In this Part 4 of a series on precision medicine , we look at the future scenario in the medical industry
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SEPTEMBER , 2023 | THE HEALTH
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BRAIN BITES
BY DR WAEL MY MOHAMED
PATIENTS ARE the focus of all healthcare decisions and investigations in a personalised healthcare system . Individuals start taking responsibility for their health and get actively involved in the process . A patient ’ s involvement in the healthcare and research systems is not limited to data generation .
Patients may have a say in the process by providing feedback via patient-reported outcomes ( PROs ). These PROs describe a health condition supplied by patients , unmediated by third parties like doctors .
For pharmaceutical companies to identify possible side effects and change the medicine to avoid them , PROs are essential for ‘ real-world ’ monitoring of pharmaceuticals on the market . They may also aid in identifying an illness by providing clarity on its symptoms .
Patients may contribute to research in ways other than collecting PROs . Patient and public participation ( PPI ) refers to research conducted with or by patients . By participating in it , patients are given the opportunity to take an active role in scientific inquiry .
PPI improves the research applicability and utility for patients . Furthermore , it aids in designing research initiatives to have the greatest benefits for patients and increases the likelihood that research findings are applied in real life . This sort of research is often promoted on various social media platforms .
VOCAL BIOMARKERS
Various recordings allow for the detection of vocal biomarkers , each of which reveals vital information about our health . The voice is only one more source of information that may be used to assess health .
Voice tone , rate of speech and volume reveal not just our emotional state but also our physical well-being . A vocal biomarker is an acoustic parameter or set of parameters that has been linked to a certain illness or symptom .
Voice recordings are analysed for vocal biomarkers with the patient ’ s medical history . Background noise is reduced , audio quality is standardised , and features that will be used by AI algorithms are extracted and chosen during the pre-processing stage . It is also possible to utilise audio signals as graphics to train Deep Learning systems .
After undergoing validation in a clinical context , vocal biomarkers may be included into a product like a mobile app , chatbot , or voice assistant . Vocal biomarkers are a prominent example of non-invasive technologies in precision health that may be used to improve diagnosis and , monitor the progression of a condition and give a more customised and timely therapy .
There are many voice-based apps in the works now and they have the potential to greatly enhance people ’ s daily lives and medical treatment .
AUGMENTED HUMANS - AUGMENTED DOCTORS
Imagine it is the year 2050 . You are a young student with an interest in a profession in health and medicine . Precision medicine will be routine practice in the medical industry by that time . Since all these professionals will collaborate in an interdisciplinary context to offer patients healthcare that is augmented by technology , the term “ doctor ” will be used interchangeably with them .
We shall not make any distinction between data obtained in clinical research projects and data acquired during your visit to the doctor . Data collected from patients , healthcare providers , healthcare players , and medical innovators will all have access to the same comprehensive database thanks to the widespread use of electronic health records .
Sensors , applications , GPS trackers ,
Be ready to be a digital immigrant
In this Part 4 of a series on precision medicine , we look at the future scenario in the medical industry
monitoring systems , and even social media will soon provide real-world data . It will increase the individualisation of treatment choices and monitoring paradigms , allowing clever algorithms ( also known as ‘ Artificial Intelligence ’) to better forecast illness symptoms and
Dr Wael MY Mohamed is with the Department of Basic Medical Science , Kulliyyah of Medicine , International Islamic University Malaysia ( IIUM ). diagnoses . The availability of real-world data and various kinds of algorithms that promote transparency between doctors , patients , and other interested parties will have a profound impact on the job of physicians .
Real-world data focusing on individual patients will also change the dynamic between researchers and their patients . Patients will have a say in deciding which human and technological services they get .
The information collected by these services will be used to create new and better ones . Doctors will keep their records at the same time . As a result , they will both contribute to research , which will aid in healthcare advancement and quality assurance .
DIGITALLY ENABLED COMMUNICATION
Data will be utilised for innovation , assessment , and quality control , but they will no longer constitute the foundation upon which medicine is built . In the future , data access will be a key factor that you can influence and drive .
As a student equipped with the necessary education to cope with this situation , you would hopefully be already familiar with the concepts of data privacy and security . You will have gained an appreciation for health and medicine as an interdisciplinary notion , an awareness of this expansion ’ s social and ethical ramifications , and the tools to combat its potential misuse .
In addition to enhancing your clinical skills and awareness of the condition , your training would have equipped you with the necessary data science and technological know-how . Because you were born in the era after the digital transition , you will have a deep awareness of privacy and identity definitions . You would have attended courses to allow digitally enabled communication based on the requirements of patients .
You ’ re in the same boat as the ‘ digital immigrants ’ who came of age 40 – 50 years ago before the advent of the internet . So , try to picture life without it and relax . – The Health