The promise of big data is not in its volume, but in our ability to transform it into insights that improve health and healthcare.

We need to improve our communication of how studies are conducted and incorporate that information into our interpretation of their meaning.

Only when healthcare organizations systematically and comprehensively adopt the most recent, actionable knowledge into routine clinical care—rather than relying on a selective and ad hoc approach—can patients be confident they are receiving the best possible care.

The central thesis of this approach is that reviewers will be able to make better decisions if they are given material that represents what will likely be produced by the research… Funders should be asking what will be produced and whether it ultimately has the capacity to improve the lives of patients and the health of the public..

Ultimately, researchers have a responsibility to ensure that the value of their product is commensurate with the investments that were required to generate it… If we produce food that no one eats, we need to consider different crops. The question now is: What is the value of the research knowledge that we are producing?

We are at a rare moment in history when we can fundamentally change how we generate, share, and use knowledge in medicine—if we have the courage to act.

Patients facing a decision deserve information that is based on all of the evidence. A new era of data sharing and open science would allow us to leverage existing investments to provide more and better evidence that will increase the possibility that patients’ decisions will help them obtain the results they desire.

The pursuit of patient-centered care and policies that can help individuals to optimize their quality of life and achieve the health outcomes that they desire—the foundation on which outcomes research is built—knows no borders. We are committed to learning from each other and accelerating our progress in a global environment of shared knowledge.

We must move from assumptions about what we accomplish to proof of the results that we achieve. We need to ask what our efforts have done to make it more likely that patients achieve what they desire given the tools available to us, and we need to be sure that we continually hold ourselves to the standards of patient-centered medicine.

Journals have played a critical role in the advancement of science and medicine, but the time has come to reimagine how we share knowledge—building on their legacy while embracing the possibilities of a digital, connected world.

The privilege of editorship lies not only in shaping the content of a journal, but in fostering a community of inquiry, dialogue, and progress—ensuring that every article moves the field forward while upholding the highest standards of rigor and integrity.

We are at one of those amazing junctures in medicine that will define a new future as profoundly different from today as the pre-microbiology era was from what preceded it. We may have the chance to see what was formerly undecipherable—but the hazards of change are also great, and our ability to tackle these challenges is far from guaranteed.

Outcomes research adopted an activist agenda underpinned by rigorous science. Committed to equity and focused on well-being, it aimed to provide equal opportunities for everyone to live long and healthy lives.

Medical care is a team sport. By embracing collaboration across specialties, institutions, and borders, we can advance science and improve patient outcomes far more than any one of us could achieve alone.

Your career will be defined not only by what you accomplish, but by the people you help, the bridges you build, and the integrity you bring to every decision.

If we are to accelerate innovation in medicine, eliminate wasteful practices, and improve the depth and effectiveness of how we care for patients, then there must be room to question traditional approaches and to introduce new and better ways… Be brave.