On Tuesday, February 26th, Dr Gigi Hirsch, Executive Director of MIT NEWDIGS, gave a presentation for the Harvard-MIT Center for Regulatory Science to a gathering of local academic, clinical, and industry leaders interested in promoting optimal patient health outcomes through biomedical innovation, and in the availability of safe and effective diagnostics and treatments. Dr Hirsh’s presentation outline:

From Bigger Data to Smarter Evidence
As health data increasingly scale and go digital, the prevailing attitude has been a big data approach, where whoever has the most data wins. However, the creation of vast amounts of data has not translated to useful evidence in many cases, particularly as biopharmaceutical innovation and healthcare systems evolve toward precision medicine, patient-centered innovation, and value-based reimbursement models in which reliable, targeted, and fit-for-purpose evidence are key to matching the appropriate treatments to patients. NEWDIGS is leading a multi-stakeholder collaboration using systems engineering to design a model “learning ecosystem” for Rheumatoid Arthritis that improves patient outcomes through a new collaborative approach to evidence planning, production, and use, to be piloted in Massachusetts. Dr Hirsch will provide an overview of the LEAPS Project of the MIT NEWDIGS Initiative, share emerging insights, and lead a discussion on potential implications and opportunities.