One body, one treatment

Precision appears to be the way to go when it comes to medicine. Treatments and drugs geared to specific genetic make-up, and physiological and physical conditions ensure the best possible outcome at the individual level. At the heart of the drive towards precision lies data. The more data points collected, the better the diagnosis, the more precise the treatment, and even more precise the capacity to develop drugs. The cookie-cutter model of treating – both medically as well as behaviourally – patients as a ‘species’ is losing traction, as it should be.

DNA testing via a simple blood test to assess a person’s risk for heart disease, cancer and other ailments is now part of Britain‘s National Health Service (NHS) offerings. In the developing world, such a pre-emptive test would be accessible to a small sliver of the population that can afford it. But that itself is a way forward for future ubiquity. Medicare according to individual traits need not be confined to high-end, data-centric treatment. There are more ways to get information – by going ‘old school’ when the doctor actually took the time to take a person’s medical history, to ask questions, to use the stethoscope, to measure the pulse rate with a gizmo no fancier than the finger.

Given India‘s population, this old-fashioned approach to medicine can yield mountains of data to be used for developing precision treatments and drugs. Access to newer technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can help find patterns and connections. It will require basic healthcare infrastructure, putting the general physician at the heart of the system. Yes, it will require money. But, more importantly, it requires empathy and time to listen.