The Creative Destruction of Medicine (Revised and Expanded Edition)

Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer "What happens when you combine cellular phone technology with the cellular aberrations in disease? Or create a bridge between the digital revolution with the medical revolution? How will minute biological sensors alter the way we treat lethal illnesses, such as heart attacks or cancer? This marvelous book by Eric Topol, a leading cardiologist, gene hunter and medical thinker, answers not just these questions, but many many more. Topol's analysis draws us to the very frontlines of medicine, and leaves us with a view of a landscape that is both foreign and daunting. He manages to recount this story in simple, lucid language--resulting in an enthralling and important book." Atul Gawande, M.D.,author of The Checklist Manifesto "Dr. Eric Topol is an extraordinary doctor. He's started a leading medical school, identified the first genes to underlie development of heart disease, led major medical centers, and been a pioneer of wireless medicine. But he is also a remarkable communicator--one of the few top-flight scientists in medicine to be able to genuinely connect with the public. He was, for example, the first physician researcher to question the safety of Vioxx--and unlike most who raise safety questions, actually succeed in bringing the concerns to public attention. I have known and admired Dr. Topol for a long time. I recommend him highly." A. J. Jacobs, author of My Life as an Experiment and The Year of Living Biblically "It may sound like hyperbole, but it's true: Medicine is undergoing its biggest revolution since the invention of the germ theory. As Eric Topol writes, thirty years ago, 'digital medicine' referred to rectal examinations. Dr. Topol is both a leader of and perfect guide to this brave new health world. His book should be prescribed for doctors and patients alike." Brook Byers, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers "This is the one book to read for a complete and clear view of our medical future, as enabled by the convergence of digital, mobile, genomic, and life science breakthroughs. Dr. Topol explains how iPhones, cloud computing, gene sequencing, wireless sensors, modernized clinical trials, internet connectivity, advanced diagnostics, targeted therapies and other science will enable the individualization of medicine--and force overdue radical change in how medicine is delivered, regulated, and reimbursed. This book should be read by patients, doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs, insurers, regulators, digital engineers--anyone who wants better health, lower costs, and participation in this revolution." Misha Angrist, Assistant Professor, Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, and author of Here is a Human Being "Eric Topol is that rare physician willing to challenge the orthodoxies of his guild. He recognizes that in the U.S., health care business-as-usual is unsustainable. But he does not despair. He bears witness to the rise of Homo digitus and the promise it holds to upend the inefficiencies and dysfunction so entrenched in clinical medicine. The Creative Destruction of Medicine is a timely tour de force. It is a necessary heresy." Clayton M. Christensen, Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and author of The Innovator's Dilemma "Eric Topol gives us an eye-opening look at what's possible in healthcare if people can mobilize to charge the status quo. The Creative Destruction of Medicine is simply remarkable." Mehmet Oz, M.D., Professor and Vice-Chair of Surgery, NY Presbyterian/Columbia University "Eric Topol outlines the creative destruction of medicine that must be led by informed consumers. Smart patients will push the many stakeholders in health to accelerate change as medicine adapts to a new world of information and technology." Jeffrey Immelt, Chairma

Eric J. Topol, M.D., is the director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and co-founder and vice-chairman of the West Wireless Health Institute in La Jolla, California. He is a practicing cardiologist at the Scripps Clinic and a professor of genomics at The Scripps Research Institute. One of the top 10 most cited researchers in medicine, Topol was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and has led many of the trials that have shaped contemporary treatment for heart disease.

PART I: Setting the Foundation 1. The Digital Landscape: Cultivating a Data-Driven, Participatory Culture 2. The Orientation of Medicine Today: Population Versus Individual 3. To What Extent Are Consumers Empowered? Clicks and Tricks PART II: Capturing the Data 4. Physiology: Wireless Sensors 5. Biology: Sequencing the Genome 6. Anatomy: From Imaging to Printing Organs 7. Electronic Health Records and Health Information Technology 8. The Convergence of Human Data Capture PART III: The Impact of Homo Digitus 9. Doctors with Plasticity? 10. Rebooting the Life Science Industry 11. Homo Digitus and the Individual