How is precision medicine poised to transform healthcare by 2030
The field of precision medicine is rapidly evolving to tailor therapies and treatments based on an individual’s unique genetic, environmental, and lifestyle data. It has the potential to transform healthcare by improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.
Thanks to advances in genomics and proteomics in the next 10 years, personalized medicine has the potential to become even more precise and effective. The ‘-omics’ technology will allow a more comprehensive understanding of a patient’s health status and disease risk. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms will also play an important role in personalized medicine. AI and ML can analyze vast amounts of data and identify patterns that may be difficult for humans to detect. By analyzing a patient’s history and genetic makeup information, AI algorithms can make more accurate predictions about disease risk and treatment outcomes.
In 2030, precision medicine is likely to transform healthcare in several ways (1,2,3,4):
1. More accurate and early diagnosis: The increased use of genomic and molecule profiling will help clinicians and researchers to identify disease patterns at an earlier stage, even before symptoms appear allowing for more effective and targeted treatments that can prevent disease progression.
2. Improved drug development: Precision medicine will accelerate drug discovery and development by identifying specific targets and biomarkers for diseases. This will create more effective drugs targeting specific molecular pathways, resulting in improved efficacy and fewer side effects.
3. Tailored therapy plans: Precision medicine will allow healthcare providers to tailor treatment plans to each patient’s unique genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environment.
4. Reduced healthcare costs: By improving patient outcomes and early disease detection, precision medicine is likely to reduce healthcare costs in the long term by reducing the reliance on long-term hospitalization and expensive treatments of chronic diseases.
5. Enhanced patient engagement experience: Precision medicine will empower patients with personalized information and data that they can use to make informed decisions about their health. Digital health tools such as mobile apps and wearable devices will allow monitoring health in real-time and improve patient engagement leading to better health outcomes.
The future of precision medicine is very promising, and we can expect to see more precise, effective, and patient-centric healthcare in the years ahead.
References
1. Denny JC, Collins FS. Precision medicine in 2030-seven ways to transform healthcare. Cell. 2021 Mar 18;184(6):1415-1419. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.015. PMID: 33740447; PMCID: PMC9616629.
2. Subbiah, V. The next generation of evidence-based medicine. Nat Med 29, 49–58 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02160-z
3. Elemento O. The future of precision medicine: towards a more predictive personalized medicine. Emerg Top Life Sci. 2020 Sep 8;4(2):175-177. doi: 10.1042/ETLS20190197. PMID: 32856697.
4. Love-Koh J, Peel A, Rejon-Parrilla JC, Ennis K, Lovett R, Manca A, Chalkidou A, Wood H, Taylor M. The Future of Precision Medicine: Potential Impacts for Health Technology Assessment. Pharmacoeconomics. 2018 Dec;36(12):1439-1451. doi: 10.1007/s40273-018-0686-6. Erratum in: Pharmacoeconomics. 2018 Oct 26;: PMID: 30003435; PMCID: PMC6244622.
