Challenges With Personalized Medicine

Personalized medicine and diagnostic testing are yet to witness widespread adoption. While there are several reasons for this, David C. Collymore, MD, MBA, would like to sum these challenges into 2 specific buckets. The primary challenge, he believes, are cost and reimbursement. “If insurance companies are not covering the cost of the test, [the test] will be less accessible to the general population. Those that can afford the cost of the testing will go ahead and get it, but the overall population may not have access to it if that’s the case. Reimbursement by managed care is a hurdle for any advancement in healthcare,” Collymore said.

The other challenge is building additional evidence and the need to conduct more studies in a larger patient population. Collymore believes time can help surmount this hurdle. “We need time, we need the tests to be reimbursed, and we need the studies to display evidence of the care. These I think are the 2 main challenges.”