Leaders ponder issues at SAS® Health Care and Life Sciences Executive Conference

Rising costs, limited access, patient safety and poor lifestyle choices – those are the issues confronting the health and life sciences community today.

Thankfully, we live in a world that's readier than ever to deal with them – "a world of possibilities" for creating "a healthier health care system: one that focuses on health and on care," said Kecia Serwin, Vice President and General Manager of the Health and Life Sciences Business Unit at SAS.

Serwin's remarks came during this year's SAS Health Care and Life Sciences Executive Conference.

To turn possibilities into realities, the industries must commit to: improving outcomes, strengthening financial performance and deepening patient/customer relationships.

"It is not until you break down the barriers and the silos that exist in health care … and we look across the entire health care ecosystem, and when we can truly collaborate, when we can truly share and when we can truly learn from one another and have a learning health care system across care providers, pharmaceuticals, government and policy makers – only then do we achieve the real promise of health analytics," Serwin said.

And health care for all?
Former US Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, this year's keynote speaker, updated the more than 300 executives in attendance about the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which, if it survives legal challenges, promises health insurance coverage for all Americans.

Daschle said the Affordable Care Act provides a good start toward fixing what ails the US health care system, which he described as a collage of public and private subsystems.

Echoing Serwin's remarks about health analytics, Daschle said success will require resiliency, innovation, collaboration, leadership, and intelligent engagement within the policy and regulatory environment.

Think tank announced
Understanding the challenges Daschle outlined, SAS executives unveiled CHAI, or the Center for Health Analytics and Insights, an industry think tank charged with tackling these issues.

During the afternoon, conference attendees took part in sessions led by industry peers.

The industry tracks were:

• Clinical Research and Development, with presentations from Berry Consultants, Daiichi Sankyo, Celerion and Eli Lilly.
• Life Sciences Sales and Marketing Effectiveness, with presentations from Deloitte Consulting, Sibley and Associates, and Ortho-McNeil Janssen Pharmaceutical.
• Emerging Trends in Health Care Applications, with presentations from GE Healthcare, Stonegate Advisors and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
• Consumer-Centric Health Care Analytics, with presentations from Staples, Transamerica Life & Protection, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, and Independent Health.