Precision Public Health Perspectives

Abstract

This book addresses all aspects of the personalized medicine approach through different fields of medicine, and this introduction to public health adds a social health context vision to it. The definition of public health and the concept of population health have been illustrated together with their link with personalized medicine (PM). During the last years, the public health approach has been following the process of PM implementation. However, while the principles supporting PM are clear, their implementation is more conflict-ridden due mainly to economic and social issues such as incomplete legal protections to prevent genetic discrimination or the lack of a comprehensive healthcare information technology system. For this reason, this chapter attempts to assist the researcher, practitioner, pharmacist, and other healthcare professionals in improving their knowledge of the integration of personalized medicine into relevant science, policies, and practice linked to public health. Subsequently to this objective, this book section summarizes significant points of this impact ecosystem on public health. They are grouped into two diverse “impacts,” direct and indirect. The direct impact includes the direct effects of new technologies on the reorganization of the public health system: mHealth, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), imaging, data sharing, new -omics technologies, and the health technology assessment. The indirect impact includes all indirect effects of genetic information on preventive applications, diagnostic diseases, and targeted therapies. There are some points in common with the chapter about ELSA, and public involvement and equity are also described from a personalised public health perspective.