From October 1 to 2, Healthcare Week Luxembourg took place at Luxexpo, bringing together healthcare experts from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. A highlight of the event was a roundtable discussion exploring the road toward personalised medicine.
Personalised medicine promises to revolutionize healthcare by tailoring treatments to individual patient profiles. However, one of the key questions posed during the roundtable, moderated by Prof. Dr. Marc Suhrcke from LISER, was whether personalised medicine is already effective and scalable to the entire population.
Dr. Joëlle Fritz, from the Luxembourg Institute of Health, noted that while there is evidence of effectiveness, the challenge lies in translating data into actionable treatments. “You need to actually be able to offer something (e.g., prevention or treatment options) to patients after you’ve identified the right ones,” she stated.
In her research with Parkinson’s patients, Dr. Fritz observed that patients remained engaged in personalised treatment programs, affirming their success, at least on a smaller scale.
Cost-effectiveness and value
Another crucial aspect of scaling personalised medicine is its cost-effectiveness. While the potential for personalised medicine to improve outcomes is clear, the cost of implementing such sophisticated systems and treatments is a pressing issue.
As Bogi Eliasen, Director of Health at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, noted, the conversation isn’t just about affordability but also about how we handle the data that underpins these treatments. “We need to think about which data creates value and how it’s going to be used,” Eliasen remarked.
“If there is one subject that concerns everyone, it’s health.”
Maurice Bauer, First Alderman of the City of Luxembourg
Data security and digitalisation
The ability to offer personalised care depends not only on data access but also on the intelligent application of health data, which raises concerns about privacy and trust. “What we are lacking is not privacy but a secure mechanism to ensure that data is not used against us,” Eliasen explained.
René Metz, Director General of Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch, emphasized the close relationship between patients and doctors but identified a gap in digital infrastructure. “In Luxembourg, there is a very close connection between the patient and doctors, but there is a lack of digitalisation,” Metz said.
He stressed that patient education, particularly in understanding how their medical data is used, is crucial for engagement. “From my perspective, educating patients on their medical data and how it’s used is critical,” Metz added.
Health for everyone
While the debate was not expected to provide definitive answers to the questions raised by Prof. Dr. Suhrcke, it became clear that personalised medicine holds great promise but still has a long way to go before it can benefit everyone.
As Maurice Bauer, the First Alderman of the City of Luxembourg, rightly noted in his opening speech: “If there is one subject that concerns everyone, it’s health.” With Luxembourg taking an active role in staying ahead of the latest developments and making healthcare a priority, the hope is that personalised health for all will one day become a reality.
For a visual recap of the first Day at the HWL, see here.
