Eric J. Topol
Medicine is about to go through its biggest shakeup in history. Never before have we been able to digitize man, from womb to tomb. Never before did we have the capacity to tailor therapies to an individual and prevent a disease or serious condition from ever occurring in the first place. Now with powerful tools to sequence each individual’s whole genome, capture moment-to-moment vital signs and key physiologic metrics like blood sugar, and exquisitely image any part of the body through portable high resolution devices, a unique and unparalleled convergence of technology affords a new window into what makes us tick, what makes us an individual — at a molecular and granular level. But unlike any prior time in medicine, this revolution is superimposed on a world of social networking, omnipresent smartphones with pervasive connectivity and ever-increasing bandwidth. This great convergence will usher in the creative destruction of medicine. At the same time consumers have an unprecedented capacity to take charge — it is their DNA, their cell phone, their precious individual information. But the medical community is sclerotic , profoundly resistant to change, and unwilling to cede control or promote parity. Only with full consumer engagement and activism, can the revolution — one that will achieve democratization of medicine — take hold.
Reviews
Why Doctors Need to Embrace Their Digital Future Now – Wired
Genomics as a Final Frontier, or Just a Way Station – The New York Times
Destroying Medicine to Rebuild It — The Atlantic
Now for some good news — The Economist
The coming medical revolution — Salon
Review — Library Journal
Digital Doctoring — The Wall Street Journal
'The Creative Destruction of Medicine' — The Boston Globe
Patients Need to Demand, “Show Me My Data!” — Slate
Medicine for me, not for the crowd — New Scientist
N of 1 — Longwoods
A digital examination of medicine — nature genetics
Praise
"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."
— Siddhartha Muhkerjee M.D., author of the Pulitzer prize book The Emperor of All Maladies, Professor, Columbia University
"If we keep practicing medicine as we know it today, healthcare will become an unbearable burden on all modern societies in a very near future. We are in a real race between healthcare innovation that can change this worrisome trend and the resistance to change inherent to our healthcare system. In a comprehensive, well researched and thoughtful tour de force, Eric Topol, always a clear and uncompromising thought leader of his generation, challenges us to think about the revolutionary potential of a world where information no longer belongs to a few and where information can be automatically collected from the many to greatly improve healthcare for all. This is a must read!"
— Elias Zerhouni, M.D., President Global R&D Sanofi and former director US National Institutes of Health
"What happens when the super-convergence of smart phones further combines with million-fold lower-cost genomics and diverse wearable sensors? The riveting answer leads compelling to call to activism — not only for medical care providers, but all patients and everyone looking for the next "disruptive" economic revolution. This future is closer than most of us would have imagined before seeing it laid out so clearly. A must-read."
— George Church, Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Director of the Center for Computational Genetics
"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."
— Atul Gawande, M.D., author of The Checklist Manifesto, Professor, Harvard Medical School
"Health care is poised to be revolutionized by two forces — technology and consumerism — and Dr. Eric Topol explains why. One-size-fits-all medicine will soon be overtaken by highly personalized, customized solutions that are enabled by breakthroughs in genomics and mobile devices and propelled by empowered consumers looking to live longer, healthier lives. Fasten your seat belts and get ready for the ride Ᾱ and learn what steps you can take to begin to take control of your health."
— Steve Case, co-founder, AOL, and founder of Revolution LLC
"In an upbeat, comprehensive volume, Dr. Topol has woven the prevailing technological undercurrents of the post-PC world; its power of many; its Gucci of gadgets; its cloud ecosystem; its ‘Arab Spring’ of apps; and its ubiquitous, calm computing; with the disruptive innovations of biomedicine, to create a compelling account of how this bio-digital transformation will hasten personalization of the highest quality of medical care."
— Eric Silfen, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Philips Healthcare
"Dr. Topol is the top thought leader in medicine today, with exceptional vision for how its future can be rebooted. This book will create and catalyze a movement for the individualization and democratization of medicine — and undoubtedly promote better health care."
— Greg Lucier, CEO, Life Technologies
"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."
— A.J. Jacobs, author of My Life as An Experiment, The Know-It-All, The Year of Living Biblically
"The Creative Destruction of Medicine is an engaging look into how the discoveries in genetics and biology will change the landscape of medicine. Along the way, Dr. Topol provides a fascinating compendium of stories about the shortcomings of medicine as it is currently practiced and how the revolutionary discoveries coming since the first sequencing of the human genome a decade ago will shape the delivery of healthcare in the 21st Century."
— William R. Brody, M.D., Ph.D., President, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California
"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."
— Mehmet Oz, MD, Professor and Vice-Chair of Surgery, NY Presbyterian/ Columbia University, author of many You books, Dr. Oz Show
"Eric Topol offers a new and intriguing perspective on how the intersections of medicine and technology could further transform the delivery of healthcare and the role of a patient. He advocates for a future world of medicine where informed consumers are in the driver seat and control their own healthcare based on genomic information and real-time data obtained through nanosensors and wireless technology."
— John Martin, Chairman and CEO, Gilead Sciences
"Much of the wealth created over the last decades arose out of a brutal transition from A,B,C s to digital code. While creating some of the world’s most valuable companies, this process also upended whole industries and even countries. Now medicine, health care, and life sciences are undergoing the same transition. And, again, enormous wealth will be created and destroyed. This book is a road map of what is about to happen."
— Juan Enriquez, Managing Director Excel Venture Management and author As The Future Catches You
"Eric Topol is the perfect author for this book. He has a unique understanding of both genomics and wireless medicine and has a remarkable track record as a charismatic pioneer, visionary, and change agent in medicine. I’m sure this book will reach a very large number of people with information that can both empower and help transform their lives for the better."
— Dean Ornish, M.D., Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, and author of The Spectrum
"Eric Topol is uniquely positioned to write such a timely and important book. He leads two institutions — one in genomics and one in wireless health — that will each play a huge role in transforming medicine in the twenty-first century. From this vantage point, he can see unifying themes that will underlie the coming revolution in population and personal health, and he communicates his vision with vibrant energy. Everyone will want to read this book."
— James Fowler, Professor of Medical Genetics and Political Science, UC San Diego, and author of Connected
Dr. Topol believes that medicine, catalyzed by extraordinary innovation that exploits digital information, is about to go through its biggest shakeup in history. His newest book, The Creative Destruction of Medicine, calls for a "jailbreak" from the ideas of the past. In the next phase of medicine, powerful digital tools including mobile sensors and advanced processors will transform our understanding of the individual, enabling creative "mash-ups" of data that will spark entirely new discoveries and spawn ultra-personalized health and fitness solutions. And with over 5.7 billion mobile connections worldwide, the mobile technology platform will have a major impact on that vision — leading to what Dr. Topol describes as nothing less than a 'reboot" of the health care system. And we share Dr. Topol’s view that individual consumers have the opportunity, and the power, to increase the pace of the titanic change that’s coming.
— Paul Jacobs, Chairman and CEO, Qualcomm
Medicine is about to go through its biggest shakeup in history. Never before have we been able to digitize man, from womb to tomb. Never before did we have the capacity to tailor therapies to an individual and prevent a disease or serious condition from ever occurring in the first place. Now with powerful tools to sequence each individual’s whole genome, capture moment-to-moment vital signs and key physiologic metrics like blood sugar, and exquisitely image any part of the body through portable high resolution devices, a unique and unparalleled convergence of technology affords a new window into what makes us tick, what makes us an individual — at a molecular and granular level. But unlike any prior time in medicine, this revolution is superimposed on a world of social networking, omnipresent smartphones with pervasive connectivity and ever-increasing bandwidth. This great convergence will usher in the creative destruction of medicine. At the same time consumers have an unprecedented capacity to take charge — it is their DNA, their cell phone, their precious individual information. But the medical community is sclerotic , profoundly resistant to change, and unwilling to cede control or promote parity. Only with full consumer engagement and activism, can the revolution — one that will achieve democratization of medicine — take hold.