COST

Recruiting talent requires a significant investment of both time and money, especially if the position is in high demand. “Getting that wrong is going to cost you a great deal more than what you are likely to spend on the recruiting itself”, said Dr. Rieders. For firms looking for top talent to fill a position, a recruitment firm is often the least expensive option.

KNOWLEDGE

If you are looking for an extremely talented hire, they are most likely employed, well compensated, and not accessible through traditional recruitment channels. That does not mean you cannot hire them. That means it is time to tap into a resource with knowledge of who is out there in your industry. “The reality is for certain positions one is pretty much obliged to use a recruitment firm”, said Rieders.

PROCESS

Finding a candidate is only the beginning of the process.  You need to survey the landscape, evaluate your needs, and screen candidates’ core competencies: their research, industry knowledge and contacts, business acumen and leadership skills, in order to find the perfect fit. Recruitment firms have a defined, proven process for finding out if a candidate fits your requirements and culture. “People want to have the comfort in knowing that someone is going to work with them to delineate the actual need”, says Rieders. The right process will provide that comfort.

To watch the rest of the interview, click here.

NMS Labs provides “professional, state-of-the-art laboratory diagnostic services to clinicians, members of the criminal and civil justice communities, and those researching and developing new therapeutics.”

Employment among health care occupations is expected to increase by 29 percent during this decade. Driving growth is an increasing demand for services, including molecular diagnostic testing, which is anticipated to grow about 8 percent per year over the next ten years. The growth in the industry is evidenced by FDA approvals for personalized medicine tests, which numbered only 15 in 2005, and now total 72. Additionally, as of December 2012 there were 135 FDA approved nucleic based tests.

Projected growth is welcome news, but recruiting highly specialized talent in a growing health care sector will prove difficult for many. Mr. Slone noted that creating a talent management strategy, adopting powerful on-boarding processes, and using predictive metrics have proven successful for clients.

Ms. Kochis gave advice on vetting your recruitment firm. She advised executives to seek a firm with a database relevant to the target market, with a track record of selling opportunities to the right candidates, and one that assesses technical skills as well as cultural fit.

“Personalized Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics are expected to be one of America’s fastest-growing sectors during this decade,” said Mr. Slone, “and the people that the diagnostic and laboratory testing industries hire will be the difference between winning in that environment or falling behind.”

The 18th Annual Executive War College Conference on Laboratory and Pathology Management took place at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, April 30-May 1.

You can find the press release here.

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Brought to you by Slone Partners.

Myriad Genetics is not the only company patenting genes; currently there are 40,000 patents claiming rights to DNA molecules.  A recent study on “genomic liberty” by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey found that if “short sequence” patents are upheld, eventually your entire human genome would be patented. In that scenario, developing new diagnostics would be patent infringement.[2]

On the other side of the table is Myriad’s lawyer, Gregory A. Castanias. His stance is that the initial investment required to find the genes is tremendous, and in order for that innovation to continue companies have to be able to recoup expenses.  “Medicine doesn’t happen for free. … If you look at the enormous amount of investment — and not everything works that you invest in — the patent system is critical to medical care” says, Castianas.[3]

The outcome of this case will impact funding for scientific research, the resources available to create molecular diagnostic tests, and the degree to which a doctor can use genomic information when treating a patient. Listen to NPR’s coverage here:

Brought to you by Slone Partners.

For more information, visit ACLA.com.

Miami Beach, FL, April 9, 2013 – Slone Partners CEO Adam Slone and President Tara Kochis will present their ideas for securing top talent in the increasingly competitive, cost-conscious diagnostic and laboratory testing industries market, in a session at the Executive War College Conference in New Orleans, La. April 30.

Their presentation, “Grow, Sell, or Become Extinct,” will provide executives a perspective from the point of view of a national recruiting firm on the importance of identifying and hiring the personnel who are essential to business growth and success.

“Personalized Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics are expected to be one of America’s fastest-growing sectors during this decade,” said Mr. Slone, “and the people that the diagnostic and laboratory testing industries hire will be the difference between winning in that environment or falling behind.”

“Executives today have three mandates—do more, do it faster, do it with less,” said Ms. Kochis. “A good company can usually accomplish two of those, but to do all three you need the very best people you can find. A gap in talent has greater consequences than in the past.”

The presentation, at 8:00 am ET Tuesday, April 30, will also detail the positions most in demand today and offer specific guidelines on how to evaluate a recruitment firm.

The 18th Annual Executive War College Conference on Laboratory and Pathology Management will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel April 30-May 1. More details are available at the conference website.

You can also find this press release on PRWeb.

In 2013, the Interactive Festival hosted over 40 sessions in the Health and Medicine category, most to discuss wearable devices, apps and personal genomics. Presenters seemed to often deliver the message, “Collect your own data, bring it with you (on an iPhone) and you will control your health”.

Wearable devices were omnipresent during the week. One especially popular device, Fitbit, measures your daily activity: how many steps you take, how many calories you burn, and how you sleep. Many speakers wore the device, one noting that moving her hands during her presentation would make it think she was working out that day.

Data collection goes beyond wearing tracking devices; it also means personal genomics. Linda Avey, co-founder of 23andMe, gave a much-tweeted-about talk about the future of personal genomics. “Price is no longer a barrier”, said Avey of the 23andMe kit, which was originally priced at $999 and now costs only $99. She also predicts that newborns will be the first to undergo widespread genetic testing, which would then penetrate other markets.

Bryan Sivak, Chief Technology Officer and Entrepreneur in Residence at Health and Human Services, presented on innovation in the healthcare system. He encouraged technologists and entrepreneurs to use already available data to create new apps for our changing healthcare system. One example is the iBlueButton. Originally created by Veterans Affairs, this mobile app allows patients to bring their medical records with them to new doctors. He was also there to plug new HHS initiatives, including Health Datapalooza IV, a conference in June that will feature heavy hitters in health data innovation.

What does one do with all the data being collected by different stakeholders in healthcare system? Aetna answered that question and many more with a panel called ‘Investing in Health.’ Aetna’s small business incubation method called “Slingshot” has given life to several new companies focused on putting health data in the palm of your hand. Among the most popular Aetna-backed companies launched at SXSW this year were iTriage and WellMatch. iTriage, the Symptom-to Provider Pathway, is an app that matches your symptoms with the right doctor, and books the appointment. Wellmatch provides a similar appointment booking service, but allows you to make the decision based on the cost of the visit. The technological focus at SXSW was validated when the panel outlined its forecasted key growth areas. Among the list were population health IT, accountable care enablement and big data.

A large healthcare presence at an event with such a diverse group of attendees means that many healthcare companies were investing both time and money on the idea that healthcare will be inextricably linked with technology moving forward. It is hard to tell who will be back in 2014 to present their findings, but we learned something this year; there is buy-in for wearable devices, apps and personal genomics. Hundreds of startups and thousands of coders are now working in the healthcare industry, and the companies that succeed are going to lead us into our next healthcare experience.

“Molecular medicine is a powerful change in the way doctors look at patients [...] Specialized testing, molecular genomics and companion diagnostics will be the growth engines in the future, and there is tremendous opportunity in those areas”, he says. By 2030 there are projected to be 72 million Medicare beneficiaries, which will increase demand for diagnostic tests. “The challenge will be getting your company into position to get reasonable reimbursement for the services provided.”

The down economy has increased unemployment and Medicaid enrollment, and the effect is compounded by employers putting more financial burden on their employees to pay for their own healthcare. As a result, the decrease in doctors visits has caused the diagnostic testing industry to level off, growing at 1% to 2% per year. Despite this decrease, an evolving field of medicine is creating opportunities in emerging fields, and in turn, creating opportunities for laboratories.

Dennis Weissman is president of Dennis Weissman & Associates and a leading expert in the clinical diagnostic laboratory and pathology sectors. He is a senior consultant to and founder of Washington G-2 Reports.

For more Slone Partners conversations, please visit our YouTube page.

Proving effective from the start, sequencing his genome indicated he was at risk for type II diabetes. During the study, while monitoring a respiratory infection, he then contracted type II diabetes. Immediate detection allowed for a quick change in diet and exercise, which stabilized his glucose levels. In the interview below, he says, “this is the first time anyone has predicted a disease based on sequencing.”[2]

As thorough as the original study was, he has since started collecting even more data to analyze changes in his health. He now collects data on his microbiome, studying urine, nasal, saliva and skin microbes to see how they change across “states of health and illness”.

After the relative success of the first study, researchers plan to expand the project to ten more participants.

Commenting on the clinical applications of this study, Snyder says this is just a research project now, but “realistically, going forward all patients have to take control of their own health.”

Watch the full Mendelspod video Q&A below.[3]

“Representing innovators, scientists, patients, providers and payers, PMC promotes the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts, services and products for the benefit of patients and the health system. It has grown from its original 18 founding members in 2004 to over 225 today.” [1]

As the President of PMC, Abrahams frequently appears on the list of speakers at conferences around the country, most recently sitting on a panel at the Personalized Medicine World Conference, Emerging Regulatory Issues & Outlook For 2013. [2]

The segments below were filmed at the 8th Annual Personalized Medicine Conference hosted at Harvard Medical School by Partners Healthcare and PMC.[3]

For more Slone Partners conversations, please visit our YouTube page.