Personalized medicine and individual healthcare : Medical and information technology aspects

The individualization of medicine and healthcare appears to be following a general societal trend. The terms "personalized medicine" and "personal health" are used to describe this process. Here it must be emphasized that personalized medicine is not limited to pharmacogenomics, but that the spectrum of personalized medicine is much broader. Applications range from individualized diagnostics, patient-specific pharmacological therapy, therapy with individual prostheses and implants to therapy approaches using autologous cells, and from patient model-based therapy in the operating room, electronic patient records through to the individual care of patients in their home environment with the use of technical systems and services. Although in some areas practical solutions have already been found, most applications will not be fully developed for many years to come. Medical and information technology are essential to personalized medicine and personal health, each driving the other forward.