Coverage Decisions for Personalized Medicine

Although he does not make coverage decisions, David C. Collymore, MD, MBA, believes that in the field of oncology, the science has reached a point where it has recognized certain treatments are better suited for some individuals with a specific genetic predisposition. “Cancer research is almost the standard of care for that to be the mindset for oncologists,” Dr. Collymore explained.

He believes that the progress in the field of oncology should trickle over to other disease areas. “We do see some of that in HIV treatment, like testing for resistance to certain medications. So there’s a tailored approach in other aspects of healthcare too. The next step would be for this to trickle down to more prevalent (chronic) conditions such as diabetes and hypertension that have affected our nation,” said Dr. Collymore.