Zach Weinberg and Nat Turner have developed a way to fight against cancer by using technology to connect medical personnel. They are sharing data from cancer treatment across the industry like never before. This company, called Flatiron Health, seeks to learn from every cancer patient and his treatment experience in order to improve the lives of everyone. They wanted to fix the “fragmented and siloed” healthcare system by combining the best minds in medicine with modern technology in order to change how people think about and treat cancer. They believe that every cancer patient has something to add from their story that can help others. The branches of their interconnected web include community oncologists, academics, hospitals, life science researches and regulators. They store the collected data on their OncoCloud software allowing them to access the information they need to provide better care for patients while still remaining their “efficiency, independence, and financial success”. The life science community is greatly impacted through the use of shared statistics that they use to accelerate their research and use as evidence for their studies. The impact on hospitals and universities is possibly even greater. They can now use high level research and conclusions found outside of their walls instead of being limited to what they find out within their own institutions. This can help accelerate discoveries and generate life-changing incites faster than ever before.
To learn more visit their website: https://flatiron.com/
I find it interesting that the founders understood the importance of information being shared rather than hidden from others to improve their business.
As someone that is interested in medicine, I find this article very interesting. I have talked to a lot of doctors and have had personal experience with family members needing cancer treatment and something like this would have been extremely beneficial. Diseases are very complex and are often to convoluted for one doctor to understand on his/her own. This would definitely help solve this issue by allowing doctors from around the earth to work together and share their own research and experience. Great post! This i definitely a need that needs met.
I love reading about the advancements in cancer treatments. It has become such a commonality and pretty much everyone knows someone who has had it or has been impacted by it. For myself, I have had several grandparents battle cancer and this article and these innovations continue to give me hope in the direction that cancer research and technology is moving in.
I really love how Flatiron Health sought to look at the wider scope of cancer patients in terms of their treatment data. This seems like something that people would have already thought of, but I like how they were able to see that opportunity.
This is a really great idea. Understanding the value of shared information is very important, especially in an industry where patients lives are at risk. Surprising that something like this has not been done before.