APA Dictionary of Psychology

medical intervention tailored to individuals on the basis of their personal characteristics (e.g., genes, proteins, other biomarkers, lifestyle) and environment. The goal is to provide prevention or treatment services with the best chance of succeeding for a given individual, rather than follow a standardized protocol. Personalized medicine encompasses diagnostics as well, with the goal of identifying a condition as specifically and efficiently as possible for each patient. Many health care professionals support the practice of personalized medicine but foresee significant barriers to its widespread adoption, such as high cost, lack of supporting infrastructure, and privacy concerns. Also called precision medicine. See also pharmacogenomics.