TOn Tuesday night, three health care experts weighed in on efforts to improve patient access during a panel discussion moderated by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs at the inaugural TIME100 Health Leadership Forum in New York City. He talked about the future of the industry.
Mr. Jacobs spoke to Dr. Raj Panjabi, senior partner at Flagship Pioneering, former White House senior director and special assistant to President Joe Biden, about the 2024 election, with just two weeks left until voting. I started the discussion by asking if there were any positive lessons that could be learned from the cycle. Let's go until Election Day.
“Health care is not always a priority in every White House or every presidential cycle, and it can be difficult to get on the agenda at times. But this election, both parties are paying attention to public health care. “It's clear that there is,” Panjabi said, acknowledging that the candidates, Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, take very different positions on health care issues. “I think it's a positive thing to have health care front and center in the presidential election because it also highlights the pain and challenges that people are facing when it comes to lowering health care costs.”
Similarly, Jacobs asked Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and director of research and education services at the VA St. Louis Health System, if there was anything positive to point out. from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Al-Aly, who studies the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19, said much has been learned from the pandemic, including how the virus affects people and can cause long-term illnesses. He said he learned about
“I think the silver lining lies in learning from the past, learning from past experiences and making sure we use those experiences and knowledge to improve our response to future pandemics,” Al-Aly said. spoke.
Al Ali praised scientists for quickly developing a vaccine against COVID-19. “When we get serious as a nation, we find that we really expend energy and resources to achieve a goal,” he said. “I think this is a really great example of how policymakers can work with scientists to save the day.”
Lori M. Reilly, chief operating officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), sponsor of the TIME100 Health Leadership Forum, said misinformation is preventing some people from vaccinating their children. He added that he was concerned about this.
She said she was concerned about the lack of trust in the medical industry, especially big pharmaceutical companies. She described a weekend visit to her college-age daughter where another parent there accused the industry of not being interested in treating the disease.
“I feel like all the big institutions, whether it’s big media, big insurance companies, big pharmaceutical companies, are facing a crisis of trust. Unfortunately, we’re seeing that happen. ,” Riley said. “I'm worried that the narrative and the belief that we as an industry are not interested in[treating the disease]will take root and be ingrained in people,” Riley said, adding that her industry is not interested in treating the disease. He pointed out how important work has been done on therapeutic and preventive medicines, such as vaccines.
Panelists also spoke about several other issues facing the healthcare industry. Riley expressed concerns about high drug costs and health insurance deductibles.
“For a lot of patients, those prices keep them away from the pharmacy counter because they don't have access to it and they can't afford it,” Riley said. “Medicines sitting on people's shelves are of no use.”
When discussing solutions to America's high health care costs, Panjabi cited the need for policy reform and said, “There is no silver bullet.” He also pointed to the power of technology and scientific innovation in addressing many problems in the medical field. He applauded Time Magazine's 2024 Kid of the Year, Hemang Bekele, whom Jacobs spoke at Tuesday night's event just before Punjabi, Al Ahly and Riley took the stage. .
“Shout out to him, because I went to (Johns Hopkins University)…and it took me another 10 years or so to even be able to say what he said when I was 15.” Panjabi said, drawing laughter from the audience. .
The TIME100 Health Leadership Forum was hosted by Merck, Deloitte, OURA, and PhRMA.
