Alternative payment models should include precision medicine

(HealthDay)—The American Medical Association has committed to working to integrate precision medicine into alternative payment models (APMs), according to an article published in the association's AMA Wire.

Implementation of the individualized approach in APMs is somewhat limited by the cost of certain precision medicine techniques. However, precision medicine, which is a tailored approach to health care that accounts for individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle, has the potential to transform disease diagnosis and treatment.

To address the integration-associated cost challenges, the AMA House of Delegates adopted new policy affirming that clinical pathways should be developed by clinical experts and should be leveraged by or integrated into electronic health records. In addition, APMs should be encouraged to incorporate evidence-based clinical pathways as appropriate and recommended by medical societies. Transparent and accessible rapid-learning systems, which have the ability to extract clinically meaningful information and use it in real-time are supported. Assessment of the value of evidence-based precision medicine tests and therapeutics are supported within new payment and delivery models. APMs should be encouraged to integrate precision medicine approaches and to improve the diagnostic process and personalize patient care. APMs should also be encouraged to measure patient outcomes and quality improvements over time.

A report from the AMA Council on Medical Services cites precision medicine as an approach that has the "potential to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment of disease and, in doing so, improve health outcomes downstream."

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