On October 26, 2017, the JI celebrated the release of
The Future of Medicine, a book exploring the infinite possibilities in medicine and healthcare in the next quarter-century. The book was commissioned by our board chairman, Mr. Jeremy M. Jacobs, and the JI. It features rapid technological, scientific, and computing advancements that are certain to impact the ever-changing healthcare industry. It is meant to rally and prepare local medical and healthcare communities for the impending future. "We thought this would be a good subject, and it turned out to be a great one. We feel the results are tremendously meaningful to our investment in medicine in Western New
York," said JI board of directors chairman, Mr. Jacobs.
The book was created by a group of futurists, with decades of experience assessing the current state and future possibilities of our society. The report identifies trends in the healthcare industry, technology, data-mining, as well as socio-demographic factors, such as online education and the explosion of the middle class in other countries that will impact the future of medicine and healthcare. The predictions were made through months of interviews, conferences, and research.
A team of researchers, writers, analysts, a
nd physicians collaborated to assess current and potential advances in the medical and healthcare industries. JI's chief executive officer, Bill Maggio, was enthusiastic about the report,
"As a driver of innovation, the JI was a natural source to
initiate a conversation about how medicine and healthcare will be advanced in the future. There is tremendous potential to leverage current technology and human assets to impact medical innovation. If we embrace an open-minded approach to the business of healthcare delivery, the possibilities are endless. The Future of Medicine does exactly this."
Dr. L. Nelson Hopkins, MD, JI chief scientific officer, believes the future of medicine is here in Buffalo. "From genetics to cancer treatment, and stroke intervention devices to data mining and robotics, Buffalo is home to cutting-edge research and novel ideas that will be game-changers in the next 10-25 years. The pace at which
medicine and healthcare can and will evolve is astounding. The time is ripe for ideas and innovation without roadblocks, that will literally change the course of human lives."
The book launch event featured a roundtable with the futurists who wrote the book, as well as invited guest speakers. Dr. Aravinthan Suppiah, a chief medical analyst for the Golf Channel and sports physician with the GPA, LPGA, ATP and WTA Tours, gave a talk titled "Augusta 2047", which was his vision and goal for what golf training would look like in 30 years. He also shared his thoughts on the impact of new technologies on access to healthcare around the world. Dr. Norma Nowak, a renown genome researcher
and Executive director of UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, shared "The Future is Upon Us; One Exciting Twist After Another". She highlighted the advancements made in genomics thus far, their life-changing influence, and what lies ahead in personalized medicine. Finally, John Werner, vice president of strategic partnerships at Meta Co., showcased his company's augmented reality technology.
JI CEO Bill Maggio led the futurists in a r
oundtable discussion that ranged from defining a futurist, to their approach to formulating the book, and what the most hopeful or concerning predictions were. Futurists group is led by Josh McHugh, CEO of Attention Span Media, with offices in Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, and Ithaca. The futurists who participated in the roundtable were Josh McHugh; Po Bronson; Chris Cowart; Dr. Patrick House, PhD; and Josh Spinogle, MD.
The book launch received much media attention, with a series of stories in both The Buffalo News and Buffalo Business First, as well as in Newsweek, and on WIVB and WGRZ. A few links are included here.
The online version of the book can be found at
