ABSTRACT
Any discussion of the role of precision medicine in clinical decision making needs to start with a definition of terms. In one pilot study, physicians were given access to one group of patients' family history along with whole genome-sequencing reports that had previously been reviewed by genetic experts; a second group only provided a family history report to their physician. Other thought leaders have a somewhat different perspective on personalized/precision medicine. That view states that most clinicians already use a personalized approach to patient care when they take into account a patient’s age, gender, and family history to prescribe an antihypertensive drug, for example. In this view, a precision medicine approach would take into account the patient’s genome, using any pathologic mutations to further tailor their regimen. Similarly, a more precise treatment regimen might take into account the individual’s dietary habits and their exposure to environmental toxins and occupational hazards, to name only a few variables.
