Precision dosing focuses on the individualization of drug treatment regimens based on drug attributes, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic variability, disease state characteristics, and patient-specific factors. Before precision dosing, pharmaceutical medicine adopted a one-size-fits-all approach that focused on dosing regimens based on the average patient.
Many factors alter an individual’s response to drug therapy, including:
- Weight, sex, and age
- Gastrointestinal function
- Occupational and chemical exposures
- Diet
- Stress
- Other medications
- Cardiovascular function
- Activity levels
- Kidney function
- Genetic makeup
- Alcohol intake and smoking
The Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was “the international, collaborative research program whose goal was the complete mapping and understanding of all the genes of human beings, which are known as our genome.” The complete sequencing of the human genome was completed in 2003. This project played a significant role in the development of personalized medicine, an emerging practice of medicine that uses an individual’s genetic profile to guide decisions made in regard to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute.
With the help of genomics, clinicians can understand the differences between each person, which allows the opportunity for making individual and precise predictions about disease risk. By being proactive in delivering the right dose, at the right time, to the right patient, clinicians are able to “focus on prevention and the optimal selection of drug therapy that best addresses a patient’s unique medical attributes.”
Precision Medicine Today
In 2015, President Obama announced that he would launch the Precision Medicine Initiative — a bold new research effort to revolutionize how we improve health and treat diseases. To succeed, “health data will need to be portable so that it can be easily shared between providers, researchers and most importantly, patients and research participants.”
Today, we understand that many chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and IBD are caused by a combination of things, including genetics and environmental factors. By understanding all the factors that play a role in an individual’s health, clinicians can develop an individualized dosing regimen tailored to the patient’s specific characteristics. Precision medicine will result in better treatment outcomes and less trial and error in prescribing medicine.
At Baysient, we value the fact that all patients are unique and deserve individual treatments tailored specifically for them, changing as they heal. There is no single dose that is right for all patients. That is why our goal is to provide individualized treatments for patients with improved outcomes at lower costs.
iDose, our cloud-based software, uses Bayesian models, routine lab results, and demographic information to allow physicians to individualize dosing to a specific target trough level. Interested in how iDose can improve your patient outcomes? Schedule a Demo today!
