Healthcare organizations unprepared for precision medicine, Health Catalyst survey finds

Healthcare organizations unprepared for precision medicine, Health Catalyst survey finds

Though researchers say academic medical centers leading the charge with genomics and targeted therapies.

More than two-thirds of non-academic health institutions say precision medicine will play an “average, small or non-existent” role in their plans over the next several years, according to a recent Health Catalyst survey. But it’s already making big waves in academic medical centers, which are fast adopting new technologies and integrating genomics into their therapies.

“The disconnect between the recognition that genomics holds great promise and yet the lack of preparation for precision medicine may reflect the fact that technology adoption is often driven by research efforts at major academic medical centers, with others following in their footsteps,” said David Crockett, Health Catalyst’s senior director of research and predictive analytics, in a statement.

Health Catalyst surveyed 61 healthcare professionals; 53 respondents held executive roles, from multi-hospital and multi-state systems.

The results from academics and non-academics were nearly opposite. Despite President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative that placed $215 million into the 2016 budget for the adoption of genomics technologies, only 4 percent of non-academic health providers said genomic sequencing was “very relevant” to their current and near-term treatment strategies.

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