Abstract
The real paradigm shift for healthcare is often stated to include a transition from accentuating health care production and instead emphasize patient value by moving to a ‘value-based health care delivery’. In this transition, personalized medicine is sometimes referred to as almost a panacea in solving the current and future health challenges. In theory, the progress of precision medicine sounds uncontroversial and most welcomed with its promise of a better healthcare for all, with real benefits for the individual patient provided a tailored and optimized treatment plan suitable for his or her genetic makeup. And maybe, therefore, the assumptions underpinning personalized medicine have largely escaped questioning. The use of personalized medicine and the use of digital technologies is reshaping our health care system and how we think of health interventions and our individual responsibility. However, encouraging individuals to engage in preventive health activities possibly avoids one form of medicalization (clinical), but on the other hand, it takes up another form (preventive medicine and ‘self-care’) that moves medical and health concerns into every corner of everyday life. This ought to be of little value to the individual patient and public health. We ought to instead demand proof of these value ideas and the lacking research. Before this is in place critical appraisal and cynicism are requisite skills for the future. Otherwise, we are just listening to visionaries when we put our future health into their hands and let personalized solutions reach into people's everyday life regardless of patient safety and integrity.
Highlights
BackgroundThe real paradigm shift for healthcare is often stated to include a transition from delivering 'health care production' to instead emphasize patient value by moving to a ‘value-based health care delivery’ [1,2]
The use of personalized medicine and the use of digital technologies is reshaping our health care system and how we think of health interventions and our individual responsibility
Encouraging individuals to engage in preventive health activities possibly avoids one form of medicalization, but on the other hand, it takes up another form that moves medical and health concerns into every corner of everyday life
Summary
The real paradigm shift for healthcare is often stated to include a transition from delivering 'health care production' to instead emphasize patient value by moving to a ‘value-based health care delivery’ [1,2]. Personalized or precision medicine maintains that medical care and public health will be radically transformed by prevention and treatment programs more closely targeted to the individual patient. These interventions will be developed by sequencing more genomes, creating bigger biobanks and linking biological information to health data in electronic medical records. The aspect of personalized health can entail more focus on the individual responsibility of health and with that follow the risk of a more medicalized discourse and not less as indented This will further drain resources from important public health projects when expensive precision medicine initiatives are in the spotlight and attract research funding as a scientific promise to mankind needing expensive medico-technical solutions. A discussion is needed to assess the actual potential (and not the promises) of precision medicine and what this development means for value-based healthcare and for public health
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