The Roche Institute Foundation has organized a day to present the Report ‘The value of Personalized Precision Medicine in the sustainability and efficiency of the health system‘, recently published and prepared by a multidisciplinary team of experts. In the current context, in which resources are limited and pharmaceutical spending and healthcare demand continue to increase, it is key to focus on the optimization and personalization of the clinical approach, in order to guarantee the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of health systems.
“It is essential to achieve a balance between health results, financial aspects and social aspects, which guarantees equity and early access in all territories and, in this way, achieve maximum health for the entire population, to based on the available resources, and maintaining the sustainability over time of the National Health System itself,” he highlighted. Mr. Patrick Wallach, President of the Roche Institute Foundation. In this sense, “Personalized Precision Medicine not only represents an opportunity to significantly improve the health outcomes of patients, but also contributes to optimizing care processes and health management,” indicates the president of the Foundation.
In the words of Dr. César Hernández, director of the Common Portfolio of SNS and Pharmacy Services, The sustainability and efficiency of the National Health System are fundamental pillars to guarantee quality, equity and also accessibility in health care. For this reason, he explained that the SNS is already working on the digitalization and modernization of health services. “The incorporation of technologies facilitates more efficient management, and that is the way forward, focusing on a balance between economic sustainability and excellence in healthcare. “We all, professionals and patients, want personalization and empathy, integrated care with access to technology.” For these reasons, he advocates for a broad agreement on what the health system we have to evolve into must be and how these new technologies are going to be incorporated into a care model in which the needs of patients are very well integrated. . “Only through an efficient, inclusive and sustainable system can we ensure that the SNS continues to be a benchmark of quality and equity for all,” he concludes.
Contribution of Personalized Precision Medicine to sustainability and efficiency
He Dr. Enrique de Álava, coordinator of the reporthead of the Pathological Anatomy Service at the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital (Seville), and coordinator of the Personalized Precision Medicine Plan of Andalusia, maintains that “Personalized Precision Medicine contributes to the sustainability and efficiency of the health system.”. In research, he points out, it favors the optimization of resources, targeted innovation, facilitating the identification of biomarkers and the development of new therapies, as well as collaboration between institutions and the use of shared databases. In precision screening and diagnosis, it contributes to early detection, precision diagnosis that precedes precision therapy adapted to the genetic and molecular characteristics of each patient, and efficiency in screening, since it allows identification of high-risk individuals more precisely. Finally, in terms of health care and management, it contributes to the development of effective treatments, patient satisfaction and long-term cost reduction.
For his part, the Dr. César Rodríguez, head of the Medical Oncology section of the University Hospital of Salamanca and president of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), maintains that, in the field of Oncology, Personalized Precision Medicine is key for early diagnosis, treatment and detection of relapses. In the words of Dr. Rodríguez, cancer treatment is already a reality in a wide variety of tumors due to the possibility of applying a strategy based on the selection of biomarkers that lead to a specific treatment for each case, “which makes it possible to use “more effective, less toxic treatments and only for those who truly need them, making the use of new therapies profitable and contributing to the sustainability of the system.”
Regarding early diagnosis, the specialist points out that “the future lies in molecular screening since there are currently tools that detect neoplasms early through the analysis of circulating tumor DNA, although there is still not enough evidence to replace the current classic screenings.” ”. In relation to the parameters to take into account to adequately evaluate the benefit of the long-term application of Personalized Precision Medicine, Dr. de Álava maintains that, within the framework of Personalized Precision Medicine, it is necessary to rethink the way of carrying out the evaluation to determine the long-term benefit, as well as the design of innovative evaluation, since Clinical trials should include small and heterogeneous populations, and the measurement of health outcomes through metrics that evaluate the improvement in the quality of life of patients.
Likewise, the expert affirms that it is necessary to consider the socioeconomic impact, equity in access and cohesion between the Autonomous Communities, in order to ensure that all patients, regardless of their place of residence or socioeconomic situation, can access these advances. In this sense, the expert urges to create a National Commission for Personalized Precision Medicine to promote, coordinate and organize all activities related to Personalized Precision Medicine at the national level.
How to optimize the contribution of Personalized Precision Medicine
Personalized Precision Medicine, as a comprehensive health approach strategy, is positioning itself as a key strategy for optimization and clinical approach, therefore, those barriers that prevent its complete implementation will represent a limitation to achieving the sustainability and efficiency of the sanitary system.
In this sense, the Dr. María Isidoro, expert contributor to the report, head of the Clinical Analysis and Clinical Biochemistry Service of the Salamanca University Care Complex and coordinator of the Strategic Plan for Personalized Precision Medicine of Castilla y León, highlights some recommendations to contribute to a sustainable and efficient healthcare system through Personalized Precision Medicine. Coordination between the different administrations and levels of care is a fundamental aspect to take into account, through, for example, the promotion of integrated care models or the implementation of collaboration networks that improve continuity of care and the coordination of resources.
In the field of research, Dr. Isidoro states that “the need for an increase in investment through resources that allow health professionals to allocate more time to it is evident since translational research in Personalized Medicine of Precision also comes from clinical professionals, but they do not have enough time to dedicate themselves to it under adequate conditions.”
In addition, it is also necessary to define protocols and guides on how interventions related to Personalized Precision Medicine should be incorporated into the SNS Portfolio of Services and Benefits, such as the use of genetic tests for the identification of biomarkers. Proof of this is the publication in January, by the Ministry of Health, of a first proposal for a common catalog of genetic tests for the identification of biomarkers associated with a specific treatment included in the Basic Portfolio of Services. In this sense, Dr. Isidoro asserts that it is essential to know the initial situation “to understand the previous level of implementation, as well as the real availability of resources.” “Likewise, an analysis would have to be carried out on its implementation, since the incorporation should be progressive to achieve adequate consolidation along with monitoring.”“real-time monitoring of progress, in order to detect possible deviations,” he points out.
Likewise, the expert emphasizes the importance of reinforcing knowledge in Personalized Precision Medicine “in academic plans to be able to build from the base, without forgetting specialized and continued training, investing in new professional profiles, as well as in infrastructure related to technologies of information and the application of a strategic vision that includes monitoring resources to analyze its degree of implementation.” In addition, it is necessary to have a regulatory and ethical framework adapted to scientific and technological advances and that contemplates governance, management and data protection.
In addition, Ms. Consuelo Martin de Dios, managing director of the Roche Institute Foundationat the closing of the day, emphasizes the fact that the Personalized Precision Medicine allows better understand the factors that contribute to each disease and identify the most appropriate therapies for each patient, avoiding unnecessary treatments and reducing side effects, which not only improves the quality of life of patients, but also reduces the costs associated with ineffective treatments. “At the Roche Institute Foundation, we have been working for 20 years to anticipate the future and accelerate changes and thus contribute to the development of an innovative and sustainable healthcare system through Personalized Precision Medicine,” he says.
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