The evolution of personalized healthcare and the pivotal role of European regions in its implementation

Abstract

Personalized medicine (PM) moves at the same pace of data and technology and calls for important changes in healthcare. New players are participating, providing impulse to PM. We review the conceptual foundations for PM and personalized healthcare and their evolution through scientific publications where a clear definition and the features of the different formulations are identifiable. We then examined PM policy documents of the International Consortium for Personalised Medicine and related initiatives to understand how PM stakeholders have been changing. Regional authorities and stakeholders have joined the race to deliver personalized care and are driving toward what could be termed as the next personalized healthcare. Their role as a key stakeholder in PM is expected to be pivotal.

Keywords: personalized medicine; European Partnership on Personalized Medicine; health data; healthcare governance; local and regional authorities; personalized healthcare.