Personalized medicine, availability, and group disparity: an inquiry into how physicians perceive and rate the elements and barriers of personalized medicine.
BACKGROUND
The success of personalized medicine depends on factors influencing the availability and implementation of its new tools to individualize clinical care. However, little is known about physicians' views of the availability of personalized medicine across racial/ethnic groups and the relationship between perceived availability and clinical implementation. This study examines physicians' perceptions of key elements/tools and potential barriers to personalized medicine in connection with their perceptions of the availability of the latter across subpopulations.


METHODS
Study subjects consisted of physicians recruited from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and UC Health. An electronic survey conducted from September 2012 to November 2012 recruited 104 physicians. Wilcoxon rank sum analysis compared groups.


RESULTS
Physicians were divided about whether personalized medicine contributes to health equality, as 37.4% of them believe that personalized medicine is currently available only for some subpopulations. They also rated the importance of racial/ethnic background almost as high as the importance of genetic information in the delivery of personalized medicine. Actual elements of personalized medicine rated highest include family history, drug-drug interaction alerts in medical records, and biomarker measurements to guide therapy. Costs of gene-based therapies and genetic testing were rated the most significant barriers. The ratings of several elements and barriers were associated with perceived availability of personalized medicine across subpopulations.


CONCLUSIONS
While physicians hold differing views about the availability and implementation of personalized medicine, they likewise establish complex relationships between race/ethnicity and personalized medicine that may carry serious implications for its clinical success.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Katelin E
KE
Petersen
Cynthia A
CA
Prows
Lisa J
LJ
Martin
Koffi N
KN
Maglo
D000328:Adult; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000941:ethics / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States