship, which leads to better outcomes. Hopefully better outcomes mean better cost-effectiveness, reducing the burden of healthcare costs on society as a whole. The downstream clinical data flow now finds anonymous data analytics organizations to be processed collectively in IT companies, where judicious use of AI could better describe disease patterns and improve clinical trial methodology. Local, state, and national governments would use collective data for a better epidemiological signature. Global healthcare organizations would process more specific and qualified clinical data, improving their humanitarian goals. By working in a cooperative network of healthcare stakeholders, hospitals and clinics would no longer deal with the difficult task of storing their patients’ records. All information would already be available online, facilitating local processing of clinical data and resolving its interoperability. Public and private health insurance organizations would have access to clinical data in its original source, avoiding misinterpretation, malpractice and unnecessary repetition of exams and procedures. Pharmaceutical and high-tech companies would greatly benefit from accelerating phase IV clinical trials, reducing the long lead time in bringing new products to market. Universities and media would have a closer and more refined approach to knowledge translation, which would lead to faster and more reliable technical and public information. Click here to see in a larger window the clinical data flow in healthcare stakeholders network.