Dr. Larry Schook was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Conference on Healthcare Innovation (CHI): Improving healthcare value by increasing quality and decreasing cost. The conference was sponsored by the German Marshall Fund via the Marshall Memorial Fellowship alumni leadership project.
Innovation to improve value in healthcare may be achieved via mulitude of pathways: by scientific, translational research, or novel ways to utilize technology or modification in process. Innovation occurs when the "discovery," be it drug, device, or process, adds value to healthcare by improving quality or reducing costs.
Dr. Schook's presentation on the "Healthcare Innovation Spectrum: Scientific Discovery/Translational Research - From Bench to Bedside" focused on the promise of individualized medicine in treating chronic diseases. Individualized medicine, because it is based on each patient's unique genetic makeup, is beginning to overcome the limitations of traditional medicine. Dr. Schook discussed how new innovation in individualized medicine will shift the emphasis in medicine from reaction to prevention and help improve disease detection.