“Welcome to this InnovAiT special issue on genomics. Dame Sally Davies, in her annual Chief Medical Officer (CMO) report ‘Generation Genome’ stated: ‘Genomics is not tomorrow. It’s here today’.
“Genomics, alongside digital technologies, artificial intelligence and robotics, incorporates technological developments likely to change the NHS over the next two decades, with the promise of delivering healthcare on a more rational, efficient and tailored basis (Topol, 2019). Genomic medicine is not only having an impact on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and rare diseases, but it also has potential to deliver truly personalised care in many other areas. Primary care is the co-ordinator and gateway for individual patient care within the NHS and thus integral to the delivery of genomic medicine. Despite this, primary care clinicians can find it challenging to access relevant educational resources in genetics and genomics.
“This special issue is intended to be a resource to support AiTs, trainers and established GPs in an area of medicine that will significantly affect patient care. Instead of revolution, we are talking about evolution in a sphere of medicine that brings together specialists, such as geneticists, bioinformaticians and laboratory scientists, to deliver the benefits of genomic technologies, including next generation sequencing (NGS). Sequencing of DNA has clinical utility and is now fast, timely and cost-effective. Patients will want informed discussion on the implications of results for them and their families. Herein lies the challenge of delivering personalised care and stratified diagnosis and treatment.”
This abstract is from the Genomics Education Programme-affiliated manuscript published in January 2021 in the academic journal InnovAiT: Education and inspiration for general practice. The full article can be obtained via visiting the hosting journal’s webpage at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1755738020974404
