Leading in an Era of Personalized Medicine

Personalized medicine is playing an increasingly important role in healthcare, presenting a great opportunity for pathologists and medical laboratory scientists to solidify their role as foundational leaders.

Our collective responsibility is to provide high-quality patient care for all – and to ensure that each test and each diagnosis fulfills our mission of providing patient-centered care. We play a crucial role of delivering precise, patient-specific data that personalized medicine would be nothing without. As the era of personalized medicine expands, pathologists and medical laboratory scientists are ideally positioned to lead the way – and to usher in a new standard of patient care.

The data we provide is what drives individualized treatment decisions. We are the ones delivering the results and information from genetic testing, molecular diagnostics, or biomarker identification. These data directly inform courses of action and treatment. We all know that no two patients – or their genetic signatures – are alike, and that’s why, by better understanding each person’s unique biological characteristics, we can point them towards the most effective therapies, which ultimately helps improve their outcomes.

In short, data is everything in personalized medicine – and the medical laboratory is the collector and the keeper of that data. Our ability to test and discover can profoundly affect clinical decisions. Our ability and expertise to collect and interpret this data is what makes the laboratory indispensable.

Leading with AI
 

As precision medicine continues to evolve, the avalanche of data generated grows. To efficiently use this data to provide personalized care for our patients, we must embrace artificial intelligence (AI).

We know AI is not a catch-all solution; it cannot replace the complex and critical thinking needed in pathology and laboratory medicine. But what it can do is analyze data more quickly, providing the laboratory with information in a timelier fashion than we might otherwise achieve. What does that mean in practice? We can accelerate discovery, optimize tests, and do so much more to improve patient care and outcomes. 

To embrace AI is to embrace actionable insights for our patients and to solidify our leadership in personalized medicine.

A challenging road ahead
 

Navigating this burgeoning era of medicine is not without its challenges. Technology can be difficult to access due to budgetary constraints or lack of reimbursement. AI brings regulatory issues to contend with, and comes with a massive educational need and a great deal of training to organize. Yet the opportunities opening up for laboratories far outweigh the challenges. When we embrace innovation and when we challenge ourselves to expand upon our expertise, we create space to showcase our role as essential partners in healthcare and elevate our tenet of patient-centric care for all.

As healthcare rapidly shifts toward precision medicine, we are uniquely positioned to provide the insights and expertise needed to provide high-quality care. We are not just contributors; we are the drivers of this change and will help shape what care looks like for each and every patient.