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Precompetitive collaboration forming to address root causes of health inequity and financial toxicity in cancer
Boston, MA, January 4, 2023 –Today, results from the joint Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) and Moffitt Cancer Center roundtable, “Advancing Digital Health Innovation to Improve the Lives of Cancer Patients,” were published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. Health care delivery and clinical research are becoming increasingly digitized, driven by the pursuit of improved access, equity, efficiency, and effectiveness. However, progress to date has not been equally distributed, and digital innovation in oncology is lagging behind other areas.
This event convened national leaders in the field of oncology and digital innovation to define areas of unmet need in cancer research and care that could be successfully addressed by digital health solutions, and identify the drivers of successful digital health innovation in oncology. This roundtable paved the way for forming a new DiMe and Moffitt Cancer Center–led precompetitive project to create a set of recommended practices, implementation tool kits, and impact models to advance digital innovation in oncology care and research.
“For digital innovations to deliver on their potential to reduce the incidence and burden of cancer for all people, we must prioritize the opportunities for greatest impact and insist upon access, equity and inclusion when developing and deploying digital solutions,” said Jennifer Goldsack, DiMe CEO and coauthor of this new manuscript. “The findings reported today demonstrate the power in bringing together leaders in cancer care, research, digital innovation, and regulatory science alongside patient experts to drive towards a digitally enabled future of cancer care that tackles the root causes of health inequity and financial toxicity in cancer. There is no clinical or technical reason for the successful digitization of oncology to lag behind other therapeutic areas and necessary for digital approaches to truly transform the life of every person living with cancer.”
“To effectively leverage digital solutions we must focus on prevention and early detection. Then, we should engage with the full spectrum of each person’s cancer journey. Digital solutions must be evaluated in a longitudinal manner and be valuable to and designed for every person,” said Edmondo Robinson, MD, MBA, chief digital officer at Moffitt Cancer Center and coauthor of this new manuscript. “Digital solutions should address the needs of individuals living with cancer as well as their care partners throughout the patient’s cancer care journey. Digital innovations must help inform changes to healthcare delivery, decision-making, and R&D for patients to fully realize the advantages that this technology can deliver.”
The unmet need and road map reported today in the manuscript align with current industry sentiment. In a recent survey, investors have identified oncology as one of the brightest areas for health tech startups, and digitally enabled cancer care is being touted as the future of value-based cancer care.
Building on this work, and supporting the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) FY2023 goal to make health equity a priority in everything they do, DiMe and Moffitt Cancer Center will be convening a multistakeholder group of experts from leading organizations to help ensure that digital innovation in cancer care is designed to do the greatest good for all. To learn more about this upcoming project or to get involved, click here.
About the Digital Medicine Society: DiMe is a global nonprofit and the professional home for all members of the digital medicine community. Together, we tackle the toughest digital medicine challenges, develop clinical-quality resources on a technology timeline, and deliver these actionable resources to the field via open-source channels and educational programs.
Media Contact: Carla English, press@dimesociety.org
Original article:
Patel S, Goldsack JC, Cordovano G, et al. Advancing Digital Health Innovation in Oncology: Priorities for High-Value Digital Transformation in Cancer Care.
J Med Internet Res. 2023;25:e43404
URL: https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e43404/
doi: 10.2196/43404