Robert C. Garrett, Co-CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health
The 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, provided a platform for public-private cooperation to advance global health and the health care industry.
Andre Goy, M.D., chairman and executive director of the John Theurer Cancer Center, chief of the Lymphoma Division, professor of medicine at Georgetown University
Dr. Andre Goy, chairman and executive director, chief of Lymphoma at the John Theurer Cancer Center, a member of Hackensack Meridian Health, was a discussion leader on a panel evaluating the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) in health care and other industries in the future. In the same way the desktop computer drove the growth of the electronics industry through the early 2000s, many leaders in the industry believe VR will be the device to do the same in the 2020s.
“This year at Davos, there were over 50 sessions focused on health and healthcare — illustrating the rapid and complex changes happening in the field. Precision medicine, value-based care and new technologies such as artificial intelligence, remote monitoring and virtual care delivery are already reshaping the field,” said Dr. Goy. “In addition, there were discussions highlighting the importance of brain health across the spectrum of medical conditions, the potential for improving health through microbiome modifications, as well as the future of regenerative medicine, aimed at not just extending life but enhancing functional living.”
Robert C. Garrett, Co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, led a working group of international health care leaders tasked with providing solutions to improve health care delivery worldwide, a vital mission as countries in all corners of the globe strive to improve health outcomes while lowering costs.
“Not only are we radically changing where and how we treat patients globally, we are shifting our gaze to prevention and maintaining health, a challenging but essential proposition given the aging global population and the increase in chronic illness,” Garrett said.
Robert C. Garrett, Co-CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health
“We formed a global provider group which will focus on innovation to enhance the digital infrastructure and target the most challenging chronic diseases,” Garrett said. “We left Davos with the seeds of formidable proposals which will ultimately have real impact on health care.”
Participants in the panels included leaders from the Mayo Clinic, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Kaiser Permanente and NMC Health, the United Arab Emirates’ largest private health care company.
In the U.S. and abroad, a growing segment of the population suffers from chronic disease which consumes an overwhelming amount of health care dollars. Diabetes alone affects 422 million people, including 100 million people in the U.S. or nearly one third of the population. That includes diabetes and pre-diabetes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.