Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Why You Should Pursue Personalized Health Care

By Donna Ward


There is scientific proof that each person is unique. This revelation has led scientists and medical care experts to develop personalized health care programs aimed at addressing this uniqueness. After all, there is evidence that demography, race, geography, gender, etc have an influence on prevalence of diseases. Traditional medicine has not factored in these unique elements. This could be the reason some people do not find cure for their ailments.

There has emerged confusion as people interchange personalized medicine and healthcare. Customized medicine has been in use for a while through attention to genetics and genomics. One of the successes in this approach is in therapeutic treatment of breast cancer. This is the foundation that scientists and doctors are riding on to advance overall healthcare.

Personalizing healthcare has captured the genomics and genetics elements and expanded them to capture other biological elements that are crucial in predicting the risk or level of exposure and how a person can respond to treatment. Some of the elements used are lipo-proteins that predict the level of exposure to stroke and heart disease. These are bio-markers that sharpen the traditional means that were used in predicting risks like menopause, age, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc.

What benefits can one reap from personalized healthcare? There is evidence that this is a cost effective approach to treatment and healthcare provision. The fact that the specifics of exposure to diseases are known means a reduction in treatment period and provision of precise medicine. A sick person is grounded for a shorter period and returns to normal productive life in a flash. With no trial and error approach, it is easier to achieve desired results.

The quality of treatment improves which is good for the health of people and the nation. No patient will be subjected to wrong or trial medication. With precision on treatment, chances of drug resistance will reduce. A person receives more accurate treatment and thus is grounded for a shorter period of time. This also reduces the harmful side effects that make treatment dreadful.

The views of patients are given prominence in every step of treatment. This is unlike traditional medicine where the doctor or personnel in the facility determined every aspect of treatment. The involvement of patients has been known to improve their adherence to prescribed drugs. Personalizing healthcare will therefore translate into better acceptance and a boost in confidence for the medical sector.

Healthcare insurers are covering personalized programs. The government is also facilitating its roll out through regulation and favorable research rules. The positive institutional and public acceptance has led to a revolution in the healthcare sector. Personal health status will improve as more research is carried out on this format of healthcare delivery.

It is obvious that not all facilities and personnel can provide these specialized services. As such, you have to work with institutions and personnel that can provide the package you want. Since the approach is still under experiment, not all conditions are covered. Involvement of the government and lead researchers is also an indication of a brighter future for such programs. With continued research, more conditions will be covered leading to better provision of healthcare services to the public.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment