The Future Open Innovation Approach in Health Care Needs Patients’ Support

The COVID-19 pandemic showed that a global health-care crisis can create massive long-term economic, social, and psychological problems. In light of the consequences of COVID-19, which include large numbers of deaths and long-term health problems around the globe, we came to a realization. It is one thing to develop a highly efficient life science industry with better conditions for established companies and start-ups, but there are other important things to consider, such as increasing the speed of data collection in order to reveal what is happening as soon as a local, national, or global health-care crisis starts and increasing the ability of the industry to develop and deliver products to keep the population safe. Epidemiological research institutions, regulatory authorities, and clinical trial hospitals must be prepared to initiate a high-speed response to such crises. Although the morbidity and mortality caused by the current pandemic have been devastating and tragically high, the next potential pandemic could conceivably even be worse. This chapter focuses on the need for the life science industry to provide support to patients as soon as possible. One way to facilitate that process is collecting health-care data from the public using relatively new technology. Owners of smartphones could quickly input their personal health-care data into an open innovation platform with informed consent. This in turn could be used in theories and modeling by life science companies, government institutions, and research groups to drive the research and development of innovative medical treatment drugs and technologies in partnership with AI.