Precision Medicine Initiative set for ‘beta test’

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, has announced the beginning of a beta test to roll out the Precision Medicine Initiative, an effort to amass health information from one million people for a nation research database

The initiative began under President Barack Obama and has seen been relabeled as the “All of Us” program. According to biotech news site Xconomy, Collins told a Duke University conference on precision medicine that the rollout will begin in Pittsburgh. The goal will be to enroll up to 15,000 participants by the end of the summer.

“We hope all of these people are healthy, and we want to figure out how to keep them healthy,” he said.

NIH has said there would be great interest in the program. In an August 2016 survey of more than 2,600 people, 79 percent supported the concept of the initiative, while 54 percent indicated they’d want to personally participate.

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John Gregory, Senior Writer

John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.

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