The Miller College of Business brought G. Steven Burrill to talk to Ball State students Friday about how biotechnology could change the future of America's healthcare system.
"We're going to see massive change in the healthcare industry because of biotechnology," he said.
Before founding Burrill and Co., Burrill was partner and international chairman of Ernst & Young LLP's manufacturing, high technology and life sciences industry practice.
His ties in capitalism and the biotechnology industry gave his lecture an economic spin.
"Seventy-seven percent of cost is just in keeping people alive in this country," he said.
Burrill said there is a need to shift from healthcare to "wellness care" and that biotechnology could be used to prevent, not treat illnesses.
"With this technology we can see if you have a genetic mutation for breast cancer or Alzheimer's," he said "We can see the mutation and give you the drug to prevent the disease, curing it before you even get it."
Burrill compared biotechnology to the growth of the Internet and listed numerous capabilities for healthcare.
Research science, business corporations and architectural design are fields Burrill said could be prosperous in the future of healthcare.
"Robotics, phones that show your EKG's, phones that turn into stethoscopes. We have lids on prescription caps so you can see if your mom took her medicine. We have all of this technology right now," he said.
The real issue is in the market, the pharmaceutical industry and employment, Burrill said.
"We have these capabilities, but the doctors won't sign the prescription to this new drug or treatment because they would be signing their patient away, and they're not going to vote their job away," he said.
Burrill said the solution is in adaptability. Moving the jobs, the pharmaceutical industries and the hospital adaptabilities into this new era of healthcare opens up a frontier of innovative opportunity.
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