From Sick Care to Healthcare — Unlocking the Power of Multiomics with Andrew Thompson

On this episode of QuickHITs, Tyler Smith sits down with Andrew Thompson, management board member at the Estonian Multiomics Company (EMC), to explore how healthcare can evolve from a system focused on treating illness to one designed to prevent it. Andrew shares his journey building technology-enabled life sciences companies and how his work in Estonia led to the creation of EMC—an organization focused on unlocking the value of multiomics data to drive better clinical, economic, and societal outcomes. Drawing on his experience across both technology and healthcare, Andrew brings a global perspective on what it takes to rethink healthcare at scale. Andrew breaks down the concept of multiomics and why genomics alone only tells part of the story. He explains how integrating genetic, clinical, and behavioral data creates a more complete picture of health, shifting the focus from static insights to dynamic understanding of how individuals actually live and express disease risk. The conversation also explores Estonia's digital-first infrastructure, where citizens own their data and health systems are built on trust, transparency, and connectivity. Andrew outlines how this foundation enables a fundamentally different approach to healthcare, one that prioritizes prevention, empowers individuals, and leverages data in ways that traditional systems cannot. Finally, Andrew challenges healthcare leaders to think beyond optimizing today's "sick care" model and instead consider how to build systems that keep people healthy at home. He shares practical insights on the role of consumer engagement, data ownership, and emerging technologies like AI in shaping the future of healthcare, and what organizations can do today to begin that shift.