Information Technology Guru, Jean Paul Jacob, will be the first speaker at the 36th World Hospital Congress, discussing Healthcare in the Knowledge Era, the keynote topic.

World acknowledge scientist, Jacob, who is Brazilian, but has been living abroad for the past 45 years, is currently the Researcher Emeritus at IBM Research Center, in Almaden, California. According to him, innovation will be the core topic of his speech during the event.

Jean Paul Jacob underlined the importance of Brazil hosting a world event where healthcare issues will be discussed. "The world will look at Brazil in a more positive way, not from a speculative point of view, but as reference for discussion in the sector. Meanwhile, Brazilians will think about healthcare solutions and not merely about problems , "he emphasized.

He recalled that the area of healthcare is very behind in the issue of technological development, this is not due because of ignorance or lack of investment in research, but because it is a more complex field. "It is more difficult to deal with questions about human body and life than with technical issues such as the environment, for example," he said.

The Knowledge Era
Jacob said that over the last 15 years the world has experienced what he calls "bit bang", with an yearly production of 100 billion of billion bytes. This is because computer has been used for everything, increasing the number of available information. "The bit bang shows the number of characters that are being generated annually on Internet. This is a scary increase! "He added.

"There is everything on Internet. The difficulty is the finding. An innovative way is to respond what people want, "he alleged. Through the Internet, according to Jacob, it is already possible to forecast diseases, just by seeking only the three most sought words in search engines over the previous week. "Instead of going to Wikipedia, it is possible to forecast an epidemic through Google, by the increase in consultations – search curves for words. And this only appears in the Knowledge Era. You do not want to know everything in Google, but the three most searched words on that particular week. Just check what patients seek in common. There is much knowledge embedded in data and information," he noted.

The amount of information and data generated, however, does not mean that the production of knowledge is more accurate. "We left behind the era when data were important. Today, drawing something right , fast and valuable, that is knowledge and it is difficult. For example, if you ask me whether it is going to rain today I will give you all the photos and data of the past 50 years, but this does not matter. Out of this you extract knowledge, which is the new currency, "said Jacob, emphasizing that the value of knowledge cannot be measured the way the service sector is. "We live to sell knowledge. And that value is immeasurable. Unlike the economy of services. In Brazil, 60% of GDP comes from the service sector. Service: you sell. But knowledge has no added value. Its worth is more or less for those who need that information, "he explained.

Accordingly, Jacob said that the same applies to healthcare. "If you go to the doctor, you expect that he knows what you have. And you pay for the knowledge he has. But the more the patient participates in the service, the better the diagnosis, "he argued. Says Jacob: “ in a service economy, moving forward is only possible by creating new markets. Linking services to knowledge will only be noticeable provided there is innovation”. "And that is what we seek and we shall talk about it."

Solutions
Jean Paul Jacob was categorical when stating that Healthcare must also show innovation. "They will innovate in the area of possible solutions to problems such as what to do with dengue. The problem of drinking water can be solved, for instance, with nanotechnology: developing a “straw” that filters water. So we must think of solutions, from the socio-economic conditions to innovate and solve problems, "he said.

For him, representatives of several countries meeting during the 36th World Hospital Congress will foster the discussion, comparing situations and - primarily - the production of knowledge and possible solutions for each problem in each region. "We have major problems distributed geographically”.

Localized problems, which do not choose country, but regions with different focus in each country, such as Brazil and the countries of sub-Saharan region, that have to fight dengue, malaria and AIDS. We must find a specific solution for each region, "he emphasized, giving as an example, the use of tele-medicine, via mobile phone, in large countries such as Brazil, while smaller countries will have to find other technologies. "The solutions are not the same in all locations. Everything depends on the socio-economic, cultural and political life of the country. But together, those countries can become aware that they have things in common, "he stated.