Precision Medicine

Precision medicine refers to the use of an individual’s genomic and epigenetic information, including individual patterns of disease, in order to provide targeted treatment that is tailored to the person’s genetic profile potentially leading to better individual treatment.

Precision medicine offers the potential to change the way health care is delivered in Canada. As with the introduction of any new technology, however, there will be obstacles along the way and the healthcare system will have to adapt. In their new policy paper, Doctors of BC identifies the opportunities and challenges of integrating precision medicine across the clinical continuum of diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.

Doctors of BC recognizes the potential for precision medicine to improve health care delivery through more precise and timely diagnosis and treatment, and targeted prevention. Doctors of BC also sees obstacles to effective integration of precision medicine into clinical practice. To ensure precision medicine is driven by quality patient care and clinical needs, Doctors of BC calls for collaboration among stakeholders to:

• Develop patient-focused policy and legislation that supports integration of precision medicine into clinical care.
• Provide comprehensive up-to-date patient and physician education regarding medically significant genetic testing.
• Implement a robust province-wide clinical and economic evaluation of precision medicine interventions.

For the full policy paper, please see "Precision Medicine: Understanding our genes for better health"