Personalized Medicine Coalition Releases Survey

The Personalized Medicine Coalition reported findings from a national survey measuring public awareness and attitudes about personalized medicine.

In a release, the coalition noted findings include:

-Sixty-two percent have not heard of personalized medicine but 65 percent react positively when it is described to them and 69 percent are interested in learning more.

-Major benefits are that the information gained could help them and their doctors choose a treatment that is most likely to be effective for them (76 percent) and give them more control to prevent or treat illness (72 percent).

-Sixty-three percent believe that personalized tests and treatments should be covered by insurance.

"Personalized medicine has tremendous potential to change the way we think about, identify and manage healthcare," said Edward Abrahams, president of PMC. "As part of our nation's effort to increase quality and value, we must continue to encourage development and adoption of personalized medicine to help improve patient care and resolve embedded inefficiencies, such as trial-and- error dosing, hospitalizations due to adverse drug reactions, late diagnoses and reactive treatment."

"Personalized medicine has generated a lot of excitement in the medical community. But our survey shows that there is a lag in public awareness," said Mark David Richards, Senior Vice President at KRC Research who conducted the survey. "When people learn about personalized medicine, they quickly see the benefits--and they want insurance to cover these technologies. In fact, we found one of the biggest fears people have is the possibility that they might not have access if they need it."

Personalized Medicine Coalition commissioned the survey with KRC Research in March 2014.

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