The summer’s behind us here in the Nordics. After taking a little break, we are pleased to introduce you to Thomas Fast. Thomas has joined our Medical Data Science team and is based in Lund, near Malmö, Sweden.
Thomas is a calm and easy-going person. He says he has also been described by coworkers as analytical and able to see the bigger picture. That does come in handy in our line of work!
“I think it’s very rewarding to be able to use my knowledge and experience to make improvements in people’s everyday lives!“
Thomas has a PhD in Economics. “Both during my PhD and after, I have focused my work on register studies, mostly Swedish ones. Since my PhD, I have worked in both the public and private sectors. Just after my PhD, I worked for The Swedish Agency for Health and Care Services Analysis (Vårdanalys), where I investigated how new pharmaceutical treatments are introduced in the hospital sector. After that, I worked as a consultant, first in a Copenhagen-based company and then one based in Stockholm. Later, I wanted to return to the public sector and worked in an analytical team for the Municipality of Malmö,” Thomas describes. “In addition, I now work as a senior advisor at MedEngine, of course!” he adds beamingly.
Thomas sees a lot of potential in crossing theoretical knowledge with the real world. “I remember, during my health economics studies, how amazing it was to see how economic theory could be applied to health! I think it’s very rewarding to be able to use my knowledge and experience to make improvements in people’s everyday lives,” he says.
“With local experts in every Nordic country, we can conduct high-quality studies that increase our combined knowledge!“
“Working with register (RWE) data, you get to unravel knowledge that was previously unknown. RCTs (Randomized Controlled Trials) are important to understand the medical effect of a certain treatment. However, when we move to the real-world setting, things tend to happen. For instance, patients sometimes have a complex treatment history, which makes the results from an RCT not directly applicable. Overall, RWE data does offer unique possibilities. For instance, sometimes the introduction of a new pharmaceutical treatment is not uniform, and this enables types of studies that are not possible in RCTs. Lastly, I think the possibility of a long-term follow-up that comes with RWE data is quite amazing!” Thomas explains enthusiastically.
What aspect enthralls Thomas the most in his work for MedEngine? Thomas picks up on this rapidly: “Well, I like the true Nordic approach at MedEngine. With local experts in every Nordic country, we can conduct high-quality studies that increase our combined knowledge. I also like the fact that MedEngine focuses on the medical and not just the commercial side of medical treatments.”
“There’s nothing like preparing food on an open fire!“
In his free time, Thomas likes to spend time outdoors with his family, often combining the two. “I like to take my kids out into nature—and there’s nothing like preparing food on an open fire,” he says, smiling.
Sounds lovely! Great to have you aboard, Thomas. A warm welcome!
