HIMSSCast: Research as restorative physician medicine

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The idea to start a company to make clinical research easier for physicians and more accessible to patients began while Alexander Saint-Amand was still in college. His mother, who was sick, hoped to get into a clinical trial, but there was limited access.

Clinical trials based on physician research are still limited to a very small number of doctors who are coming up with the next generation of therapies, said Saint-Amand, who cofounded Topography Health four years ago and is its CEO.

Data shows that 95% of physicians quit research by their third study due to the administrative tasks that bog down their work.

"I just discovered how few physicians and medical systems run research effectively and joyfully and therefore how few patients have access to trials when trials might be their last and only hope," Saint-Amand said.

When physicians get support with the administrative management portion of medical research, which is the work Topography does, they stay with it, he said. 

"We have numerous doctors who've said, we've restored their love of medicine," Saint-Amand said. And patients, he said, are "over the moon happy."

For more, please listen to Saint-Amand's conversation with Susan Morse, executive editor of Healthcare Finance News.
 

Talking Points:

• Clinical trials are a separate medical experience from any other hospital function, from technology to finances;
• Research mandates a different patient ID and engagement pathway;
• The clinical trial research business is separate and smaller than hospital operations;
• There's no rev cycle platform for research because it doesn't involve payers;
• There are revenue opportunities in research, but it's typical that providers find it difficult to know whether they've made or lost  money;.
• Topography is a full stack partner, meaning it integrates all elements of the business to support research;
• Hospitals and investors have different mindsets about research;
• Hospitals think of research as a full stack business line while investors think about thin slices, such as an AI-based patient identification tool;
• Topography takes full risk by making money in the shared profits of the research program. 

More About this Episode:

Walgreens, BARDA team to strengthen clinical trials

CVS is closing its clinical trial business

AI allows clinical trials to be more inclusive

Data is the bridge to life sciences for clinical trial optimization and predictive analytics

AI is transformative around research

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org