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Perspective · Lab Data Summit 2026

The future of precision health
runs through the messy middle.

Lab data holds deep clinical value. Realizing it takes more than access—it takes the infrastructure, context, and trust to make fragmented information useful.

Jason Bhan, MD
Insights from Jason Bhan, MDCo-Founder, Prognos Health
01 / DATAClinical signals at the source02 / INFRASTRUCTUREMake the data usable together.Interpret · Harmonize · Link · De-duplicate03 / INTELLIGENCEPut context behind the decision.

From biological signal to usable insight

More data is only useful
when we can make sense of it.

Reflections on the inaugural Lab Data Summit
April 9, 2026 · Philadelphia

The inaugural Lab Data Summit brought together perspectives from across the healthcare data ecosystem around a shared challenge: how to turn fragmented lab information into a foundation for better decisions.

Lab results add biological context to the patient picture. They can help describe what was measured, the result observed, and how clinical information changes over time. Used alongside other appropriate data, that detail can strengthen how teams understand populations and patient journeys.

But the result alone is not the finished insight. Differences in terminology, methodology, timing, and patient identifiers can change what a record means—and whether it can be used consistently with another source.

The next advance depends on how well we connect and interpret the data we have.

A three-layer framework

The work between the source
and the decision matters.

Select a layer to explore why the foundation beneath an insight deserves as much attention as the application above it.

02 / FOUNDATION

Solve the work between the source and the insight.

Aggregation, clinical interpretation, harmonization, linkage, and de-duplication help separate meaningful signals from inconsistent formats and overlapping records. This is the “messy middle”—and it deserves deliberate investment.

  • Bring participating sources together
  • Resolve differences and overlap
  • Retain provenance and limitations

Conceptual framework adapted from the Summit debrief.

The AI-ready mandate

Readiness is a discipline,
not a label.

One of the Summit’s clearest themes was that AI ambition does not remove the need for careful data preparation. It makes the quality, provenance, and interpretation of that data more consequential.

Teams need to understand where information came from, what transformations were applied, and where limitations remain. Human expertise remains essential to evaluating whether an output is appropriate for its intended use.

The goal is to build workflows around a defined decision and a suitable data foundation, with validation built into the process.

01

Make provenance visible.

Keep source context and transformations understandable so users can evaluate what the information represents.

02

Keep human judgment in the workflow.

Use clinical and domain expertise to assess interpretation, limitations, and the relevance of an output.

03

Build for the question at hand.

Favor a fit-for-purpose, governed data assembly over an assumption that every project needs every available source.

04

Treat trust as an operating requirement.

Explain gaps and create feedback paths so teams can improve the data and the workflow together.

Where the foundation becomes practical

Different clinical questions.
The same need for context.

Precision oncology

A biomarker needs its testing context.

A marker can be assessed through different methodologies, including IHC, FISH, and NGS. Bringing those records together requires preserving the distinctions that matter, rather than assuming every result is interchangeable.

The opportunity is to connect relevant testing information with the patient journey and the workflow where it will be evaluated.

Ask: Can our team understand how the result was produced, what it represents, and how it fits with other available information?

Rare disease

Look for the pattern across the journey.

Relevant clues may appear across multiple events, providers, and sources. A longitudinal view can help teams explore patterns that a single test or diagnostic code may not reveal.

The Summit also highlighted the importance of making information meaningful to community providers and the referral networks in which patients receive care.

Ask: What context would help us recognize a relevant pattern—and evaluate it responsibly before deciding what to do next?

Across both settings, clinical interpretation and connected context help teams ask more precise questions of the data.

Bring the discussion into your organization

Four questions to ask
before building the next application.

Use these questions across Commercial, HEOR, Medical Affairs, and data teams to connect infrastructure decisions with their intended use.

01 / Clinical meaning

Do we understand what the data represents?

Evaluate test definitions, methodology, units, timing, and the context needed to interpret the result.

02 / Connected information

Can the sources work together?

Review harmonization, linkage, overlap, and de-duplication before relying on a combined view.

03 / Trust

Can users see the limitations?

Make provenance, gaps, and validation visible. Establish a path for questions and feedback.

04 / Purpose

Which decision will this support?

Agree the intended workflow, permissions, delivery requirements, and measures of usefulness at the start.

Precision health advances when clinical depth, usable infrastructure, and trusted decisions come together.

The path forward

Make the foundation
part of the conversation.

The opportunity ahead is to use data better—not simply collect more of it. Bring your questions about harmonization, enrichment, and connected clinical context to the Prognos team.

Talk with Prognos

Lab Data Summit 2027

Shape what comes next.

April 8, 2027 · 8:30 AM–5:30 PM Eastern Time
W Hotel · Philadelphia, PA

For director-level or higher team members and senior leaders at pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Invitations are subject to approval. No cost for approved attendees.

Learn more and request your invitation →
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