ABSTRACT
Throughout history, medical advances have been adopted first and preferentially by the well educated and economically advantaged groups. The development of personalized therapeutics holds promise to fundamentally alter the practice of clinical medicine, but if it also is used preferentially by economically advantaged groups, this advance will likely worsen socioeconomic disparities in health. Prospective development of strategies to ensure non- differential access to these therapies may help limit this unintended consequence of medical progress for economically disadvantaged groups.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not represent those of the National Institutes of Health or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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The author declares there is no conflict of interest.
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Ward, M.M. Personalized Therapeutics: A Potential Threat to Health Equity. J GEN INTERN MED 27, 868–870 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-012-2002-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-012-2002-z