Within the Discussion Board area, write 300–500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear and use examples to reinforce your ideas.
Personalized medicine, or individualized medicine, is a growing trend in the delivery of health care that is specific to the individual patient. Healing Hands Hospital wants to make sure that all staff understand the meaning of personalized medicine. You have been asked to provide a brief summary of personalized medicine that will be shared with the staff. For this discussion, your response should include the following:
Define personalized medicine and provide 1 example.
Discuss 1 pro and 1 con of personalized medicine.
Unit 4 DB: The Healthcare Industry
Institutional Affiliations
Unit 4 DB: The Healthcare Industry
The emergence of complex diseases among populations calls for the need to utilize individualized treatment interventions that target the unique physiological characteristics of patients. According to Mathur & Sutton (2017), most patients who do benefit from the traditional approach to treatment that relies on the one-size-fits-all have shown improved health outcomes when personalized medicine is used. Individualized or personalized medicine is slowly transforming healthcare delivery in the United States healthcare system (Austin & Wetle, 2016). The purpose of this discussion is to define personalized medicine and explain its pros and cons.
Definition of Personalized Medicine and Example
Understanding specific factors that increase a patient’s vulnerability to certain diseases is a crucial step toward selecting appropriate treatment interventions. Mathur and Sutton (2017) define personalized medicine as a healthcare delivery approach in which the healthcare provider tailors treatment to a patient at an individualized level. In this healthcare delivery approach, the healthcare provider identifies a patient’s genetic and epigenomic components and combines this information with available clinical information to establish the possible source of disease. Using this information, the healthcare provider is able to select the best therapeutic interventions that will not only treat the existing disease but will also be safe for the patient based on his or her genetic profile. An example of a case scenario where personalized medicine has been applied is the use of targeted therapeutic interventions to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (Yamamoto et al., 2022). According to Yamamoto et al. (2022), effective treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis depends on the accurate identification of diagnostic markers and careful selection of therapeutic drugs that will help improve disease symptoms. Personalized medicine has promoted early recognition of diagnostic markers associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Additionally, it has allowed healthcare providers to select appropriate treatment interventions for affected patients (Yamamoto et al., 2022). The authors have further addressed the usefulness of personalized medicine in the management of patients with psoriasis and Alzheimer’s disease.
Pros and Cons of Personalized Medicine
Personalized medicine has numerous advantages and disadvantages. It is worthwhile noting that the United States healthcare system is struggling with increased healthcare expenditure, especially in the management of patients with chronic and terminal illnesses (Austin & Wetle, 2016). According to Mathur and Sutton (2017), personalized medicine is advantageous in that it can reduce both the time and financial costs spent in caring for patients, especially those who need end-of-life care. The reason is that personalized medicine facilitates speedy diagnosis of health problems and the subsequent selection of appropriate therapeutic interventions that match patients’ epigenomic and genetic profiles. However, personalized medicine is disadvantageous in that its implementation might be affected by increasing privacy concerns, particularly those that surround genetic testing (Goetz & Schork, 2018). In such a case, healthcare professionals might find it challenging to completely identify unique patient factors that can inform therapeutic decisions.
Conclusion
As complex diseases continue to emerge, healthcare organizations are trying to utilize treatment approaches that will address patients’ needs based on their unique genetic profiles. Personalized medicine offers a good opportunity for the observed transition in healthcare delivery. Healthcare organizations in the United States can contribute to the reduction of healthcare costs incurred by the country’s healthcare system by adopting personalized medicine.
References
Austin, A., & Wetle, V. (2016). The United States Health Care System (3rd Edition). Pearson Education (US). https://coloradotech.vitalsource.com/books/9780134297927 Here is my book citing
Goetz, L. H., & Schork, N. J. (2018). Personalized medicine: motivation, challenges, and progress. Fertility and Sterility, 109(6), 952–963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.05.006
Mathur, S., & Sutton, J. (2017). Personalized medicine could transform healthcare. Biomedical Reports, 7(1), 3–5. https://doi.org/10.3892/br.2017.922
Yamamoto, Y., Kanayama, N., Nakayama, Y., & Matsushima, N. (2022). Current status, issues and future prospects of personalized medicine for each disease. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 12(3), 444. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm12030444