“How Will Genetic Technology Shape Personalized Medicine?”By Colleen Cancio, published on Discovery Fit & Health online magazine, gives a brief insight into personalized medicine. Initially, Cancio observes that contrary to the general perception, the practice of personalized medicine dates back to the ancient times of Hippocrates. He states that Hippocrates prescribed different elixirs to different patients (Cancio). In general, Cancio focuses briefly on three aspects: background information on genetic technology and personalized medicine, the genetic technology that are being applied currently in the practice of personalized medicine, challenges of their use in personalized medicine, and how they will influence healthcare practices.
In the article, Cancio makes various credible observations and points of view. For instance, he argues that personalized medicine has indeed been practiced for a long time despite being perceived to be a new practice in the healthcare sector. He also observes that even though genetic testing is bound to become a major part of personalized medicine, other aspects such as suggestions for changes in lifestyle, disease detection at molecular level, and customized treatments for diseases will also play major roles. These observations are valid in my view. He further argues that since disease is influenced by gene structure, gene to gene, and gene to environment interaction, emphasis should be laid on all the three determinants in order to improve efficiency of service delivery in personalized medicine. As a matter of fact, if genetic studies will only focus on gene structure rather than all determinants of disease occurrence, then little progress will be made in personalized medicine.
Cancio however fails to discuss the main topic of the article effectively. Rather than focusing more on the changes likely to be witnessed in the personalized medicine practice attributed to genetic technology, he commits a greater part of the article to other aspects. He fails to give detailed account on how genetic technology would change personalized health practices.
My recommendation is that Cancio should have committed a larger part of the article in showing how practices in personalized medicine would be influenced by genetic technology. Matters of concern such as privacy should have also featured. This is mainly due to the fact that information on genetic profile if stored in electronic files would compromise privacy of patients. This is one of the most significant challenges arising from application of genetic technology in personalized medicine.
Though not pointed out by Cancio, in my opinion, reduction in efforts made to promote public health is inevitable. This is mainly due to the possibility of improvement in genetic technology to shift healthcare from public to individualized approach. Personalized medicine will also be practiced more widely as more people continue to gain insight into the science of genetics. In conclusion, application of genetic technology on personalized medicine as explained by Cancio is reliable. Cancio only fails to reflect the topic of the article effectively.
Work cited
Cancio, Colleen. “How Will Genetic Technology Shape Personalized Medicine?” Discovery Fit & Health. n.p.,n.d. web. n.d.
