'The Future Delivery Of Medicine: 2020' To Be Forecast At London Conference

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 29 Aug 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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New technologies will force fundamental change in the way healthcare systems operate. Low-cost gene sequencing and biopharmaceuticals will make personalized medicine a reality - tailoring the treatment to the patient. The spread of broadband networks makes telemedicine feasible for many, and computerized patient records will transform medical research. New imaging and diagnostics technologies open the door to more preventative medicine.

So what will it be like to be sick in 2020? Who will treat you? How will they get paid? How will health authorities decide which new technologies are worth the money?

These are among the pressing questions to be examined at an international gathering of research, industry and policy experts Nov. 6, organized by UCL Advances, UCL's centre for entrepreneurship and business interaction, and the Science|Business news service. The conference will draw on expertise from all the new technology strands - bioinformatics, imaging, diagnostics, devices, biopharmaceuticals and more - to create a composite picture of the patient experience in 2020, and to discuss what healthcare authorities should be doing now to prepare for that day. The outcomes will include a survey and special report summarizing the new scenarios - plus expert recommendations for action.

The conference is a joint venture between UCL Advances and Science Business Publishing Ltd., a UK-based media company focused on R&D investment and policy across Europe. Learn more about the conference by visiting the website here.

About Science Business

Science Business Publishing Ltd. is a London-based media company focused on R&D investment in Europe. It reports news daily online and in a weekly newsletter, and organizes events to bring together public-sector researchers, corporate partners and policy makers. It was founded in 2005 by the former managing editors of the Wall Street Journal Europe and leading science journal Nature, and works with a network of 10 leading European research universities, including UCL.

Science Business