How Precision Medicine Can Save More Lives and Waste Less Money (Part 1 of 2)

We all have by now seen the hype around the Obama Administration’s high-profile Precision Medicine Initiative and the related Cancer Moonshot, both of which plan to cull behavioral and genomic data on huge numbers of people in a secure manner for health research. Major companies have rushed to take advantage of the funds and spotlight what these initiatives offer. I think they’re a good idea so long as they focus on behavioral and environmental factors. (Scandalously, the Moonshot avoids environmental factors, which are probably the strongest contributors to cancer) . What I see is an unadvised over-emphasis on the genetic aspect of health analytics. This can be seen in announcements health IT vendors, incubators, and the trade press. I can see why the big analytics firms are excited about increasing the health care field’s reliance on genomics: that’s where the big bucks are. Sequencing (especially full sequencing) is still expensive, despite dramatic cost reductions over the past decade. And after sequencing, analysis requires highly specialized expertise that relatively few firms possess. I wouldn’t say that genomics is the F-35 of health care, but is definitely an expensive path to our ultimate goals: reducing the incidence of disease and improving life quality. Genomics offer incredible promise, but we’re still waiting to see just how it will help us. The problems that testing turns up, such as Huntington’s, usually lack solution...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Genomic Health Record Healthcare Analytics Healthcare Reform Personalized Medicine Precision Medicine Behavioral Health Cancer Moonshot Environmental Factors Genetics Genomic Testing Genomics Source Type: blogs