Precision Medicine: Moving Theory into Practice

June 10, 2021

Press contact:Jason Millman(213)-821-0099

Precision and personalized medicine is an innovative approach to healthcare that allows doctors to tailor medical treatment to individual patients’ conditions. Yet, despite its promise and multimillion-dollar federal initiatives, precision medicine has been slow to develop and implement in standard clinical care. Over a four-part webinar series, we’ll bring together experts to discuss how we can move precision medicine from theory to practice.

Part 1: Leveraging Precision Medicine to Meet Patient Needs

June 15, 2021 | Tuesday
10:00- 11:00 AM Pacific

Precision medicine promises to reduce adverse side effects and time-consuming trial and error processes, but many patients do not know what it is and providers struggle to leverage it effectively. Join Arlene S. Bierman, director of the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in discussion with Wenora Johnson, three-time cancer survivor and patient advocate, Rhoda Au, an expert on brain health, and Pavan Bhargava, an expert on multiple sclerosis, who will discuss how precision medicine can better address patients’ needs.

Part 2: Measuring Real-World Effectiveness and Value

June 17, 2021 | Thursday
1:00- 1:45 PM Pacific

Precision therapies are often approved based on small trials, in specialized settings and use biomarkers as endpoints. Thus, despite their potentially high cost, the evidence of value is lacking which makes real-world evidence crucial. Join Darius Lakdawalla, director of research at the Schaeffer Center, in discussion with Kay Larholt, director of research at MIT NEWDIGS, and Megan O’Brien, executive director of the Center for Observational and Real World Evidence at Merck, for a webinar about how we should measure and leverage real-world data to assess the value of precision medicines.

Part 3: Using Precision Medicine in Clinical Practice

June 22, 2021 | Tuesday
1:00- 1:45 PM Pacific

Despite precision medicine’s promise and multimillion-dollar federal investments, the development and implementation of it in routine clinical care continues to be slow. How can we translate theory into practice? Join Dana Goldman, director of the Schaeffer Center, in conversation with John Carpten, professor and chair of translational genomics at Keck School of Medicine of USC, and Jennifer Malin, senior medical director of oncology and genetics at United Healthcare, for a webinar focused on how we can incentivize and accelerate the use of precision medicines to benefit more patients.

Part 4: Developing Effective Payment and Reimbursement Models

June 29, 2021 | Tuesday
1:00- 1:45 PM Pacific

Targeted therapies can come with significant costs. But successful use of personalized medicine can also result in better healthcare outcomes and reduced long-term costs over time. Given this, how we pay for these therapies may require new approaches and models. Join Erin Trish, associate director of the Schaeffer Center, in discussion with Kathryn A. Phillips, founder and leader of UCSF Center for Translational and Policy Research on Personalized Medicine, and Michael Sherman, chief medical officer at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, for a webinar on the challenges and opportunities to develop viable payment solutions for precision medicine.