The cost of whole genome sequencing is coming down, but cost, reproducibility, translation and process issues make its routine use for clinical practice unlikely without further refinement and knowledge growth.
Several articles and commentaries in recent Journal of the American Medical Association issues focus on the role of genomics and personalized medicine in health care.
An article in Nature describes a study of over 1000 individual genomes to identify variation. This is an important step in the continuing evolution of personalized medicine, which is proving to take longer and be more complex that may have initially been imagined.
Yet another brilliant collection of health care data points, including use of gene profiling tests to guide breast cancer care, 30-day mortality models for stroke performance, hospital medication administration errors, the costs of the Medicare physician payment fix and patient-sharing networks among physicians.
It is officially the start of summer and our Potpourri is hot, hot, hot, but not steamy! This week we cover why health care IT doesn’t seem to create productivity gains, the use of whole-genome sequencing, the consequences on failure to comply with prescribed drug regimens and the rates of drug misuse and the potential savings for patients in CDHP plans.
An early spring for much of the country and our latest Potpourri is in full bloom, with nuggets on health information exchanges, genetic testing guidelines, an employer survey on reform, EMRs and lab test ordering and the relationship between clinical quality and patient satisfaction.
About this Blog
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.