Personalized Medicine

The challenges of building a world-class health care economy in Central Ohio range from the issues of how to best optimize health care resources within the region to the questions of how to define health opportunities that add employment opportunities through marketable new products and services. The CompeteColumbus Health Innovation Cluster ("HIC") is focused on the growth of three unique yet interconnected development strategies designed to address these challenges. The goals of the HIC are as follows:

• Increase the general competitiveness of the region through a more efficient utilization of health care resources
• Improved health status of Columbus-based companies
• Growth of new and expanded product and service offerings through new and existing companies.

The drivers of the HIC strategy include the growth of:

Regional Health Information Organization ("RHIO") - The challenges of managing disconnected health care services are substantial and result in inefficiencies through all layers of the health delivery system. The development of a Central Ohio RHIO will provide the local community (consumer, industry, government and academic) with a vehicle and set of programs that address the challenges and solutions of moving patient and other information across system and facility borders. With a pragmatic focus on tangible value, a RHIO has the potential to establish a launch point for a broad array of new clinical offerings and corresponding R&D efforts.

Information-driven, Patient-centric R&D Strategy – The emerging applications of the genome and the shift to patient-centric health care services will require access to substantial data resources. A major component of the HIC will be the growth of an R&D strategy that encompasses the issues of large data repositories and multidisciplinary research teams and how they will lead to the growth of innovative new products and services, including pharmaceuticals and devices, process improvements (e.g. disease management) and software services.

Employer Health Solutions – The end impact of rising health care costs is on the employer with a negative correlation to their global competitiveness. The HIC will define and lead a local Business Health Roundtable focused on the design of health solutions that increase the effectiveness of the local health care system. The members of the projected Business Health Roundtable, which will include a cross section of industry representation, will meet on a scheduled basis to exchange information and discuss common issues/approaches for managing and controlling employee health costs.