What is Precision Health
Most medical treatments have been designed with the average patient in mind. This approach works for some patients, but not for others. We know each person is unique. Where we live, our genetic makeup, our family medical history and our lifestyle choices all contribute to our health and well-being. Precision health takes into account differences in people’s genes, environments and lifestyles and formulates treatment and prevention strategies based on patients’ unique backgrounds and conditions.
Together, this gives the medical team the tools to better understand how complex the human body is. Precision health will help us to keep you healthy. If you do get sick, precision health will help us understand which treatments work best with the fewest side effects.
What is the goal of precision health?
Precision health will allow doctors and researchers from across virtually all medical disciplines to:
- Determine the best care for each individual patient
- Identify disease mutations (changes in genes that cause disease) in patients with undiagnosed conditions
- Avoid serious side effects from medications
- Identify genetic risk factors to guide lifestyle/environmental recommendations that can improve the health of each patient
