After a strong inaugural event in October 2012, Strata Rx is heading into its second year. My fellow chair, Colin Hill, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing what we’d like to see on the program this year, and I thought I’d share some of those thoughts for anyone considering submitting a proposal or attending the event. (The Call for Proposals is currently open until April 10.)

One of the most interesting challenges in creating a program about data science in healthcare has been deciding what to leave out. Topics like genomics and cancer research are so vast and complex that they can and do have entire conferences about just them. While we won’t reject a talk for centering on a topic like this, it has to be relevant to one of our larger goals, as well.

What we hope to accomplish with Strata Rx

So what are those larger goals? Well, here are a few of the key ones.

Promote dialog across silos

Right now, there are already a lot of niche conferences for specific groups in healthcare. There are events for specific areas of research, such as oncology and genomics, as previously mentioned. There are also events for specific kinds of people, like pharmaceutical reps, or insurance providers. Those conferences that do cut across the industry are only for one level of people, such as Chief Officers.

We want Strata Rx to convene a broad swath of people with an interest and a stake in the healthcare system: researchers, funders, providers, application developers, patient advocates, board members, insurers, IT staff, legislators, and everyone in between. By starting conversations among these different specialists, and by combining their relative expertise, we believe we can build a stronger community that is better able to solve problems.

We aim to be fire-starters, igniting connections and conversations.

Help good ideas get the right attention

A significant benefit of getting such a diverse group of people together in one place is that with them come all their amazing ideas. At other conferences, this value comes out in the so-called “hallway track”: the spontaneous and serendipitous conversations and networking that happen outside of the official programs. Some attendees at industry events never see a single presentation; the hallway track is the main attraction.

We recognize the very real value of the hallway track at our events, too. But we also aim to make that value available more broadly and deliberately, by making connections and exposing synergies on stage, within the program. Sometimes, this takes the form of panel discussions or interviews (last year, we had a memorable on-stage conversation between Tim O’Reilly and Vinod Khosla). Other times, it may take the form of a single presenter, but one who wouldn’t typically appear to a similar audience or wouldn’t ordinarily present on a given topic.

We aim to be spotlights, shining attention on ideas that matter.

Advocate for important things

O’Reilly Media occupies a unique position with regard to these ideas. We sit outside the healthcare space; we are not inherently part of that system. As outsiders, we have some things to learn, and we’ve been busy doing our homework. But outsider status also enables us to bring a fresh perspective to things, and perhaps to be a bit provocative, discussing things that those inside or dependant on the industry prefer not to highlight.

Of course, the industry in which we are entrenched has a new relevance to healthcare, and we bring with us both that expertise and a long history of advocacy and leadership within our field, as well as within related fields such as open government. Topics like data liquidity and patient engagement are right up our alley, and we hope to make a significant impact on some of these areas. As we continue to learn from our speakers, attendees, and sponsors, we will remain on the lookout for other areas in which we can make a significant impact.

We aim to be bridge-builders, using our unique skills and connections to make progress possible.

Topics of focus

With those goals in mind, here are the topics that Colin and I hope to feature in this year’s Strata Rx program. We invite you to contemplate these with us and, if you have ideas and insights to share, to submit a proposal before April 10.

Data Liquidity

Data liquidity refers to activities that increase the availability and flow of data. This term is frequently used in regard to patient data, but can really refer to any kind of data. There are unique challenges in healthcare to moving patient data and other information easily and securely, and systems for making this easier are still emerging. The development of appropriate standards is a significant component to this issue.