Personalization and standardization: Can we have it all?Article on Expanding precision medicine published in the Journal of Precision Medicine

Can we have validated, standardized approaches to medicine that still allow creation of a tailored treatment plan that respects the physical, mental, social, and cultural particularities of every individual patient? A more personalized approach, enabled by digitalization, can deliver meaningful improvements in clinical and non-clinical outcomes while leveraging the efficiency and predictability of standardized processes and clinical pathways within a flexible framework.

Mass customization—the digitally enabled fusion of personalization and standardization—is the key to expanding the reach of precision medicine and its benefits: Precise diagnosis, reduction in unwarranted variations, personalized treatment, and advanced therapy outcomes - to every patient. Medicine should be striving for “mass customization,” a way of thinking that moves beyond the polarizing duality of standardization vs personalization. The concept is a useful one for healthcare, as it balances the benefits of standardization with the benefits of personalization in order to deliver predictable, high-value outcomes that are a good fit for the individual patient’s health and wellness goals.