Mckesson’s emad rizk, md to speak on personalized medicine at milken institute global conference

Newton, mass.--(business wire)--mckesson health solutions president emad rizk, md will speak on the business of personalized medicine at the milken institute global conference on tuesday may 3, 2011 in los angeles, ca. the milken institute global conference is an annual forum that brings together leaders in business, government, health, academia, and other forward-thinkers to address societal challenges. personalized or “precision” medicine incorporates targeted therapies based on individual genetic data. advances in genomic science have produced not only genetic-level therapies, but also tests to determine whether a drug will work in a specific individual. this approach has the potential to transform today’s costly and resource-intensive trial-and-error healthcare model. “by providing precise diagnoses and treatments known to work based on precise testing, we will avoid the cost of ineffective treatment,” said rizk. “patients will get better sooner, and be more likely to stay better. that not only saves costs – it saves lives.” efficiently matching patients, tests, and treatments throughout the care delivery system continues to be a challenge. mckesson has pioneered tools to help health plans, physicians and labs find the right answers among the deluge of specialty drugs and genetic tests rapidly entering the marketplace – and to connect all the parties to make the right clinical decisions based on the right genetic tests. “mckesson is strongly committed to advancing personalized medicine with its promise for faster, better diagnosis and therapies that are targeted more precisely for each patient’s needs – improving both quality and cost,” said rizk. “our early innovation and experience in creating solutions for advanced diagnostics using evidence-based criteria has given us insight into how the healthcare industry can further the application of this science in clinical settings in a timely and effective way. it’s clear that a path to an integrated healthcare it infrastructure is needed, with simple point of care decision support. this will need to be a joint effort between government and commercial entities to ensure that appropriate public policy and innovation can be enabled.” transactions around genomic medicine also are made challenging by an outdated coding system in which there are roughly two dozen existing billing codes which are not adequate for the thousands of tests on the market, rizk said. “and ideally the testing industry – insurers, labs, and providers -- will coalesce around a master industry catalogue of all approved tests and the labs that provide them to ensure timely performance and payment for the appropriate test.” dr. rizk will discuss these and other business challenges of personalized medicine with fellow panelists who are leaders in biotechnology, patient care and healthcare it during “the business of personalized medicine” panel taking place today. rizk, a world-renowned healthcare industry expert, serves on multiple non-profit and academic boards, and has an extensive roster of published works and speaking engagements. he has been named one of the 50 most powerful physician executives by modern physician for three years in a row, and one of the top 100 most powerful people in healthcare by modern healthcare for the second consecutive year. about mckesson mckesson corporation, currently ranked 14th on the fortune 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. over the course of its 178-year history, mckesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payers; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payers designed to improve outcomes for patients. for more information, visit http://www.mckesson.com.
MCK Ratings Summary
MCK Quant Ranking