Reaching for Precision Healthcare in Finland via Use of Genomic Data

Abstract

Concerns over future healthcare capacity along with continuing demands for sustainability call for novel solutions to improve citizens’ health and wellbeing through effective prevention and improved diagnosis and treatment. Part of the solution to tackle the challenge could be making the most of the exploitation of genomic data in personalized risk assessment, creating new opportunities for data-driven precision prevention and public health. Presently, the utilization of genomic data in the Finnish healthcare system is limited to a few medical specialty areas. To successfully extend the use of genomic information in everyday healthcare, evidence-based and feasible strategies are needed. The national actions that Finland is taking towards this goal are 1) providing scientific evidence for the utility of genomic information for healthcare purposes; 2) evaluating the potential health-economic impact of implementing precision healthcare in Finland; 3) developing a relevant legal framework and infrastructures for the utilization of genomic information; 4) building a national multidisciplinary expert network bringing together relevant professionals and initiatives to achieve consensus among the different stakeholders on specific issues vital for translating genomic data into precision healthcare; 5) building competence and genomic literacy skills among various target groups; and 6) public engagement (informing and educating the public). Taken together, these actions will enable building a roadmap towards the expedient application of genomic data in Finnish healthcare and promoting the health of our citizens.

Self-Care: Seeking Queer Liberation from the Medical Gaze and Genetic Fatalism

“…48 Since exhibiting the work, the Finnish Genome Act was expected to be accepted by the Finnish Parliament in June of 2022 and formally establish the Finnish National Genome Center, which would act as a centralized authority regulating the use of genetic information. 49 The current state of The Genome Act remains to be discussed with an agreement that the creation of the Genome Center is necessary to further assess the legal aspects and impact of bio-banked genetic data. 50…”