ecancer is tackling the emerging global challenge of personalised medicine head-on with the release of its new e-learning course.

Researchers, doctors, policymakers and government healthcare officials are racing to meet the demand for customised healthcare, which could herald a new age of patient empowerment.

“Personalised medicine is an exciting, innovative way to improve citizens’ quality of life and produce better patient outcomes,” ecancer founder Prof McVie says.

Developed as part of EU funded ‘p-medicine’ project, the modules encompass a comprehensive range of personalised medicine topics, from molecular profiling to molecular imaging, choosing personalised treatments, and psychological support.

Each module is about 15 minutes long and freely available on ecancer.org.

Moreover, the e-learning’s intuitive and interactive design makes for an educational experience that’s palatable for doctors, patients and policy makers alike.

ecancer partner, the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) identified the key barriers to personalised medicine in one of their recent papers, with ecancer supporting their efforts to breakdown one of the barriers to personalised medicine – lack of education.

“The take-up in Europe has been relatively slow," Denis Horgan, executive director of EAPM explains.

"This is not because personalised medicine doesn’t work – it does, and very well - but it is because the components and interactions involved in bring individualised medicine and treatments to Europe’s citizens are complex.”

The paper also states some of the further benefits to an increased utilisation of personalised medicine.

‘A healthier Europe will mean citizens spending less and less time in hospitals undergoing expensive treatment regimes, often at a direct cost to the taxpayer… Meanwhile, a focus on research into new medicines and cutting-edge treatments will also create jobs.’

By allowing learners to understand all the fields in which personalised medicine could be utilised, the release of ecancer’s educational modules marks a bold step towards this new age.

Sign up for the entire course on personalised medicine here.

Source: Personalised Medicine