I n February, on the heels of delivering a speech to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Lorraine Johnson carried her patient advocacy message directly to The White House. Representing Lyme patients everywhere, she joined government officials, academicians, researchers, and other advocacy groups to discuss emerging approaches to improving patient care.
It is significant that the Lyme community was represented at these important events, since the complex and controversial science of Lyme disease has struggled to catch political daylight. “Precision medicine is the pathway to the future of medicine for Lyme disease because it looks at the different factors that affect individual treatment response,” says Johnson.
“Lyme disease is a complex illness that may involve multiple pathogens. Optimal treatment depends on identifying which pathogens an individual patient has been infected with.”
MyLymeData
As a leading Lyme research advocacy organization, LDo launched MyLymeData in 2015. In January, President Obama had launched his Precision Medicine Initiative. Aiming to accelerate biomedical discoveries, it can improve healthcare outcomes with targeted diagnostic, prevention and treatment strategies. Precision medicine can provide clinicians with information to help tailor therapies to a patient’s unique characteristics. This revolutionary way of doing medicine moves away from a “one-size-fits-all’ approach…… Join or login below to continue reading.
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