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 |  | | Using IT to Speed up Clinical Trials | | McKinsey on Business Technology, Spring 2007
The sooner a drug can pass its clinical trials, the bigger are the revenues before its patent expires. The first wave of IT innovations to streamline the clinical-trials process used electronic data capture to speed up the collection and analysis of information. The second wave promises even greater savings if pharmaceutical companies adopt an end-to-end perspective by integrating the planning process for a number of trials and by creating modular, reusable tools to plan them. Pharmaceutical companies should also make electronic data capture easier for research physicians to use, perhaps by creating an industry standard. | Launch this article (PDF - 382 KB) |
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| | | IT Remedies for U.S. Healthcare: An Interview with WellPoint’s Leonard Schaeffer | | McKinsey on Business Technology, January 2006
The U.S. health care industry faces a number of complex issues, including rising costs, inconsistency of care, and a lack of data on outcomes. Information technology will play a critical role in addressing these issues and transforming the industry, but exactly how remains an open-ended question. Insurers, hospitals, and other key players would do well to look outside their industry for fresh ideas. The opportunities are huge for smart companies with innovative approaches to the industry’s complex problems.
| Read more on the McKinsey Quarterly site |
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| | | What’s Holding Back Online Medical Data | | McKinsey on Business Technology, January 2006
Many believe that a national network of electronic health records (EHR) will help control spiraling costs and improve quality of care. Aside from the enormous expense of such a venture and the need for government-driven standards, a key hurdle is the misalignment of costs and benefits among the industry players. Those who pay for health care—such as large employers, government, and consumers—stand to gain the most (reduced costs, improved care), but will shoulder the least costs. On the other hand hospitals, physicians, and medical labs—conduits for critical medical data—will shoulder the preponderance of costs (new IT systems and process changes), and get the fewest benefits in return. This mismatch in costs and benefits must be addressed if a national online medical system is to succeed. The article suggests several ways to right the mismatch. | | Read more on the McKinsey Quarterly site |
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| | | The Changing Role of IT in Pharma | | McKinsey on Business Technology, January 2006
The pharma industry is in a state of upheaval, and better IT is seen as the answer to many of the problems that companies face. The pressure is on pharma CIOs to do two things at once: sharply improve IT efficiency, and use IT to drive innovation throughout the business. Companies are approaching these dual tasks in one of three ways: serially, in parallel, or by outsourcing the IT operations to focus on innovation. The right path depends on a company’s financial position and appetite for change, risk, and innovation. | | Read more on the McKinsey Quarterly site |
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