Personalized medicine challenges the health care system

Abstract

Biomedicine has made incredible progress during the last decade offering totally new possibilities to treat various types of diseases, in particular cancer. Clinically relevant genomic analyses today are feasible within days and will be possible within hours in some years. While the costs of molecular diagnostics are decreasing the treatment procedures will remain extremely costly for years. Since the number of molecular-based intervention will increase dramatically the overall burden of the health care system will become a substantial challenge. All partners involved therein have to recognize the facts, discuss the challenges and find solutions by tearing down existing boundaries, otherwise a strain on or even a collapse of the system cannot be excluded. The reproach ‘Only the rich survive’ has to be avoided to ensure the balance and harmony of the social system.