NHGRI logo
Generic Bases

Precision Medicine

updated: November 23, 2024

Definition

Precision medicine (generally considered analogous to personalized medicine or individualized medicine) is an innovative approach that uses information about an individual’s genomic, environmental and lifestyle information to guide decisions related to their medical management. The goal of precision medicine is to provide more a precise approach for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.



Narration

Precision medicine. Precision medicine or precision healthcare is medical care that takes advantage of large data sets of individuals such as their genome or their entire electronic health record to tailor their healthcare to their unique attributes. It is common sense that no two individuals are the same, and so they should not get the same healthcare. Precision healthcare embodies that simple idea.

Leslie Biesecker
Leslie G. Biesecker, M.D.

Director & NIH Distinguished Investigator

Center for Precision Health Research