Good news, the American population is going to be benefiting from a policy driven to explore genomics.
When President Obama unveiled the 2015 Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), the plan allocated $130 million to gather genome data from a large group of participants. Another $70 million in funding are available for the National Cancer Research to study genetic factors.
The PMI is just getting underway in 2016. The Office of the National Coordination for Health IT (ONC) is helping by creating ways for people to upload their valuable genetic data. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is heading the research study of one million or more U.S. volunteers. HIMSS is committing more than 50,000 stakeholders. A large-scale approach is needed to have substantial data.
The research findings have the ability to help understand the relationship of genes, lifestyle, and environment.
Participants will include a large diverse demographic. Geographic location, social impacts, ethnicity, economic status, ages, and current health conditions will allow for a broad range of data gathering.
The insights bring about the possibility to understand medicine in a new way. It is a holistic approach that requires a collaboration of patients, providers, researchers, and technology. Much as we must care for the whole person when treating disease, the future of medicine is dependent on all healthcare systems working together.
The White House has put an emphasis on privacy and trust principles for the PMI. Below is their official statement;
The laws provide broad guidance for future PMI activities regarding:
- Creating a dynamic and inclusive governance structure
- Building trust and accountability through transparency
- Respecting participant preferences
- Empowering participants through access to information.
- Ensuring responsible data sharing, access, and use
- Maintaining data quality and integrity
This data-driven initiative is as much about helping disease as it is keeping people well.
We are excited at Rural Health IT to be part of the collective that is moving health IT forward. When our government leaders are actively helping to make funds available and passing policies that foster progressive approaches, we can fully experience the potential of health IT.
How well the data can be gathered and processed will be an important factor in achieving success with the Precision Medicine Initiative. As a health IT organization, we understand that the solutions we are building and providing will be an essential building block for the next ten years of healthcare.
It will have global impacts to society much like electricity. We will never go back from this advancement taking place in data-driven research. The future is dependent on it!
See the detailed White House Precision Medicine Initiative Here
