Personalized Healthcare- Because every patient is unique and different

 In conjunction with Roche’s 125th anniversary, Roche in Malaysia today organised their second session of the Life Talk series, entitled Personalised Healthcare (PHC) – Because every patient is unique and different. Roche Malaysia held its first Life Talk on Women’s Health last year in October 2021 which will be followed by Diversity & Inclusion later next month. These interactive panel sessions are designed to inspire and share knowledge on various health-related topics with external audiences. 

Featured during the panel session were, Professor Dr.PathmanathanRajadurai, Senior Consultant Pathologist & Laboratory Director; Dr.Cheah Soon Keat, Clinical Oncologist, Dr.Saiful B. Kassim, Consultant Endocrinologist, and the session was moderated by Mr. Ahmad Azuar, CEO of Satu Creative Services Sdn Bhd.

 

In Malaysia, there is a growing healthcare demand. This increases costs and puts a strain on resources as a result of a growing nation with high prevalence of chronic conditions. Profound transformations are needed to meet healthcare demands and improve patient outcomes thus, a Personalised Healthcare approach may be the way forward for the nation in Malaysia.

This is in line when Roche launched the Personalized Healthcare Index for Asia- Pacific early last year and it was revealed that all health systems are on a trajectory towards delivering PHC, with some at the earliest stages while others are building the foundations or already making the transition. The Personalised Health Index is a unique, data-driven, online policy tool developed by the Futureproofing Healthcare Initiative, in collaboration with a group of independent healthcare experts, to help countries prioritise efforts, resources, and action to realise the potential of PHC in their respective countries.

Diagnostic testing is a part of the PHC journey that holds a lot of potential for chronic disease management. “Precision medicine is an approach for effective disease management that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment and lifestyles for each person and this is essential for many cancers, for example, biomarkers as detected by validated companion diagnostic solutions ensure effective and safe application of therapeutics,” said Prof.Pathmanathan.

Malaysia, currently developing the foundations for PHC, is in the process of formulating and implementing plans that aim to enable PHC. Advancing the national strategy or policy for personalised health or personalised medicine is a key imperative, and there is an opportunity to streamline the regulatory processes in the country. Malaysia also has a digital infrastructure and data collection capabilities to support limited aspects of personalised care.

Personalised cancer care is moving rapidly hand in hand with the evolving and rapid technological advancements. Clinicians have to work closely with one another in a multidisciplinary team -harnessing each other's abilities and experience to achieve the best possible outcome,” added Dr.Cheah.

“There have also been many advances in technology in this arena whereby remote real-time data sharing between patients with their Healthcare Professionals from multi-disciplinaries has helped us towards a holistic ecosystem to provide better care. Having all data in one place at one glance will help us to have quicker and more informed therapeutic decisions with our patients. Even with all these technologies at hand, we need to play our part by leading healthy lives as changing how you live your life will change how long you live ,” said Dr.Saiful.

“Every person is unique and in many ways, so are diseases. And now with the digital revolution in healthcare, we will be able to see what distinguishes each of us as individuals, and translate that into personalised and thus improved care for each and every person,” said Wong Sit Yin, Healthcare Access & Corporate Affairs Director of Roche (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

“As we celebrate our 125-year anniversary,  it is not only a chance for us to honour Roche’s legacy, but it’s also the perfect moment to build even more integrated relationships with each other, as we believe a multi-stakeholder or “ecosystem” approach is essential to shape health systems. Our Life Talks series  provides Roche with a vital chance to connect with external stakeholders to address local and global concerns and strategically move the needle forward to generate meaningful change for the next 125 years and beyond”, added Sit Yin.

A full replay of the Life Talk series can be viewed at https://bit.ly/PHC2022Replay for free.