Over the past century, the focus in medicine—and in particular, academic medicine—has been on the diagnosis and treatment of acute diseases. Although shining our brightest light on treating the most complex conditions has resulted in many medical advances, patient care has often been fragmented and has lacked specificity.

We have within our grasp the ability to completely change this approach. From cancer to cardiac diseases, from neurological diseases to inborn errors of metabolism in infants, from food allergies to heart transplantation—our advances in diagnostic methodologies and therapies will lead to the most precise molecular diagnoses and to treatments that are individually tailored based upon these diagnoses.

True Patient-Centered Care

We are going to change the very nature of health care—true patient-centered care based upon prediction and prevention rather than relying exclusively on diagnosis and treatment. By doing so, we will be able to prevent or forestall the development of diseases and dramatically improve the care of patients with multiple chronic medical conditions.

The Power of Biomedical Data Science

We are leveraging the strengths of schools and departments across Stanford, in areas such as computer science and statistics, to develop a new field: biomedical data science. Precision Health depends upon discerning relationships between and among elements in large data sets. These approaches form the basis for our development of a learning health system and will further propel our initiatives in population health sciences.

Advanced Technologies and Services

Through our new hospitals, we will provide the most technologically advanced, patient- and family-centered care for patients with the most complex conditions. Through our networks of care, we can evaluate and improve the evidence-based, predictive, preemptive and preventive care that we provide to our patients.