Healthcare Gets Personalized Thanks To Rising TechTrends
By Lauren Keating
According to a 2022 report by the Personalized Medicine Coalition, about 34 percent of new drugs are personalized medicines. Personalized medicines are on a drastic rise, now making up at least a quarter of new drug approvals for each of the last eight years.
This includes the approval of 12 new personalized medicines in 2022 to bring the number to about 300 personalized medicines available for those with chronic and infectious illnesses. There are also more than 75,000 genetic testing options that can further give insight to identify risk factors of disease.
In 2022, the FDA approved five new gene and cell-based therapies. This includes an IV infusion drug treatment for metastatic melanoma, as well as treatments for prostate cancer, hemolytic anemia, and severe atopic dermatitis.
Then there is the rise in artificial intelligence, which will further revolutionize the industry. AI is already being used in operating rooms, robotics aiding doctors in more precise surgery. It is also used to analyze data like X-rays to help doctors identify and treat illness and injury.
“According to what the future is telling us, if AI can get to where it’s supposed to get, it’s going to really be an adjunct to healthcare,” Higuchi said.
While some people are worried AI will eliminate jobs, Higuchi sees the technology as a positive. Integrative medicine practice Glo Medical uses the technology for patient notes. The AI helps healthcare professionals articulate diagnosis which helps reduce human handwriting errors.
The power to manage and take ownership of healthcare is at our fingertips. Patients can monitor chronic disease by tracking vitals, and use apps to be reminded to take medication. We have the ability to track everything from the calories consumed to the hours we sleep. Personalized healthcare helps us prevent, detect, and treat illness and continues to evolve and move the industry forward with advances in technology. “The current system we have is fragmented,” Sharon Higuchi, nurse practitioner and owner of Glo Medical said. “People need a system that going to support them.” Healthcare is on trend to continue to move to a personal or precision medicine model. This means care is more individualized, helping identify genes and risk factors. For doctors, personalized medicine—using genetic profiles— helps to improve overall care by using diagnostic testing data including biomarkers combined with an individual’s medical history.
“According to what the future is telling us, if AI can get to where it’s supposed to get, it’s going to really be an adjunct to healthcare,” Higuchi said.
Patients should embrace technology in order to personalize their healthcare using the following:
Wearables: The Apple Watch is an FDA-approved medical device that performs various medical tracking features. Because of its FDA stamp of approval, consumers can rely on its accuracy. Features include: heart rate to detect atrial fibrillation, fall detection using its accelerator and gyroscope, ECG feature, sleep tracking, and menstrual cycle tracking to help detect polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and fertility.
Other FDA-approved wearables include: Google Pixel Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, Fitbit, Garmin Venu 2 Plus, and Withings ScanWatch.
Health Apps: Users are able to track and manage general health stats. There are apps that are beneficial in nutrition, providing food label info and diet recommendations. These include Fitbit, MyFitnessPal, and Noom. Apps like Talkspace, Calm, and Betterhelp can help increase mental health through mediation, breathing exercises, and access to virtual counseling. Apps like Peloton, Nike Plus, Strava, and Aaptiv are exercise apps that allow users to access personal training workouts anywhere.
DNA tests: These tests and accompanying apps/website are as personalized as it gets. From finding ancestry to revealing risks factors and biomarkers for disease prevention, these kits provide a slew of information by just a mouth swab or saliva collection. 23and Me is among the most popular. Others include AncestryDNA andNebula Genomic Deep Whole Genome Sequencing.
AI: It’s not recommended to self-diagnose after a Google search of symptoms. But AI can help answer patient questions and reduce waiting room times by taking over administrative roles that allow medical care teams to have more time with patients.
