Personalized Medicine: the Organizational and Legal Framework of the Medicine of the Future

Abstract

This article explores the notion and origin of personalized medicine, as well as its origin, and organizational and legal status in the Russian Federation. Analysis of the legislation in the field of personalized medicine shows that although the right to personalized treatment conforms to the constitutional right to health care, the legal regulation of personalized medicine in the Russian Federation remains fragmented. It is governed only by regulatory acts of secondary legislation, strategic planning acts, and individual clinical guidelines and standards. The author shows here that the legal foundations of personalized medicine in the Russian Federation need to be improved. Firstly, the status of personalized medicine needs to be established; changes need to be made to the current regulatory legal acts regarding the procedure for providing medical care. This would allow doctors to apply the achievements of personalized medicine in clinical practice. Secondly, the author considers that the existing three-level system of healthcare in the Russian Federation, based on the idea of standardization, does not correlate with the ideas of personalized medicine. Another crucial factor is the readjustment of the healthcare system. This would require the development of scientifically grounded proposals on the implementation of precision medicine and to promote public education on genetic counseling. The article highlights advances on the application of the achievements of personalized medicine in the establishment of world-class research centers. The author concludes that the organization of personalized medicine in the Russian Federation requires the adoption of specific measures aimed at the implementation of scientific foundations of personalized medicine into the training of future medical workers, aimed at treating and preventing diseases. These measures also include consoliding the legal status of personalized medicine, the use of achievement of personalized medicine and its methods in clinical practice, as well as the establishment of specialized scientific organizations and the improvement of educational programs.