The actions of the IC2PerMed Roadmap are reported according to the three main pillars in the Table 1. For each pillar, the actions were further grouped according to the main priorities in each WG (Table 1). The detailed description of each action is reported below, for each of the three pillars.
Table 1
IC2PerMed Roadmap’s actions
Pillar I: Shaping Sustainable Healthcare |
Improving empowered and responsible citizens | Promoting a trained and up-to-date healthcare workforce | Fostering healthcare systems' sustainability |
a. Health Literacy b. Research c. Public Trust d. ELSI | a. Education and ethics b. Collaborations c. Policies | a. Resources b. ELSI c. Evaluation d. Networks |
Pillar II: Innovation and market |
Bringing innovation to market | Adopting Big Data and ICT solutions |
a. Cost-effectiveness b. Needs assessment c. Principles and guidelines d. Perspectives | a. Data Exchange b. Privacy, security, and trust c. Standards |
Pillar III: Research and clinical studies in PM |
Fostering research funding | Translating basic clinical research and beyond |
a. Patient needs b. Value chain c. Synergies | a. Omics sciences b. Data and standards c. Collaborations |
Pillar 1: Shaping sustainable healthcare
I-Improving empowered and responsible citizens
a. Health literacy
Promoting health literacy is a prerequisite for better citizens’ and patients’ engagement and empowerment. The growing significance of digital technologies and the pivotal role they play in facilitating the engagement process underscore the necessity to enhance digital literacy. Given the advancement of genomics and the widespread use of predictive genetic/genomic testing, informing citizens and patients could give them greater awareness about their health trajectories. The impact of healthcare professionals’ literacy should be considered, as they are a proxy for public engagement in the self-management of health and disease.
b. Research
Fostering needs-assessment research and communication activities in the field of citizens’ and patients’ education related to PM could lead to more effective empowerment of citizens and patients alike.
c. Public trust
Scientific research, public organisations and private institutions are key innovation actors in PM. Sustaining public trust and collaborations between different institutions nationally and internationally is the drive for healthcare transformation and public health promotion. In addition, public trust should be fostered and strengthened to protect patients’ rights through clear data governance in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implementing technical solutions to safeguard cyber security, citizens and health practitioner engagement, and developing comprehensive consent procedures where needed.
d. Ethical challenges
A valid set of values and ethical principles should focus on the economic challenges and the inequality burden.
II-Promoting a trained and up-to-date healthcare workforce
e. Education and ethics
Improving healthcare professionals’ literacy and expertise, valuing integrity and ethics, could help foster PM. Research aimed at identifying effective methods should be promoted.
f. Collaborations
The future of healthcare professionals' training relies on multidisciplinary collaborations. Fostering collaborations between professionals from different specialities and between professionals and stakeholders while establishing more partnerships among countries to facilitate sharing of best practices.
g. Policies
Literacy in PM among healthcare professionals is an emerging focal point in national governmental strategies, policies, and agendas.
III-Fostering healthcare systems’ sustainability
h. Resources
A better allocation of resources on PM can foster the sustainability of health systems. In particular, the identification of a large investment stream for long-term data storage is a fundamental prerequisite for implementing PM strategies. Investment priorities for product and process innovation should be defined, considering the relationship between results and costs by identifying new payment models for public reimbursement.
i. ELSI & Costs
Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) and associated expenses must consistently factor into policy formation, assessment, and the governance of technological advancements in PM.
j. Evaluation
Health technologies are evolving rapidly and the translation of new discoveries underpins innovation and quality of care. Therefore, a system of continuous assessment of technologies and processes already in use and a change of perspective in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is needed to integrate end-user perceptions into the innovation process. This would ensure greater effectiveness and usability.
k. Networks
Multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations for PM can promote the sustainability of health systems. Public-private partnerships and international networks should be valued for sharing experiences and promoting and evaluating best practices and progress in PM.
Pillar 2: Innovation and market
I- Bringing innovation to market
a. Cost-effectiveness
The application of personalized diagnostics and therapeutics should be geared towards lowering economic costs and barriers to market uptake. Regarding diagnostics, promoting research in PM aimed at more appropriate use of diagnostic tools (avoiding overuse, overdiagnosis and overtreatment) could lead to optimal use of resources in the field of prevention and, consequently, an increase in the value of healthcare. Health insurance providers should extend their coverage to innovative and high-value PM solutions, and reimbursement of services should be promoted or attempts should be made to reduce barriers to reimbursement. In implementation processes, economic, cost-effectiveness, and relative value analyses should consider both social and health budgets and non-optimal resource use in the system.
b. Needs assessment
Considering the epidemiological scenario, new solutions on the market must emphasize maximizing health outcomes for patients. Early, intensive, coordinated and continuous dialogue among all PM stakeholders is needed to foster process optimization and accelerate the acquisition of new technologies and tools.
c. Principles and guidelines
The PM actors should follow shared principles and universal data sharing and exchange guidelines. Innovations that aim for higher therapeutic value should be rewarded. Social value assessment should be systematically applied.
d. Perspectives
Stakeholders stimulating innovation should take a holistic and long-term perspective on the balance sheet. The interconnection and mutual dependence between diagnostic and therapeutic innovations and the potential for inappropriate use/ overuse must be taken into account.
II-Adopting Big Data and ICT solutions
a. Data exchange
To promote PM, Big Data must be analysable, comparable and interoperable across borders. The need emerges to carefully identify the type of information to be retained, increasingly favouring those related to health outcomes rather than information with no proven clinical or management value. To facilitate data exchange procedures, greater cooperation between academia, healthcare systems (including providers and payers), and industry would be advisable.
b. Privacy, security, and trust
Data security measures are a priority in developing new ICT solutions, which are crucial at the global level and not only focusing on high-income countries. Social and cultural differences between Europe and China should also be considered when it comes to public trust in government and state authorities, trying to reach a common understanding of shared challenges within PM. Involving the public can enhance awareness about data sharing benefits, its extended purposes, anonymization, privacy risks, security, private sector involvement, personal data protection, and foster frameworks aligned with societal agreement.
c. Standards
In the PM field, it is essential to study solutions aimed at effectively combining data from different sources (genetics, clinical data) and regions, focusing on their standardization for effective usage. Standards for data use should be adopted and implemented, also with a view to establishing common policies and global efforts for cross-border data sharing.
Pillar 3: Research and clinical studies in PM
I-Fostering research funding
a. Patient needs
Funding agencies should tailor investments to the needs of patients. There is a need to promote the voice of patients (and caregivers) at all stages of PM research, from co-designing research projects to advisory roles and enhancing educational initiatives to improve the scientific literacy of patients and researchers. Defining unmet needs and potential incremental innovation could help in laying the groundwork for new international collaborations.
b. Value chain
Investments, playing an important role in the entire value chain, are needed from basic science to implementing PM in healthcare. Funders, both public and private, act as the first filter on the prioritization of resource allocation which should be done responsibly. Furthermore, adequate investments are crucial in the research translation system.
c. Synergies
Establishing synergies between funders and the research community is the first step in implementing PM as a community. Implementing the exchange of researchers through mobility funding programs could promote collaboration and knowledge sharing between different countries and foster data sharing. Collaborations between funders should be established to align on research themes and fund larger, bold, cutting-edge projects that enable risk sharing.
II-Translating basic clinical research and beyond
d. Omics sciences
Omics sciences are fundamental to the development of PM. Phenotyping patients, following defined standards, could identify similar patients. Besides genomics, applications of different omics sciences and technologies should be promoted and used to identify biomarkers suitable for PM. Innovative methods that have shown great promise in the PM field, including induced pluripotent stem cell and organ-on-chips models, should be evaluated and adopted, valuing international partnerships.
e. Data and standards
Standardizing approaches, including controlled access models for data sharing and clinical trials, may facilitate their implementation and help in patient stratification. Patient stratification in non-genetic/complex diseases would benefit from research programs on machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, using specific use cases could help in the development of common international standards and tools for research. Exchanges and dialogue between regulatory agencies should be promoted to overcome regulatory problems in PM, particularly on benefit-risk relationships.
f. Collaborations
It is important to support non-profit foundations and funding agencies to promote international collaborations, especially in oncological care and rare diseases. Establishing specific funding programmes and operational frameworks for public-private collaboration can facilitate academic and industrial access to biological samples and data for research purposes. It is necessary to facilitate and strengthen the dialogue with regulatory and HTA agencies, companies, and academic entities to gain a clear vision regarding outcomes researched and identify the most appropriate research methods to investigate PM, ensuring patient safety and adapting to the characteristics of study populations.