Personalized medicine approaches and clinical applications

Personalized medicine uses advanced and evolving understanding of genetics to make medical interventions safer and more effective. With genetic science, doctors are able to target medications and procedures for patients directly, creating an unprecedented "personalized" approach to medicine. Traditional allopathic medicine relies on empirical research that generalizes results for an entire population. This has led to problems related to patient side effects, some of which are serious. As the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of General Medical Sciences) points out, the "one-size-fits-all" approach to prescribing medicines that continues to characterize modern health care is flawed because doctors "usually started with standard doses, and then observed how patients responded," ("Personalized Medicines Fact Sheet," 2012). Unfortunately, this meant also that doctors "changed the doses or drugs by a trial and error process" that could be uncomfortable, costly, and time consuming ("Personalized Medicines Fact Sheet," 2012).

Until the completion of the Human Genome Project, it was impossible to know "each person's unique clinical, genetic, genomic, and environmental information," ("Personalized Medicine," 2011). Now, advanced genetic science does permit such knowledge. Unfortunately, the science remains in its infancy and is likely to be too cost prohibitive for average people to use. This means that mainly rich people will be able to use personalized medicine in the foreseeable future. Until personalized medicine is available to all people, it will not have the revolutionary impact that researchers are promising.

From a science and research standpoint, however, personalized medicine is a huge breakthrough that can transform the very nature of the healthcare system. Perhaps one day, patients will be in control of their own medical data. Software can be designed to allow ordinary patients to view their own genetic codes, and use those codes to help them find targeted solutions to their medical complaints. This scenario is, however, as unlikely as the universal access to personalized medicine regardless of ability to pay. The medical establishment has for a long time enjoyed a paternalistic approach that entails controlling patient access to data and information regarding personal health. Moreover, the companies that develop the applications that enable personalized medicine might also have a legal right to copyright all the data contained therein.

The advantages of personalized medicine far outweigh the drawbacks, though. As the U.S. News report "Personalized Medicine" (2011) shows, personalized medicine means more focus on prevention. When a doctor has the genetic data of a patient, the doctor can also foresee problems before they manifest, or can tell a patient that he or she is at risk for contracting a certain disease later in life. This way, the patient can make necessary lifestyle changes or take medications that might prevent that illness from ever manifesting.