What Is Precision Health & Why Are Organizations Suddenly Investing Billions In It?

Medicine is not about following a standard approach. Instead, each patient's unique situation and context must be considered when diagnosing the best course.This idea is now being elevated by the concept of precision health. Precision health aims to protect your health through measuring and acting on these factors. Instead of using the same approach for everyone, interventions can be customized to your needs.This organization makes a distinction between precision medicine (also known as personalized medicine) and precision health. Precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine, allows your doctor to identify your disease risks and prescribe the best treatment for you. Precision health encompasses more than precision medicine. It also includes approaches that are not performed in a hospital or doctors office, such as prevention and promotion of health.The idea behind the treatment of disease is the same: it is about predicting, preventing and treating the patient's specific needs.The CDC lists key factors that allow precision health. These are only a few of the many factors that enable precision health.Your family health history can help determine which diseases are most likely to strike.Your health information can be tracked by personal devicesPublic health workers can use social media to track diseases and share health informationGenome sequencing is a way to track, control and find infectious disease outbreaksYour doctor can use tumor profiling (genetic testing for a cancer) to help him choose the best treatment.Pharmacogenomics is a way for your doctor to prescribe the right drug and dosage for you.WASHINGTON, US President Bill Clinton (L), talks to Dr. Francis Collins (R), director of... [+] National Institutes of Health who was instrumental in the Human Genome Project. Collins also announced the successful survery of the entire Human Genome during an East Room ceremony held 26 June 2000 at The White House. The President Clinton congratulated both public and private sector scientists for their landmark achievement. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE). AFP PHOTO/Stephen Jaffe (Photo credit should be STEPHEN JAFFE/AFP via Getty Images). AFP via Getty ImagesHealthcare is slowly but surely catching up to this concept.Weill Cornell Medicine will invest in cutting-edge technology as part of a larger $1.5 billion campaign. This includes genomics, data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. These technologies will help illuminate the exact origins of diseases and determine the best ways to tailor treatments. Weill Cornell Medicine will use advanced research techniques to examine the human genome and make observations about the effects of lifestyle choices on well-being. This will enable them to create a robust precision healthcare enterprise that can holistically assess the factors that influence disease development.Precision care is the institution's commitment. It stems from the desire to provide the best possible care for patients. Weill Cornell Medicine scientists and physicians, including those located in the Meyer Cancer Center and the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine will be able understand the causes of disease and create personalized prevention strategies to help prevent the occurrence of severe illness.After receiving a $29million gift, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), is also considering a similar initiative. It will be home to a center that scientists and doctors will collaborate to study genetics and create therapies that improve patient lives.According to the press release, the gift created Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg's Center for Precision Genomic Medicine. UCLA's precision health efforts will be continued to help improve the diagnosis and treatment for a variety of genetic disorders. The new center will leverage large data sets as well as innovative genomic technologies like CRISPR engineering. These include rare and common diseases as well as more common diseases like cancer, heart disease, and immune disorders.I wrote last year about gene-editing technology, CRISPR technology. It could revolutionize healthcare. However, it also balances and pays homage to key ethical dilemmas.BERKELEY (CA - FEBRUARY 19, 19) Jennifer Doudna is the inventor of the revolutionary gene editing tool CRISPR... [+] Photographed in the Li Ka Shing Center at the University of California, Berkeley. (Nick Otto for The Washington Post via Getty Images). The Washington Post via Getty ImagesPersonalized, data-driven and curated therapies will be the future in patient care. This is especially true given the tools that can now study large quantities of data and convert them into useful metrics. Machine learning has made it possible to harness data and make crucial decisions, especially with the advent of machine-learning capabilities.This new concept is a new frontier in patient care. It will be crucial to balance it and ensure patient safety and ethical standards. If curated care and precision healthcare are made viable and ethically sound, they may be able to revolutionize healthcare delivery. It takes into account each individual's needs and can provide curative therapy.Healthcare isn't about treating the disease but about the patient.