Newsletter
The Power of Veracity2024-07-15
“I can't establish the veracity of what people say because only they know whether they are telling the truth. I can't look into your mind, can I?”
—David Tang
Accurate information about reality is important in society in general, and medicine in particular. The patients want to know exactly what they have, and what can be done to improve things, especially when something can be done. Families and caregivers want to know. Clinicians want to know, especially when they feel responsible for the outcomes in their patients and are not just treated as “providers”, the current pernicious term the healthcare bureaucrats are using. Payors want to know when doing so can decrease costs. Pharma companies developing drugs want to know so they do not have expensive flops.
In psychiatry, that alignment of all stakeholders is most evident in perceived treatment-refractory, hospitalized, suicidal patients. And with 50% of major depressive disorder being labelled as treatment-refractory, there are a lot of such patients, millions in the US alone. That is also reflected in the 1.7 million people in the US who attempt suicide every year.
One solution to the problem is to bring objectivity, quantitativeness, and to be comprehensive in evaluating and treating patients. Objectivity can be achieved as it is being done in cancer, with liquid biopsy approaches and biomarkers. Quantitativeness can be achieved not only with molecular but also with digital tools. Comprehensiveness can be achieved with bio-socio-psychological evaluation and treatment. Precision, Personalization, and Participation (of all stakeholders) are key to making progress. We are doing our bit at MindX Sciences.