Health security

Is precision medicine a matter of national security?

Of the nearly $3 trillion the U.S. spends on healthcare annually, comprising 17 percent of the gross domestic product and rising, 86 percent of those costs go toward managing chronic conditions and that will continue rising as the population ages, she said. When it comes to hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, 60 percent of the factors that contribute to a patient’s outcome emerge from outside the healthcare system, Chin said.

Another big opportunity to lower spending is cancer because at least half of cancers can be prevented by behavior.

“We have to start thinking about how to keep people healthy,” Chin said. “Our global security will be impacted by 20 percent or higher GDP.”