Press release from Mission Health:
Mission Health’s Personalized Medicine Program has been featured in US News and World Report 2018 Best Hospitals Guidebook. Recognized as “one of a handful of community hospital systems in the U.S. with a formal personalized medicine program including pharmacogenomics,” Mission’s Personalized Medicine Program was lauded for its work in pharmacogenomics, personalized medicine’s most immediate benefit.
“This recognition is a testament to the dedication, experience and expertise of the clinicians, scientists and caregivers at Mission Health,” said Ronald A. Paulus, MD, President and CEO of Mission Health. “We strive every day to provide safe, high quality, compassionate care to each patient, and we are constantly investing in our people, facilities and technology to ensure that every family in western North Carolina can receive the best care possible for generations to come.”
Personalized medicine uses a patient’s genetic profile to make clinical decisions by predicting whether that patient will benefit from a particular medicine or suffer serious side effects. Pharmacogenomics is the study of how variations in an individual’s genes affect the body’s response, not just to cancer drugs but also to other medications.
Lynn Dressler, Dr.P.H, Director of Personalized Medicine and Pharmacogenomics at Mission Health said, “Of the 2,000 drugs on the market, about 170 are known to differ in their effects depending on the patient’s genes.” Dr. Dressler shared an example of a patient who did not get good pain relief after spinal fusion surgery and was hesitant about another surgery until she had pharmacogenomics testing. A better option was found and her pain was greatly reduced after her second procedure.
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2018 Guidebook provides consumers with information needed to make informed decisions and includes articles about cutting-edge health trends and medical advances, like Personalized Medicine.
ABOUT MISSION HEALTH
Mission Health, based in Asheville, North Carolina, is the state’s sixth-largest health system. For the fifth time in the past six years, Mission Health has been named one of the nation’s Top 15 Health Systems by Truven Health Analytics, an IBM Company and part of IBM Watson Health in 2017. We are the only health system in North Carolina to achieve this recognition. Mission Health operates six hospitals, numerous outpatient and surgery centers, post-acute care provider CarePartners, long-term acute care provider Asheville Specialty Hospital, and the region’s only dedicated Level II trauma center. With approximately 12,000 team members and 2,000 volunteers, Mission Health is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the people of western North Carolina. For more information, please visit mission-health or @MissionHealthNC
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